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Delhi is an eccentric mix of old and new, custom and
cutting-edge change. Nevertheless, it goes straight to the heart, say
two passionate Delhiites.
It happened every year
with unfailing regularity. The same story, year after year. The
familiar vacation feeling in May, drawing me away from Delhi, an
eagerness to get out of the dusty, dreamy city. That mad desire to
never ever set eyes on those weary yellow and green-or perhaps blue, I
never could decide-Delhi Transport Corporation buses. And then the
return in July. Joyous homecoming to the crazy capital of India.
Specially the quickened pulse on sighting the monsoon-washed buses of
the D.T.C. as my train chugs along towards the railway station. Its
always the same. Delhi draws me, holds me. I belong here, amidst the
chaos, the grime and the noise, the lovely wintry morning and the
grand ways of the city that seats India’s government.
Lutyen’s Delhi, wide
roads, sprawling, elegant buildings, well-planned gardens. This is
the Delhi that runs the nation. Shahjahan’s Delhi, the awesome
Lal Qila that witnesses, with grave detachment, the noise and the
excitement, the magic and quaint charms of the streets of Delhi.
Today’s Delhi, with its innumerable residential colonies
stretching north, south, east and west; with the green ridge, the
city forest that one keeps running into so abruptly in different
parts of the city. A city so great and grand that it has grown on me
over the last so many years like ivy, deep-rooted and persistent. No
wonder then, that I stare uncomprehendingly to people who turn up
their noses and tell me how awful Delhi is, how harsh and unfriendly,
huge and unkind! I would someday like to tell them how wrong they
are, that behind its apparent harshness lies the necessary
environment to nurture professionals in all fields of life. That its
hugeness is merely a cold fact and not a demerit. That at the core of
this seemingly uncaring city is a passionate pulsing heart, woven
into which is a rich and chequered past.
Historical records tell
me how the old or playing capital city sits ever so easily on Delhi’s
shoulders. I can go back in time-as far back as the days when the
Mahabharata was reality. Delhi was Indraprastha then, the dream city
of the Pandavas, spreading out where the Purana Qila stands today,
along he western bank of the Yamuna.
Delhi has come a long way
since then. But a dream city it still is. There are many Indians who
have arrived in this city, chasing a dream. And few have gone back.
This third largest city of India belongs to the professional-from
every walk of life. To this seasoned Delhiwala traveling 70
kilometers to work within the city, is common place. Delhi is
synonymous with long, unmanageable distances! The new and forever
growing residential colonies in north Delhi, the huge metropolitan
settlements to the south, stretching beyond the Qutab Minar and
merging into Faridabad in Haryana. And the vast west-east expanse
with the Yamuna in between. Huge is the word.
Somewhere amidst this
modernity, the neon lights and the chaos, shadows linger: Shadows
from the past, however fleeting, however bleak. Specially on some
days. Like the day of India’s independence from the British Raj,
the 15th of August. Shahjahan’s Red Fort comes alive,
the fort that cost a crore of rupees and took nine years to build.
The fort that faces the most famous mosque of Delhi, the Jama Masjid,
the largest mosque in India. Shahjahan’s final achievement
built in the 1650s the Jama Masjid has three gateways, four towers
and two minarets. For me, the Jama Masjid is always recalled from an
evening long ago, when a typical Delhi sunset-wondrously orange and
dusty-had etched the lovely structure against the sky. There were
countless homing pigeons in the sky too. Amazingly, it is one of the
strongest images of Delhi that I carry around in my mind’s eye.
Along side these
historical milestones exists Chandni Chowk-the Delhi that lives. In
the true sense of the word. From the pavement vendors to the
seasoned shopkeepers who sell anything from garlands and flowers to
hi-tech electronics equipment. The place evokes much-how crossing
that road is a nightmare, how the whole world seems to converage at
Ghantewala’s famous sweet shop, how delicious those hot samosas
are. Chandni Chowk belong to the Delhi businessmen, the hard cores!
Among the many Delhi
images that are with me always is the Sunday Bazaar behind the Red
Fort along the Ring Road facing the Yamuna. Where you can buy just
about anything from old bottles to furniture, clothes and
hardware-prices negotiable of course! A special book bazaar settles
down cosily along the pavement in the old Darya ganj areas every
Sunday, a favourite haunt for the browser and book lover. I have had
good days and bad days at the bazaar, and some of my best books are
from this pavement market. Another strong image is Pragati Maidan,
with its spacious landscape, the Trade Fairs and that children’s
delight, Appu Ghar.
I have read that the
Delhi I know and love is the eighth one, that there have been seven
cities before this, starting some 5,000 years ago with Indraprastha.
