Chandni Chowk Kapada Market

Our series on cloth or fabric markets in Delhi continues.... 

I know you will probably laugh when I say this, but that there is a designated Kapada Market in Chandni Chowk which only sells kapada or cloth or apparel. However to a casual shopper or observer Chandni Chowk is one huge kapada market and with an equal number of shops selling mouth watering delicacies.

Chandni Chowk has been a preferred sourcing market for ready made garments. Although the market does sell to the retail customer, the bulk of the business comes from the wholesale buyers. The wholesale buyers range from small shopkeepers from Delhi, those who own across the city to shopkeepers from smaller towns like Panipat, Patiala, Rourkee, Dehradun etc.  It is not uncommon to see shopkeepers from Rohini, Sangam Vihar or Kalkaji make a trip to Chandni Chowk when their respective markets are closed to pick up stock from Chandni Chowk.

The USP or unique selling proposition of the market is the wide availability of traditional Indian garments. Its strong point is the lehenga, salwar kurta, kurtis in a host of fabric. The range covering chiffons, georgettes, cotton, terrycots, woollen to hakoba and summer wear. The sets are available in the entire range of sizes. The buyer has to either buy all sizes in a particular colour or in a particular size a  minimum of 6 to 8 pieces. It is the sheer variety which is mind boggling. Most shops specialise in one or the other garments. So there are those specially dealing in work or zardozi wear, there are those selling only cotton wear. So popular has readymade garments become in Chandni Chowk that it has spilled over from the traditional Cloth Market to other markets as well. Even lanes of Nai Sarak (known for its second hand books and paper) has a number of shops selling garments as also those in Dariba Kalan. The crowded bylanes do brisk business and is choc a block on Saturdays.

Apart from readymade garments, fabric is available in plenty. The number of little shops that appear at each corner or a gully is astounding for the initial visitor.

Then there is the Kinnari Bazaar for as the name suggests Kinnari. It is ideal for shopping for zari, borders, laces and zardozi. The Kinnari earlier were made in pure silver threads with real gold covering. Now it is lurex, copper zaris and the like which rule. There are several shops which still real stuff. It is known for the zari work. Most of the work is made in the bylanes of Chandni Chowk itself. Katra Neel again in Chandni Chowk is known for its muslin, cotton, silk and much more. There is so much diversity that one needs to research and one can truly come up with gems.

Timings – 11 am to 7 pm (Monday to Saturdays). The market is closed on Sundays.

Where  - Chandni Chowk. Enter through the main road. Shish Ganj Gurdwara Road. The Cloth market is situated towards the end. You could query the rickshaw walas or shopkeepers.

Highlights -  The shops are a plenty. Go with your instincts and pick up what you like.

Insider Tip – The market has the latest that is available. There are shops at the back side and in the bylanes. Several shopkeepers have their godowns there. Once you strike a friendship with the shopkeepers and are a regular, the place is easier to navigate. Bargaining is possible to an extent.

Delving into Delhi's bakeries - Dil Kush at Chitli Qabar, sampling the bakeries of Chandni Chowk

 (This article appeared in the Hindu titled 
 Dil Khush at Chitli Qabar - The Hindu Read the unedited version here...)

When one speaks of  bakeries it is places like Goa, Bangalore, Pondicherry… which come to mind. Delhi on the other hand has always been a Mughal bastion with insatiable appetite for Mughalai food followed by evergreen Punjabi cuisine. Bakeries in this Mughal area seem far fetched, till I finally made a trip to Chandni Chowk to sample the goodies. Technically not Chandni Chowk but a tiny area called Chitli Qabar within it. The place is accessible by a turn next to the Golcha cinema on Darya Ganj. A rickshaw is the best bet to get to Chitli Qabar chowk. The path opens out at the other end near Gate Number 1 of Jama Masjid. The market is called Matia Mahal market. Despite the tiny bylanes, jostling crowds there is a certain genteel pace to the place, burkha clad women chip in promptly with suggestions and tips including what to savour, seeking directions is met with an avuncular reply akin to giving directions in a village. There are no count to the bakeries and as one proceeds into the bylanes more bakeries pop up.

The most interesting part of the bakeries is that all of them open early in morning and close around midnight everyday - approximately 7 am in the morning and closing at around 11 pm. The baking operations begin around 5:30 am or 6 am. The market comes alive in the evening around 5 pm onwards. And by closing time, everything baked for the day is sold out. So every item is made fresh daily. During the Holy month of Ramzan, the bakeries are open literally 24 hour a day. There are plenty of bakeries, Diamond, Golden, Asgar, Champion…

One of the most famous of bakeries is Diamond Bakery which has been around for over 100 years, while Asgar Bakery 70 odd years. Rusk Paya is one of the most popular rusk made.. The making of rusk paya is a process in itself taking almost 24 hours on wood fired ovens. It is made of suji or rava and special ingredients. It is interesting to see the workers carefully line the plates of paya with wood briquettes. The paya is first baked, cut and then baked again. So perfect it can safely last a few months. What makes the paya special is that instead of yeast a special masala made of 51 or so ingredient is added. The masala is made everyday, it works like yeast. Baking in the bakeries is done on wood fired ovens, diesel and electric ovens.

