Life in Chandni Chowk, 1 February 2022

 

HAVE YOU EVER VISITED OLD DELHI?

Have you ever talked with anyone who lives in Old Delhi? 

You should visit this beautiful city once in your lifetime. There is something magical about the narrow lanes of Chandni Chowk. Your heart will stop you to live there. You will find so much silence amidst the most crowded lanes during festival seasons. If you ever feel lonely or find any kind of hell in your life, just visit this place even if you do not have any penny to spend. You will feel alive after watching so many expressions on the faces of the people. Let us check the grief of other people without telling them about yours. While entering the lanes of Chandni Chowk from the right side of Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, you will find Gauri-Shankar Mandir, Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, Townhall; and Streets of Nai Sarak, Kucha Rehman, Moti Cinema, Ballimaran Gali, Katra Mohammedeen, Katra Gandhi, Gandhi Cloth Market, Haveli Haider Quli, Katra Bariyan, and the Fatehpuri Masjid. Then you will find the Hathras ki Mashoor Rabri, Dry fruit market, Spice market, abandoned Walled City Museum, Sadar Bazaar. We didn't have enough money in our pockets. So we have to look at our pockets before looking at any delicious food. We have started a new way to earn money and it was a good beginning. 

Have you ever wondered what to do with your life?

Is there anything that makes you feel alive? 

And are you doing the same with your life or you are completing someone else's dreams?

                                                

                                     

There were so many questions and strange feelings when I took this step of blogging because I was unaware of the earnings. But it was a perfect feeling to start something new. Never compromise your own dreams to fulfill others' desires. It is good to sacrifice something for the better, but if you are unable to find yourself or if you are completely lost amidst the crowd of other people then you must disappear for some time. 

So it was my brother Khazan with me and we were wandering through the streets of Chandni Chowk, and we found out that most of the people have opened their own shops or doing any kind of business but not doing any typical 9 to 5 job. It was a great relief that somehow people have managed to face the risk of slower time as it takes time to establish a business. There were so many shops where the shopkeeper was quite happy even when there is no customer in the shop so it was our prediction that there can be some other business apart from this shop, maybe the customer is dealing on a wholesale basis. The main purpose of life should be to remain happy always. There were so many learnings from this small tour. We met a Hathras Rabri wala and his attitude as we have asked him to give a short video about his product so that we can advertise his shop on our vlog but he denied and said that I am already famous on youtube and do not want to become more famous. Later on, he checked our mobile for his youtube video, and unfortunately, he couldn't find it. 

Have you ever visited the Fatehpuri Mosque of Chandni Chowk? 

Being an atheist it was quite a strange moment for me to visit a religious place. At the entrance of the mosque, we were asked to take out our shoes and submit them to a man in return for 30 Rs. But as we didn't have enough money to spend, Khazan took a newspaper from the side shopkeeper and we kept our shoes after wrapping them in a newspaper in our bag. It was under construction and people were looking at us in a strange way as we were taking a video of this spiritual place. The man at the duty was quite polite and allowed us to use the stairs for an upper view. Before entering the mosque we gave a short introduction to our video about Fatehpuri Mosque it was built by Fatehpuri begum in 1650 one of Mughal emperor Shahjahan's wives and she was from Fatehpur Sikri. It was a short description at the start of our video. Like any other mosque, people were worshipping as Muslims kneel and touch their foreheads to the ground as a sign of submission to the will of God.

Have you ever wandered on foot for more than 10 km as you want to become a traveler and not a tourist?

So the next thing on my mind was where to travel next? After Fatehpuri Mosque, we were going through the Dry fruit market, spice markets and there was a crowd of workers everywhere who were unloading the bag of products on their heads. And you will be surprised to see that the worker is taking out the commodities on a rickshaw puller in 2022. In 2022? Ain't it shock for you that people are using pullers instead of electric rickshaw or any other medium to reduce the burden of the transporting cost? 

