CHALO CHANDNI CHOWK!
Bedlam at its best! Accepting it is the only way to spend a day at Chandni Chowk. The cacophony all around is not only headache inducing and numbing of all senses, but also enough to provoke homicide! Especially when you are quashed in a phatphati in the midst of a massive traffic jam and the vehicle behind insists on hooting nonstop. This, when we are sweating buckets thanks to the high humidity. Jump out and throttle the idiot who seems to think that by continuously pressing the horn, the vehicles ahead would vanish into thin air? No strength. So turned back and signalled to him to take to the skies. He wasn't amused but that at least got him to give the horn a breather.
Venturing into Chandi Chowk when both the temperature and humidity are rocketing, is not a wise move. But then wisdom has not always been my forte, so I eagerly accompanied a friend who thankfully knew her way in and out of the labyrinth that is Chandi Chowk. We parked our car way away from the destination and that was our first mistake. We took a rickshaw which, half way refused to move. It took a lot of patience but finally the man managed to fix it and off we went. Before that we admired the golden domes of the nearby Gurdwara and wondered what was the hold that the place had on old timers who refused to move out of the area.
The first place we had to go to was Dariba Kalan, the market for everything silver and jewellery. We even had the exact number of the shop that we had to go, as it came with much recommendations from other friends. Couple of minutes into the narrow lane and our attention was diverted to something else. Something green on a thela,something we hadn't ever seen in any market in Delhi brought us to a halt. Turned out they were lotus seeds (nuts?) that had to be dug out from the upturned cone like structure that they came in. The hawker showed us out to dig them out and peel before popping them into out mouths. The taste was nothing much to talk about but of course, the novelty was something else. The produce came all the way from the Yumuna river in Uttar Pradesh. We couldn't figure out if we were chomping on lotus flowers-to-be or passed away lotus leaving the seeds behind!
Between us we had quite a bit of old silver trinkets, some broken, some we didn't like anymore. The jeweller carried out the acid test, literally with a drop of acid, to ascertain whether our stuff was genuine silver and what the percentage was. We had no option but to take his word for it. We came away convincing ourselves that it was better to be going back with something new, however few and tiny, instead of letting the old silver pieces rot away in a corner!
Our major task of the day done, we decided to go to Sadr Bazaar. Another maddening rickshaw ride, another round of endless traffic jam, another round of near misses. Getting into any market into Chandni Chowk is being constantly distracted by the wares all around. We bought things we didn't exactly need because the prices compared to the rates in other markets, especially South Delhi seemed,well, so reasonable. In fact, more than reasonable. Between us we had evening purses, beautiful gift wrapping papers, T-lites, umbrellas, loofahs, shagan envelopes etc. The T-lites prices really had me gobsmacked. It turned out that all along I had been paying double the price! Someone is going to get an earful soon. We would have picked up the magic cooker with two lids and the magic floor mopper too except we couldn't figure how to cart them around! Next time, we promised.
The plan had been to wrap it up by lunchtime and go to Natraj Dahi Bhalla Corner because as my friend said, the bhallas were to die for. Hunger pangs, as is well known, throws spanners into all well laid plans. This time it did with such a bang, that we couldn't pass by the first kulchawallah we saw. We deleted all the filth, the jostling hawkers, the endless stream of people walking by, the noise and above all the hygiene factor of the kulchawallah from our mind and vision! It was wholesome, with the spices added as per our instruction, very filling, so much so that we had to ask him to hold back two kulchas. It was Rs 25 per plate and because we didn't have all the kulchas, he charged us Rs 20 each!
If it is old Delhi, then picking up dry fruit is a must, come what may. It was a fair deal and if we could have, we have loaded on more. The lady at the counter was certainly persuasive and quite generous too when giving out nuts to sample. We also got a short lesson on how to figure out the best nuts from the display.
A little detour took us to a wholesale cosmetic supplier. All products came at prices below the MRP and that made our day. Yes,fake cosmetics abound but yes, we knew that we were not taken for a ride.
