Chandni Chowk

All you want to know about Chandni Chowk

Chandni Chowk, Delhi, 1858.

Chandni Chowk (Hindi: चाँदनी चौक, Punjabi: ਚਾਂਦਨੀ ਚੌਂਕ, Urdu: چاندنی چوک) meaning Moonlit Avenue, is one of the oldest and busiest markets in central north Delhi, India.

1 History
2 Overview
3 Popular culture
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

History

Chandni Chowk is the major street in the walled city of old Delhi, which was originally called Shah Jahanabad. The walled city which includes the the Red Fort of Delhi was established in 1650 AD, by the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan and designed by her daughter Jahanara Begum Sahib, who also made significant contribution in the landscaping of his new capital of Shahjahanabad.

Chandni Chowk street runs through the middle of the walled city, running from the Lahori Darwaza of the Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid. Originally a canal ran through the middle of the street as a part of the water supply scheme. It was originally divided into three sections^[1]:

Lahori darwaza to Chowk Kotwali (near Gurdwara Shish Ganj): This section closest to the imperial residance, was called Urdu Bazar, i.e. the encampment market. The language Urdu got its name from this encampment. Ghalib noted the destruction of this market duing the disturbances of the Ghadar and its aftermath.
Chowk Kotwali to 'Chandni Chowk': The term Chandni Chowk originally referred to the square that initially had a reflecting pool. It was replaced by a clock-tower (ghantaghar) that was damaged and was demolished in 1960s^[2]^[3]. This section was originally called jowhri bazar.
'Chandni Chowk' to Fatehpuri Masjid: This was called the Fatehpuri Bazar.

It is said that moonlight reflecting on its canal, earned it its name, 'Chandni Chowk' or the 'Moonlit Avenue' ^[4].

Chandni Chowk was once the grandest of the markets in India^[5].

Chandni Chowk, Delhi, 1863-67.

Even though today Chandni Chowk appears chocked with congestion, it retains its historical character. The following terms are generally used to describle the buildings and the streets^[6].

Haveli: a mansion. A normal Haveli would have a big courtyard surrounded on the four sides by spacious rooms.

Kucha: a zone with houses whose owners shared some common attribute usually their mode of occupation. Hence the names Malliwara, the gardeners neighborhood and Ballimaran, the oarsmen’s neighborhood.

Katra: refers to a separate wing of tradesmen and craftsmen belonging to the same trade. They usually lived and worked together.

Overview

The area lies in the historically important Shahjahanabad, between the Lal Qila (The Red Fort) and Fatehpuri Masjid. On both sides of the wide Chandni Chowk streets are historical residential areas served by narrow lanes (galis).

With the most famous mosque of Delhi Jama Masjid (Delhi) built in 1644 in the vicinity, it is an unusual street that several famous religious shrines belonging to different religions that coexist with a genuine cultural harmony. Starting from the Red fort, the street has

Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, established in 1656 with a bird hospital established in 1929. There is also a Naya Mandir built in 1807 near by in Dharampura, which was the first temple with a shikhar permitted.
Hindu Gauri Shankar Temple built by a Maratha general Appa Gandgadhar in 1761.
Christian Central Baptist Church built in 1814.
Sikh Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib. The 9th Guru Guru Tegh Bahadur and his followers Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Dyala and Bhai Sati Das were executed nearby by the Mughals in 1675 A.D. The permission to build the Gurdwara was given in 1783.
Muslim Sunehri Masjid built in 1721 by Roshan-ud-Daula Zafar Khan in the reign of Mohammad Shah. The Persian invader Nadir Shah had spent several hours on the top of the mosque on 11th March, 1739 to observe the katl-e-am (kill everyone in sight) he had orderd resulting in 30,000 deaths.
Muslim Fatehpuri Masjid built by Fatehpuri Begum in 1650, one of the queens of Shah Jahan.

Chandni Chowk's speciality is the variety of its markets and their Indian-ness. From authentic Indian food, delicacies and sweets of more than 1000 kinds, to sarees with Chikan, zaree work. There are lots of narrow lanes with many shops selling books, clothing, shoes and leather goods, electronic and consumer goods and what not. The area, even more so than the rest of the city, is congested. This is also a good area for window shopping. It is the location of the original Haldiram's. A particular local delicacy are the jalebis, which are fried in pure ghee (clarified butter).

Gali Parathi Wali in chandni chowk is known for its parathas, Dec 2006.

Chandni Chowk is home to several famous restaurants/confectioners (Halwais).

The Ghantewala Halwai, established in 1790.
Natraj’s Dahi Bhalle, established in 1940
Kanwarji Bhagirathmal Dalbijiwallah established in mid-19th century.
Chaatwallah established in 1923
Bikaner Sweet Shop famous for rasmalai
Gianiji ka Falooda famous for Rabri Falooda
Paranthe wali Gali with paratha shops from 1875-1886^[7]
Meghraj and Sons’ a century old
Chainaram established in 1948

Some of the historical mansions include:

Begum Samru's Palace of 1806 (see [2])now called Bhagirath Palace.
Naughara mansions in Kinari Bazaar, 18th century Jain mansions.
Khazanchi haveli
Haveli of Mirza Ghalib

Popular culture

A typically congested scene along Chawri Bazar in the Chandni Chowk area, March 2006.

Chandni Chowk was featured in the 2001 Bollywood film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham where the leading lady Anjali (Kajol) and her sister Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) lived. Though portrayed as a neighborhood populated by a lower-class population, Chandni Chowk is shown to be a rich, cultural hub.

A rhyming Indian tongue twister (which perhaps goes back to 1950's) in the film goes as follows:

चंदू के चाचा ने

चंदू की चाची को

चाँदनी चौक में

चाँदनी रात में

चाँदी के चम्मच से

चटनी चटाई

Transliteration follows,

Chandu ke chacha ne

Chandu ki chachi ko

Chandni Chowk mein

Chandni raat mein

Chaandi ke chamach se

Chatni chatayi

The tongue twister uses the multiple uses of the word Chandni (a girl's name, moonlit, silver) for poetic effect. This poem has अनुप्रास alankar (anupraas alankar) (repetition of similar sound, here ch) and यमक (yamak) अलंकार (alankar) (use of the same word in different places for generating different meanings).

Literal translation:

Chandu's uncle,

To Chandu's aunt,

In Chandni Chowk,

On a moonlit night,

With a silver spoon,

Fed chutney.

One of the main characters, Rohan (Hrithik Roshan) in the movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, is identified when he says the tongue-twister (almost) correctly.

An old song reacall the clocktower (ghantaghar) that once stood in the center, and India's freedom struggle ([3] video search):

घंटाघर की चार घड़ी
चारों में ज़ंजीर पड़ी,
जब भी घंटा बजता था
खड़ा मुसाफिर हंसता था।

झन्डे से आई आवाज़
इंक़लाब ज़िन्दाबाद

It recalls the satyagrah by Swami Shraddhanand in 1930s near the Ghantaghar. Close the site, now his statue marks the event.