So we were on foot and we were continuously walking for our next spot for our next video. There were shops in almost every single street and the business was so good that people have taken it on the online market as they have mentioned the name of the website on the billboard. After the Dry fruit and spices market, we took a left turn and took the straight road and there was an abandoned walled city museum and then there was Sadar Bazaar and then we reached Nabi Karim. Khazan was hungry and he wanted to sit and relax for a moment and eat something but I was adamant to walk as our next move was not nearby. So there was Connaught Place in front of us but we took a left turn again and we were at KAMLA MARKET police station and then we were visiting Delite theatre and there was Delhi stock exchange. And there was a B.K. Roy court and we were amazed as we didn't hear about any such court apart from Civil court, High court, and Supreme court. And Turkman Gate people were feeding the pigeons and eagles. Then at Brijwasi Bhandar, we ate Bread Pakora and Gulab Jamun. We were wandering through the streets of Matiya Mahal and we found out that there are so many Muslims living here as there were so many garment shops as per ISLAM attire. I really respect every religion and everyone should do it as everyone has their own freedom of eating, wearing, reading, writing and speaking and so on. Then finally we were at gate no. 1 of JAMA MASJID.

    Have you ever visited JAMA MASJID during the winter season?  

At the entrance of Jama Masjid Gate no. 1, people were enjoying the sunlight. Again we wrapped up our shoes and kept them in our bag. I was checking the details about the history of JAMA MASJID. I was informing Khazan about the history of JAMA MASJID and he was rehearsing the details. A man from Kashmir asked us about our rehearsal so Khazan told him that we are making a video to tell the viewers about the JAMA MASJID. He asked about the details regarding the history of Masjid so we gave him some of the details like JAMA MASJID was built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan between 1650 and 1656. It was built with the help of 5000 workers which cost 1 million rupees on it back then and has the capacity of 25000 people in its courtyard, and a total of 85000 people in its premises. It was inaugurated by an Imam from Uzbekistan. It is the second-largest mosque in India and it was originally named as Masjid-i-Jahan-Numa, which translates to the masjid that reflects the world. The first largest mosque is Taj-ul-masjid which is located in Bhopal. So the man from Kashmir was Danish and he was against the use of camera because it is not fair to take videos and photos in Masjid where people come to offer their prayers as per his opinion. So I asked him a question and he was unable to give an appropriate answer, I asked him," Danish, tell me one thing, there are so many people who want to visit JAMA MASJID but due to some reasons, they are unable to come. The reason behind taking the video is to share the beauty of Jama Masjid with the people who can not afford to visit the place or for some reason if they are unable to come. People were speaking multiple languages and we were unaware whether it was Kashmiri, Urdu, Arabian, or any other language. There we met a vlogger who approached us and asked if the video quality and sound quality will be good from mobile. So we told him that we are making a video for our vlogging channel and we will edit the video later on. He had a cannon camera with him and he was also youtuber but he was surprised to know that our channel has more than 4000 subscribers against his 500 subscribers and he showed us his script for Red Fort which was closed for some reason. He was from Mushtfabad which is located in Bhajanpura Delhi. Then after taking the video, we were roaming around the premises of Masjid and then we checked the ticket of Minar which was worth 50 Rs and as I have already told you that we didn't have enough money as we have to explore other places also. Then we took some pictures again, drank water, and talked about the beauty of Masjid, discussing the handicrafts and architecture and he told me that every historical place has been renovated. Then we took an exit from Gate no.1 for Haji tea. We were going through the market and asked people about Haji tea and they were not aware of it. After some steps, we got to the shop and sat there for more than 15 minutes as it was taking a long time to prepare the tea, maybe because it has been said that the shop has the best tea in the market and took tea and to our shock, it was not good as it was told to us. It was worth 25 Rs. a cup which lacks the taste and the sugar was not properly mixed. Then we took Rabri to forget the taste of famous tea from the same shop.  