We were not exactly hungry anymore but there was no way we were giving Natraj Dahi Bhalla a miss. A tiny little shop, founded in 1940, it only makes bhallas, right there, right in front of you. The best way to go about it, is to virtually close your eyes to the process and scoot up the narrow stairs to the first floor. Apparently that was added much later and the restaurant has its own menu. Even though it was a weekday, most of the customers seemed to chomping down the bhallas only. You give the money to the waiter, Rs 50 per plate, he gets it and serves at the table. A bite and you know why it is such a hit.
More rickshaws and back to the car park. Elated that we had managed to get through the day and pleased as punch at our purchases, we did what we were desperately wanting to do the whole day - sought the comforts of an air conditioned posh tosh cafe, where else but in South Delhi, and relaxed over coffee!
The next day, one of the umbrellas literally collapsed in my hands. No comments!
Venturing into Chandi Chowk when both the temperature and humidity are rocketing, is not a wise move. But then wisdom has not always been my forte, so I eagerly accompanied a friend who thankfully knew her way in and out of the labyrinth that is Chandi Chowk. We parked our car way away from the destination and that was our first mistake. We took a rickshaw which, half way refused to move. It took a lot of patience but finally the man managed to fix it and off we went. Before that we admired the golden domes of the nearby Gurdwara and wondered what was the hold that the place had on old timers who refused to move out of the area.
Between us we had quite a bit of old silver trinkets, some broken, some we didn't like anymore. The jeweller carried out the acid test, literally with a drop of acid, to ascertain whether our stuff was genuine silver and what the percentage was. We had no option but to take his word for it. We came away convincing ourselves that it was better to be going back with something new, however few and tiny, instead of letting the old silver pieces rot away in a corner!
Our major task of the day done, we decided to go to Sadr Bazaar. Another maddening rickshaw ride, another round of endless traffic jam, another round of near misses. Getting into any market into Chandni Chowk is being constantly distracted by the wares all around. We bought things we didn't exactly need because the prices compared to the rates in other markets, especially South Delhi seemed,well, so reasonable. In fact, more than reasonable. Between us we had evening purses, beautiful gift wrapping papers, T-lites, umbrellas, loofahs, shagan envelopes etc. The T-lites prices really had me gobsmacked. It turned out that all along I had been paying double the price! Someone is going to get an earful soon. We would have picked up the magic cooker with two lids and the magic floor mopper too except we couldn't figure how to cart them around! Next time, we promised.
The plan had been to wrap it up by lunchtime and go to Natraj Dahi Bhalla Corner because as my friend said, the bhallas were to die for. Hunger pangs, as is well known, throws spanners into all well laid plans. This time it did with such a bang, that we couldn't pass by the first kulchawallah we saw. We deleted all the filth, the jostling hawkers, the endless stream of people walking by, the noise and above all the hygiene factor of the kulchawallah from our mind and vision! It was wholesome, with the spices added as per our instruction, very filling, so much so that we had to ask him to hold back two kulchas. It was Rs 25 per plate and because we didn't have all the kulchas, he charged us Rs 20 each!
If it is old Delhi, then picking up dry fruit is a must, come what may. It was a fair deal and if we could have, we have loaded on more. The lady at the counter was certainly persuasive and quite generous too when giving out nuts to sample. We also got a short lesson on how to figure out the best nuts from the display.
We were not exactly hungry anymore but there was no way we were giving Natraj Dahi Bhalla a miss. A tiny little shop, founded in 1940, it only makes bhallas, right there, right in front of you. The best way to go about it, is to virtually close your eyes to the process and scoot up the narrow stairs to the first floor. Apparently that was added much later and the restaurant has its own menu. Even though it was a weekday, most of the customers seemed to chomping down the bhallas only. You give the money to the waiter, Rs 50 per plate, he gets it and serves at the table. A bite and you know why it is such a hit.
The next day, one of the umbrellas literally collapsed in my hands. No comments!
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