Dilli

Since coming to Gurgaon, I had been planning a trip to Old Delhi, but the hot summer did not allow me to do so. My interest in old Delhi was not in sight seeing the monuments, but to see and feel the aura of the mughal influenced are, to taste the cuisine on the streets, to roam the streets and enjoy the hustle-bustle. And that’s what I did this Sunday. It wasn't one of the greatest experiences (the weather was to be blamed partly), but then it is something that was to be experienced at least once.

The other aspect was traveling by Delhi Metro which was a very pleasing experience. The second phase (fully underground) of Delhi Metro became operational last week and that is what made this trip more interesting. Tagged as a world class metro, traveling by Delhi Metro makes commuting in Delhi hassle free. Boarding the metro at Central Secretariat station (near India Gate), we reached Chawri Bazzar, the heart of Old Delhi in 10 mins. It is truly amazing when you emerge out of the Chawri Bazzar Metro Station. From a truly high-tech environment you come out to one of the oldest parts of Delhi, with cramped houses, electric wires so entangled that it would require a stroke of genius to figure out which line goes to which house, shops bustling for space! A 10 min rickshaw ride takes you to Chandni Chowk (our first destination).

Would you like to have your breakfast at a place where at least three ex prime ministers of India have had breakfast? Parathe Wali Gali, a street full of eateries selling at least 25 different kinds of Parathas with a host of complementary side dishes! One of these shops has photos of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri having parathas in that particular shop, hanging on its wall. What’s good for these ex-PM's is good enough for us! The long list of different types of Parathas leaves you utterly confused. Satisfying the taste buds and filling our stomach with a sumptuous breakfast of parathas, kachories and Dhokla's topped with Lassi, we move forward.

Next stop Dariya Ganj. A stretch of more than two kilometers with book sellers!! That’s Sunday Book Market! With almost every kind of book under the sun available at dirt cheap prices, this place is a book lover’s paradise. The heat and humidity was really oppressive and so I couldn't spend much time there, but my wanderings yielded in two books at great prices. The first Abundant Living Endless Striving, a memoir of Sohrab P Godrej, former chairman of Godrej group of Companies. The foreword and reviews are really interesting, giving an insight into a man who had wide ranging passions. The other is Khrushchev Remembers: The Glasnost Tapes. This book gives an insight into the post Stalin era USSR and the working of the Central committee, as told by ex Soviet President Khrushchev after he was removed from office and placed under virtual house arrest. I am sure these two books have been a great buy for me and I will have a real pleasure reading them.

As I mentioned earlier the weather was really bad, so we had to cut short the book browsing and get back to the cool confines of Delhi Metro! The rickshaw drive took us past Jama Masjid and the Red Fort and through the famous Chor Bazar. Once back in the Metro we decided to just spend some time in it till we had cooled down and were ready to brave out again. One really great thing about the metro is that you can get a full day pass for Rs 50/- only by which you can travel from anywhere to anywhere as many times as you want. So taking benefit of this we spend lot of time traveling on both the routes of Delhi Metro. The station where both the routes intersect is Kashmere Gate, where the Inter State Bus Terminus is also situated. Busses for 7 different states leave from this place and it is always buzzing with activity.

After spending considerable amount of time in the metro (both underground and above ground) we got out at Rajiv Chowk. That’s the new name for Connought Place, one of the premier business areas of Delhi. Roaming around Connought Place is a pretty interesting experience as you get to see different kinds of shops. Don't get me wrong, I am not into shopping and all, but what I do like to see are the Curio Shops having various amusing items. To wind up the day we went into a place called Ruby Tuesday to enjoy tasty Salads and mouth-watering dishes. Enjoying our mock tails while seeing Juan Pablo Montoya take the British Grand Prix with a control that is unnatural to him, we relaxed and reflected on a day which was full of contrasts. Contrasts between modern and old, between technology and manual ways, between Moghlai cuisine and American fast food, between the hot weather and cool metro stations, all of which we had experienced within the same day and in a circumference of few kilometers.

I guess that’s what makes Dilli so dynamic!!
Until Next time
Cheerio