JAMA MASJID GYE AUR MOTOR MARKET HI NHI DEKHI !

After tea, we were looking for our next destination and we found out about this market. Basically, this motor market is nearby the front market of JAMA MASJID. It is known as the Meena Bazaar. The market deals mainly in old parts of motors and if you are planning to open your own hardware shop then it is a perfect call for you as you will get almost every piece of equipment here. We were surprised to see these huge motors as we have not seen any such motors in our life before. The motors were around more than 25 times of our weight. People were chilling in the shop as there was no sign of tension on their faces due to the absence of customers. You will get tons of videos on this market on youtube. Behind this market, there is a chor bazaar where you can get an earphone for 20 Rs, a camera for 5000 Rs., a Bluetooth speaker for 200 Rs. So when I was taking out the video of this market, one of the shop owners asked me to delete the recorded video because it is not good for them as the policemen will be aware of their location after watching this video. Then there were dry fruits and I will suggest you ignore them because they lack good quality.

                                                                

Ever visited the Gauri Shankar Mandir of Chandni Chowk? 

                                          

 After getting the Reminiscence memory from Jama Masjid we took oranges and it tasted quite good but mildly tart flavor. Going through the market where people were selling shirts for 50 Rs., winter coats for 50 Rs.and there were shoes also, perfect white shirts for 100 Rs. People were selling almost everything that they can. There were birds in the cage but we were not able to buy their freedom like Imran Hashmi in Aawaarapan because we didn't have enough money. People were waiting for their buses as they were going back home after visiting Chandni Chowk. We were at Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir but it was closed due to the timings of the temple. Later on, we were standing outside the Gauri Shankar temple and looking for the history of the temple with the help of Google. So the temple was 800 yrs old and was built by a Maratha soldier known as Apa Gangadhar as he was a great devotee of Lord Shiva. Maratha soldier was grievously injured, So he vowed that if he survives then he will make a beautiful temple of Gauri-Shankar. The best time to visit this temple is during Shivratri and Diwali occasions. You will be able to feel the beauty of exotic flower decorations outside the temple. Inside the temple, you will see the beautiful carving on the walls of the temple and statues of Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, Lord Ganesh, and Lord Karthik. You will witness the beauty of silence in the temple and the faith of the devotees while doing Parikarma.

                                                             

There is a 1.7 % population of Sikhs in India and you can see the beauty of this religion through their Gurudwara.

After Gauri Shankar Mandir, our next destination was Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib. You will get goosebumps after listening to the story behind the story of this Gurdwara. So I was looking at the beauty of  Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, Gauri Shankar Mandir, and Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib altogether from a distance. I was sitting with Khazan and we were discussing the history of Gurdwara. There was a man who was making a video of a street hawker and mocking Mukesh Ambani and took a short review from Khazan about Mukesh Ambani for his video. Then we made a video about Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib's history. As per history, The ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded here on the order of Aurangzeb for saving Kashmiri pandits who were refusing to convert to Islam. Before the construction of Gurdwara, there was a Police station and jail. It has been said that the Sikh people have helped the British to defeat the Mughals, so in return, the Britishers have offered this land to the Sikh people for the construction of Gurdwara. The Sikh regiment of India salutes the Sis Ganj Gurdwara after saluting the president of India since 1979. After making the video, we entered the Gurdwara and took a short visit to Gurdwara. Later on, we waited for Langar hall but it was closed because they were cleaning the area. A lady asked for money as he wanted to go back to Haridwar but we didn't have money to offer her. 

                                                          

Bhojpuri movie kahan dekhein Delhi mein?