Then there were Hindu kingdoms ruled by the Tomars and Chauhans,
Delhi was near the Qutab Minar then. The fifth city was where
Ferozshah Kotla is today, and was called Ferozabad. The sixth Delhi was Sher Shah Suri’s
kingdom and the seventh was Sahjahan’s baby. Some city, Delhi!
Which is why this place is such a potpourri-the city of many faces.
From the incredible clutter of Chandni Chowk I can soon reach the
serene dignity of Central Delhi, the much-discussed wide roads,
trees-lined avenues, gorgeous government buildings. It is often that
I find myself at the famous Mandi House, the heart of Delhi’s
cultural life. Kamani auditorium the Triveni Kala Sangam, the Sri Ram
Center for Art and Culture, places where concerts, plays, dances are
staged every evening. But Central Delhi to most people means
Connaught Place, the quiet profile of the Supreme Court, the India
Gate. Connaught Place with its old, luxurious shops and radial roads
is that great mix of a lovely shopping center. Office block,
restaurants and hotels which can easily take care of an evening’s
entertainment. And the India Gate? The Amar Jawan Jyoti which is a
tourist spot, the lawns around which come alive on summer evenings
with balloon and ice cream vendors, children of all ages and
romancing couples! The children’s Park and the grounds around
where exhibitions, melas and shows are so often organized.
There is another
interesting landmark in Central Delhi, the Chatwala near Dholpur
House, which is the office of the Union Public Commission. Famous all
over Delhi and outside, this food stall has a constant stream of
clients and a convenient coupons system. I am used to coming away
from his stall, unfed, spurned by the starving millions around him.
Besides his more obvious attributes, the UPSC chatwala also seems to
form a figurative demarcation between South Delhi and the rest of
Delhi. Travelling southward in Delhi means a stepping up of status,
with posh residential colonies and a relatively more luxurious
lifestyle.
Huge or otherwise.
Delhi’s charms are quite something to me. It is the bright
yellow of the laburnum blooms in mid-summer, the crisp, sharp January
mornings when the mist settles on the window pane, allowing me to
scribble lines from my favourite song. I often wonder what drew
heroes of history to Delhi, the laburnums of the mist? Most probably,
it must have been Delhi’s strategic position like a gateway into
India and placed as it is one the land route across Asia. Testimony
to Delhi’s crucial role in charting history are the nearly 1,300
monuments in the city, dotted here and there, remnants of a rich and
varied past; the Qutab Minar, Humayun’s and Safdarjung’s
Tombs, the Purana Qila and Lal Qila. Qutab Minar-tapering elegantly
to a height of 73 meters-testifies the defeat of the last Hindu
kingdom in Delhi, way back in the 1190s.
Delhi is beautiful. More
so because of the ridge that enlivens the city, spread out in parts
of northern, central and southern Delhi, green and refreshing. I do
not know of many metropolises which possess green forts in the middle
of city’s hustle and bustle and a forest with a diversity of
plants, birds and animals. The ridge to many Delhiites is a place
where they can momentarily forget the weary details of their massive
busy city and recharge themselves in peaceful surroundings. The ridge
to me is that wondrous home in the Delhi University to which I return
every evening, that delightful drop in temperature as I leave the
busy Mall Road to turn towards the Pahari as it is colloquially
known. Even the Jawaharlal Nehru University in South Delhi has
portions of the ridges as part of its campus. Talking of
universities. Delhi also houses. Jamia Milia Islamia and the Indra
Gandhi National Open University. Professional life in Delhi is
rewarding with a diversity of opportunities and arenas where the
ambitious can find their niches. Premier institutions such as the
Pusa Institute. The Indian Institute of Technology and the All India
Institute for Medical Science are in Delhi.
Delhi has those landmarks
that every place has, and these are perhaps different for each human
being, varying with personal thought and perception. Delhi to me is
the serpentine Hanuman Mandir near the Yamuna every Tuesday. Delhi is
the distinct profile of Rashrapati Bhawan against a dusty summer
evening sky. It is a late night ride in a DTC
bus heading along the
Ring Road. It is the huge-India’s largest-wholesale market for
vegetable and fruits at Azadpur with its mammoth daily transactions.
Delhi is the palatial farmhouses and residences as one drives away
southward from the Qutab Minar.
I have often read how
some people believe that the Delhiwala does not feel as passionately
for his city as does the Calcutta citizen or the Bombayite or the
Bangalorean. Nothing could be further from the truth. My roots in
Delhi would never allow me to be happy anywhere else, and I am told
that the likes of me are many.
OLD IS GOLD
The rams are facing each
other.
The stance is war-like.