The best month to visit is of course during Ramzan when everything that the shops make is on offer. During the other days a lot of these delicacies are not available. Almost all the shops offer rusks or Rusk paya, gol rusk, cake rusk, suji rusk, fruit rusk, Tabarak roti, Sheermaal, Nankathai… Md. Anis explains Tabarak roti and its link with the religious routine from Ajmer adding, it is distributed at the Dargahs just like halwa is distributed during religious fasts. What is made for distribution is a larger sized version of what is available everyday.  The daily Tabarak roti is round almost like the roti or chappatis, 4 inches in diameter. It is made from rava has a very slight sweet taste to it, not really overpowering. It is the addition of saunf or fennel seeds which gives it a unique crisp flavour. It is an ideal accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea, not too sweet but tasty and filling.  Sheermaal, bun like is made everyday. During Ramzan out comes the butter jam sheermaal, there is dry fruits sheermaal, cherry sheermaal, sheermaal parantha.

In biscuits, it is the nankhatai which takes prime place. Both the besan or gram flour and those with flour, suji are also made. An interesting variant is chocolate nankhatai. The nankhatai is topped with a nice crunchy layer of chocolate. No, and the chocolate does not melt even in the hottest season. A lot of these delights are available everyday at Golden Bakery and during Ramzan they simply add more delights. Apart from the usual jeera biscuits, the ajwain biscuits do well. There is macaroons, muffins, Md. Aqil of Golden Bakery says, “our speciality is Dil Kush and Coconut Parantha. Both have their origins in Bangalore and were introduced by us here recently. Every Ramzan we try to offer something new which people like.” So coconut jam paranthas, Dil Khush with dry fruits are delicious variants available only during this season. It is Dil Khush, which is one of the most interesting of products. Made from maida, sugar and ghee, it is stuffed with khoya and cheeries. The outer layer is nice and crisp and when one bites into it, there is a nice delicious khoya flowing into the mouth. It was possibly christened Dil Khush since it makes one feel happy. Coconut parantha is again a huge bun like baked delicacy shaped like a parantha filled with coconut. There is coconut butter biscuits which simply melt in the mouth. During Ramzan, there is milk bread, fruit bread, cakes, dry fruit bread, dry fruit cake, dry fruit parantha…

Aqil says, “we have about 30 – 35 items. All of which are made during the month of Ramzan. Dil Khush and Coconut Paranthas are our special items. No one makes them here. Otherwise the rest are regular fare which every bakery makes.”  Regular or not it is mouth watering and tempting to say the least.  

Do visit and enjoy yourself in the wonderful world of baked products.  

Bullock Carts in Delhi

Unbelievable! Yes, bullock carts ply in Delhi with as much ease as you and I walk in it. Difficult to comprehend well, I too did. My hunt for it started as I had to write on India’s mighty bullock power. There were realms of data in all publications, but when I wanted to get images see it in action, it was Nada - nothing.

The general refrain, farmers prefer tractors and no one really wants to maintain bullocks. Bullocks were definitely seen as going backwards. The official agencies were talking of hi-tech farms run on modern technology and my insisting on information on bullocks was retrograde. When I quoted figures which said that average land holding of farms was small and fragmented, most farmers still used bullock power and as number prove it was high….at last the doors opened.

The first find, is of bullock carts driven for carting goods in my own backyard….yes cosmopolitan, capital of the country, Delhi still uses it to ferry goods, almost surreptitiously, in the wholesale market areas. The bullock carts are drawn by just one bullock given the space constraints on the roads. The markets of Chandni Chowk, the old market place which houses whole sellers of almost all items – from grains, clothes, tyres, chemicals, spices…..the bullock pulled carts run from the Sadar Bazaar (another whole sale market) to Naya Bazar Anaj Mandi (grain market - from where the goods are transported on rickshaws or physically carried). These though are drawn by a single bullock. It is interesting how the animal neatly navigates itself without any problem in a road with plying Cars, Mercs, Autos, Bikes, rickshaws, Horse carriages…

My attempts to photograph were shunned with a request, you will get us in trouble with the authorities. But the fact is that Bullock Carts are used regularly to run the business and cart goods in the entire Old Delhi area and beyond. One can see it towards Rohtak, Nangloi, East Delhi, Kondli….

Location – Sadar Bazaar, Chandni Chowk, Kondli….

How to get there – Take the Metro or an auto from Connaught Place.

Timings – It can be seen on the roads on nearly all days.

Highlight – It is fun the way the drivers race the empty bullock carts to fill it up for the next ferry.  

Insider Tip – If you are looking to transport goods, then this bit may come handy. Go haggle and understand the system of transportation and the price. For tourist value, like I went, just go, enjoy the site. Once upon a time, travelling in a bullock cart driven by a pair of bullocks was a status symbol. Remiscent of the past. It can have tourist potential, but who cares these days. Take a dekko and store it in your memory for prosperity!!!