After visiting Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib we were trying to enter the Bhai Mati Dass museum but due to empty pockets and our low budget, we canceled the plan for next time. While roaming around for our next destination, we found Moti Cinema and which is one of the oldest movie theatres in Delhi. Due to covid, it was closed. I have watched so many Bhojpuri movies here just for fun. A movie takes you to the visit of a city/state/religion/country's culture. While watching the movies, people lost control and asked the hero to kill the villain. There was hooting on the item song and it will give you the best vibes ever and make you feel alive in the theatre. But the worst part is it lacks saaf-safaayi. To watch the movie in this theatre, you have to imagine yourself as a broken human being, because people in the theatre live their daily life, which means they are living for the present and they do not believe in the philosophy of saving for the future, most of the people are Rickshaw drivers. They are drunk, dirty, torn old clothes, homeless, stinks and you will hesitate to sit with them. They can be thieves. But they have a good heart, do not give a shit about the world, don't care what other people will say or talk about. 

                                                               

Shri Shiv Navgrah Mandir, Chandni Chowk Road, Kucha Mahajani, Chandni Chowk, New Delhi, Delhi

There is a saying that the less visited place needs a historical background if it is a symbol for history. As per my opinion, there is less information about this temple on Google. So if you have any kind of information regarding this temple then just comment below, I will update it as soon as possible. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The main Dham of the temple is dedicated to Shani Maharaj Ji. And there is a statue of Surya Dev at the top entrance. Hanuman Mandir and Sankatmochan Hanuman Mandir are also placed with the premises. You can search about the 'Navgrah' history on Google but it is hard to find the history of this temple. So help us to update the details of this temple with the help of other devotees.

                                                          

JUNG BAHADUR KACHORI WALA !

So now it was food time and we went to the Chandni Chowk Parathe wali Gali and we found this famous shop of JUNG BAHADUR KACHORI WALA. There were so many newspaper clips on the wall. The level of sponsorship was amazing like Facebook, Instagram, just dial, Swiggy, Zomato, and whatnot and an air hostess from a different country has visited this place. Whenever you are planning to visit Chandni Chowk, make sure to eat this yummy Kachori and you will say, "Dil Maange More". It was around 6:15 pm and people were still waiting for their number. The shop owner is a quite simple and busy person so you will unable to talk to him amidst the customer's line. There is no show off at all, their Kachori speaks itself, and khana zrur life mein kbhi , agar na muh mein paani aaye sochkar toh apshabd mujhe tum keh dena. Khazan said that it was the best food of the day yet. Umesh and Dharmender were also at the same Kachori shop in the past, I was the one who dragged them to this delicious Kachori Shop. I have not eaten any delicious kachori anywhere in Delhi if you do not believe me then just visit this place. You can enter through parathe wali Gali in Chandni Chowk and just take a left turn. Gurgaon mein interview mein fail hokar mai aksar ye kachori khana aata tha, so the feeling of eating this Kachori amidst the most crowded place of Chandni Chowk is great sukoon. And you will find so many beautiful attires also like lehenga chunni, clothes varieties like Silk, Satin, Crepe

, Cotton, Muslin, and so on.

                                                    

                                           

When you are at the same place after walking for more than 10 minutes.

So after our first Vlog, we were quite tired and rushing towards the metro. And the feeling of going back home after a long day of traveling was a relief. So we entered through the lane of Town Hall for the metro and it was shocking to us that after walking for more than 10 minutes we were at the same place. Then we opened our eyes this time and took a left turn towards the park and to our surprise, the entrance was closed and we have to take another route for the metro. Finally, we were in the long queues of the metro, as we were not sure if there will be an entry in the metro at this late time during the lockdown situation. One more surprise, the metro card declined due to low balance, long queue at recharge point, and I didn't have any other metro card, so recharged the card. There was a crowd at Chandni Chowk metro station as usual. Then we boarded Kashmere Gate metro for Inderlok. At Inderlok metro station, we couldn't get any seats. But there was one seat and Khazan sat on it and slept. So after a long beautiful day, this was a poor night at Nangloi metro. We took an egg roll and then towards home. I was escaped from a minor accident as there was quite a rush on road due to e-rickshaws as usual and we have to cross the road. Finally, we reached Agar Nagar and there was a pain in the legs and they were calling for bed continuously. 

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