And a war of sorts is what it is. The place: Red Fort. The event
obviously is a ram fight known in local parlance as a dangal. There
are bets, clouds of dust, cheering crowds. Across the road, the sun
makes its way down as evening hues settle over the famous Jama
Masjid. Adding noise and colour is the bird market. Where birds of
all kinds are sold and bought. This is old Delhi for you.
The narrow lanes of
Chawri Bazaar, behind Jama Masjid house the city’s major
wholesale paper markets. Then there Nai Sarak, where people from all
over the country flock to buy textbooks of all kinds. The old walled
city of Delhi is home to Delhiwalas of old, to the skilled ivory
artisan and to many quaint tradesmen. This is the old city of
Shahjahanabad.
Chandni Chowk is
characterized by a unique bird hospital right at its entrance that
serves the Sees Ganj Gurudwara where Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth of
the Sikh gurus, was beheaded in 1675 under Aurangzeb’s orders.
Jewellery, sarees and all sorts of goods have their traditional
markets here. There is the well-known Kinari Bazaar where costumes
and knick-knacks can be had on hire.
Old Delhi extends
northwards to the railway station and the historic Kashmiri Gate with
memories of the Mutiny of 1857. Old havelis and families who for many
generations have been in Delhi. The familiar sight of burkha-clad
Muslim women seated on cycle rickshaws and busy streets with cows,
dogs, humans and traffic are all part and parcel of life in Old
Delhi. The warmth. Congenial air and buzz of this part of Delhi can
never be found anywhere else.
SHOP TALK
Garments, leather goods,
electronics, electrical fittings, you name it. If you are building a
house Delhi’s Lala Lajpat Rai Market is the place for bargain
buys of electrical goods. Or if departing for a trip or a stay in
the United States, shop at Delhi’s Baba Kharag Singh Marg’s
State Emporium for an Indian wardrobe and gifts for friends.
Then there are the great,
huge shopping centers of Karol Bagh, Connaught Place, South
Extension, Central Market in Lajpat Nagar and Kamla Nagar in North
Delhi. Karol Bagh offers everything from soap dishes to the exquisite
Jamavar shawls. Connaught Place is best known for its varied shacks
along Janpath where the price of a cotton shirt and a Persian rug can
be haggled with equal passion!
Another interesting side
of shopping in Delhi are the weekly bazaars. Various parts of Delhi
have the bazaars on different days, where vendors spread their wares
on pavements and sell goods at bargain prices.
Delhi also has its share
of shopping places that are off the beaten track. Like the Crafts
Museum in Pragati Maidan and the Hauz Khas village where handicrafts
are sold in ethnic surroundings. There is also the bazaars at the
Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place. The annual Tilonia bazaar at the
Triveni Kala Sangam brings leather and handloom goods from Tilonia in
Rajasthan.
Delhi has hundred of
shops, markets and bazaars and amazingly each one is crowded, always.
A CAPITAL CITY
Eighty-one long years
have passed since the British shifted their Raj capital from Calcutta
to Delhi. Records reveal that geographically, historically and
politically, Delhi was the wisest choice. Since that wintry December
day of 1911, there has been no looking back for this city of India.
As India moved towards her independence, Delhi became a nerve center
to socio-economic and political activities of the country.
Today, the dignified
Parliament House and the grand Rashtrapati Bhavan are only buildings
that testify Delhi’s role in running the nation. The latter,
where the President of India lives, is amongst Delhi’s most
beautiful buildings. This residence of the head of the world’s
largest democracy has four floors and some 340 rooms. Parliament
House is another elegant building which has witnessed many scenes
among politicians, scenes that have changed courses of governments,
scenes that have made decisions for all of India.
The Boat Club near the
India Gate is venue for agitations, representations and meetings,
Delhi’s politicians find, at Boat Club, and at Ferozshah Kotla
audiences for their speeches, for their declarations.
It is Delhi that all
seekers of a place in the government coverage: Delhi is the hub of
India’s polity and government life.
AROUND DELHI
Surajkund: The
drum beats draw me. But the woman I am speaking to is vibrant and
beautiful, belongs to Barmer in Rajasthan and the drum beats can most
certainly wait. I am at the Surajkund Mela, an annual jamboree off
Delhi which sends cash registers clanging for the Haryana Tourism
people. Surajkund, an hour’s drive from Delhi, is a popular
picnic spot. With a lake thrown in for good measure, the places comes
alive every spring when all of Delhi pours in to see the mela.
Sultanpur wildlife
sanctuary is about 50 kilometers own the Gurgaon road and is home
for a large number of avians. Nature lovers and bird watchers,
photographers and tourists often find their way to this quiet, small
sanctuary where there are facilities for lodging too. Sultanpur is a
lovely place for a day’s break from metropolitan monotony.
