Supping on Street Food at Chandni Chowk Market in Delhi, India
Mashed up against the meditative calm of the Red Fort in central north Delhi, the historic Chandni Chowk market is all about sensory overload; sweating rickshaw operators weave through the market's packed thoroughfares, while a sidestep into every little alley reveals a new deep-fried snack treat. Over 1000 kinds of chaat and sweets are to be had, in addition to every sort of good or service imaginable -- from silverwork and appliance repair to high-end tailoring. It's crowded, but a handful of ghee-fried jalebis (and a penchant for people-watching) will get you through it marvelously.
I set out from my modern New Delhi hotel to see India’s historic Red Fort. As the pedal-powered rickshaw I hired wove through throngs of people, mopeds, cows grazing in trash, and dogs, I was astonished by the sights along the way. At every stop, people gently tugged my clothing, looking into me, their palms pleadingly opened. The sun was low, light fading. The images were stunning. Reluctant to pull out my camera, I snapped a rapid-fire stream of mental pictures: children along the street-side sleeping in filth, old wooden pushcart piled with flour bags slowly rolling forward, women in black flowing fabrics sharing cluttered roadways with others in saris of breathtakingly beautiful intensity of color, and a stooped long-bearded elder wrapped in white cloth, legs swaddled in a diaper. I had intended to see a bit of old India’s glory, but was confronted with today’s staggering deprivation.
A cool summer breeze blows across your sweat coated forehead as you walk on the old roads packed with people. Buildings, chock-filled with stores, hearken you back to the 70's. Stop to look at stores filled with colorful embroidered silks and cotton, spices, vegetables and even electronics. It's shoppers' paradise as people bargain noisily in Hindi. As you walk through the burgeoning crowds, a variety of smells knock on your nose- sugary cardamom flavored fragrance of the sizzling jalibi, spicy flavors of the kebabs and pakodas mingle with the aroma of rich teas and smells of fruits being sold by roadside vendors nearby. As it gets darker, the roads are lit up and still crowded. Buses, three-wheeled autorickshaws and scooters fill the night roads. In the near distance looms the magnificent historic Red Fort. It glows with pride. You're in Chandni Chowk, Delhi, a place where history retains its flavors.
Weddings are a big deal in India, even bigger than achieving the whole nirvana thing. Head to the heart of Old Delhi’s hustle-bustle where the Mughal descendants and the Hindu merchants work together in perfect cacophony to produce the most bejeweled and mesmerizing confection of wedding saris and lehengas anywhere. Customers get instant attention with chais and cokes appearing as soon as they walk in. The show starts with the helper boy draping the cheaper silks and satins around his thin body, which evokes a collective groan from the women who want to see the good stuff. As the afternoon wears on with the shopkeeper’s strategic ordering of more food, the quality of the clothes painstakingly improves. Soon, everyone realizes that there is no time left to go to any other shops. The elaborate marketing technique has worked, and everyone buys gorgeous fabrics to be made into a Bollywood-inspired, scintillating outfit.
Mashed up against the meditative calm of the Red Fort in central north Delhi, the historic Chandni Chowk market is all about sensory overload; sweating rickshaw operators weave through the market's packed thoroughfares, while a sidestep into every little alley reveals a new deep-fried snack treat. Over 1000 kinds of chaat and sweets are to be had, in addition to every sort of good or service imaginable -- from silverwork and appliance repair to high-end tailoring. It's crowded, but a handful of ghee-fried jalebis (and a penchant for people-watching) will get you through it marvelously.
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