A few hours from Delhi
are the famous cities of Mathura, Vrindavan and Agra. It is a common
tourist circuit and perhaps more like a mandatory pilgrimage, since
visiting the Taj Mahal is almost religion! Agra is a maze of
monuments, favourite city of the Mughals, and a globally recognized
tourist spot. The trip, all of it, takes one full day. Mathura-birth
place of Lord Krishna-is popular for its lovely temples.
The Keoladeo Ghana
wildlife sanctuary is 180 kilometers southward, in Rajasthan. A
sanctuary for birds Bharatpur, as it is commonly known is a lovely
place where one can get a breather from the city blues and if lucky
see some Siberian Cranes. Near Bharatpur is the lovely, old Deeg
fort, which is certainly worth a visit. Sariska National Park in
Rajasthan is a 200 kilometer journey from Delhi. With the typical
scrubby vegetation of the Aravalis, this park has many
ungulates-Cheetal, Sambar, and big cats like the Tiger too.
Jaipur is 306
kilometers away from Delhi, and an extremely popular city with
tourists, as is most of Rajasthan. The Hawa Mahal, the camel rides,
the shopping are all attractions for tourist natives and foreigners
alike. Chandigarh, 5 hours from Delhi, is best known for its
well-planned landscape and organized city life, for its Rock Garden
designed by the famous Nek Chand, and the garden of Pinjore.
Delhi as a city is so
absorbing that many tourists prefer spending more time within the
city. Yet, there is much to be seen around and made the most of.
FOR THE GOURMET
The gourmet would be a
busy person in Delhi. From the corner of-the-street shop that sell
the ever popular tikki-samosa fare, to the huge Nirula’s chain
of fast-food joints that caters to a great cross-section of society:
from the crazy, jumbled cuisine in the shops at Bengali Market in
Mandi House to the classy food in Delhi’s many large hotels.
Delhi is best known for
its gole-gappas, tikkis, fruit chat and chole-bhaturey-available in
small and big eating shops alike. Bengali Market , Delhities call it
BM, sells such stuff. With a vengenance. Nathu’s is a famous
place in BM, where crowds wait patiently for a place in the
restaurant. One of Delhi’s most famous chat shops is outside
Dholpur House, the building in Central Delhi that houses the Union
Public Service Commission, known as the UPSC, chatwala, this vendor,
with a streamlined coupon system, is never free of a crowd of hungry
humans.
Nirula’s of course
is Delhi’s darling. Fast food shops by this name are found all
over Delhi and are never empty. Their burgers, pizzas, and varied
items are very popular among people. Nirula’s also has a classy
Chinese Room, famous ice cream parlour and pastry shop. Another
famous name in Delhi is Karim’s-the restaurant that serves
Mughlai cuisine which is more than just good, its great.
Then there are the
off-beat eating places, like the canteen at the Triveni Kala Sangam
and the Sri Ram Centre for Art and Culture-regular haunts of the art,
music and theatre crowds. There is the exciting chain of dhabas in
Connaught Place like Kake-da-Hotel whose non-vegetarian food is
relished by many. The old and trusted name of Madras Hotel in
Connaught Place is the right place for good, clean South Indian
preparations.
Eating rooms and
restaurants of larger hotels are very popular and serve delicious
stuff. Bukhara at Maurya Sheraton which is synonymous with the best
of northwestern cuisine. The House of Ming. Taj Mahal Hotel’s
Chinese room, is famous. So is Coconut Grove, the classy Kerala
cuisine restaurants at the Ashok Yatri Niwas. If you are looking for
Continental food while in Delhi try Valentino’s at the Hyatt
Regency or La Rochelle at the Oberoi’s.
GETTING THERE
BY AIR
Delhi is internationally
connected by air to all major points of the world. There are air
routes to all major cities of India.
BY RAIL
By Rail Delhi is
connected to all parts of India.
WHERE TO STAY
There is wide choice of
hotels hostels and rest houses all over Delhi to suit every budget.
A grade: Taj Man Singh.
Taj Palace, Maurya Sherteon, Hyatt Regency, The Ashok, Holiday Inn,
Le Meridien, Oberoi Intercontinental. The Oberoi Maidens, although a
3-star hotel, is preferred by many for its peaceful and sylvan
surroundings.
B grade: The Ashok Yatri
Niwas. Kanishka. Claridges. Janpath Hotel. YMCA and YWCA.
WHERE TO EAT
A huge and mind-boggling
diversity of eating-places is dotted all over Delhi (see box)
BEST SEASON
October-March. This
period encompasses Delhi winter which is a lovely time in Delhi for
those who can bear the dipping mercury. Otherwise October and
February-March are the best months.
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