Discover Delhi XXXV: TJs - The brand from Tihar Jail

I was in Delhi for some work and for the first time I crossed Tihar Jail.But for the boards announcing its presence, I would have never figured out that this is country's most famous jail. I was still sorting out the dichotomy between reality & perception, Tihar Haat - a swanky looking shop saw me in my face. I passed by it on first day but made a mental note to stop over the next day.

Next day I stopped and the shop was just being opened, sweepers were flashing their brooms, managers were arranging the freshly arrived stock of freshly baked bread and cakes. Outside the store was a small nursery with potted plants and grass patches. At the entrance there was a small gallery with lots of paintings hanging all over the walls. I was told that the prisoners of the jail have done these paintings. I was still expecting a small range of handmade products in the shop but I could not have been more wrong. There were jewellery sets on display hand crafted by female population of the place and if you look at the them analytically, you can make out the design sensibilities of the maker and where they come from.

Tihar Jail has its own brand called TJ's, complete with a tag line ‘A Tihar Jail Initiative’. They produce soaps, shampoos, detergent powder, eatables like snacks, cookies, pickles, masalas under this brand. Another sub brand for slightly up-market cosmetics is called Antarkranti – that roughly translates to the ‘the inner revolution’ – the packaging was impressive and tells a story of creating noble citizens through these intiatives. There were garments – branded men’s shirts, carpets, home linen, handbags, hand made paper products, stationary items amongst many things. Tihar Jails website tells that the initiative ISO quality certification – must say it is being run professionally and that shows in the products and the store setup. I am sure the products would be available online soon enough though their website mentions no contact e-mail.

There were books written by the inmates. A 4 volume set of Mahabharata, I was told was written by a Chennai jail inmate. A collection of poignant poems by women prisoners, complete with illustrations called ‘Tinka Tinka Tihar’ makes you think about the fate of these women – some of who may be more a victim of circumstances than their own doings.

A lot of these items meant that there are small manufacturing facilities inside the Jail and I really wanted to visit the premises and see this initiative live. After all Bollywood films have told us that only things that prisoners do is break stones and fight amongst themselves. A trip to Tihar Jail initiative would have broken that perceptive stereotype and may be also provided a first hand look ar the people behind those tall walls who were born pretty much a part of our society and may never get integrated the same way again. I tried my best to convince the officials there to let me go inside, but they gave me a long list of procedures that I need to follow for the same including many approvals and it was not possible to do that in a 3 day visit to the city. I was just thinking if tourism can open a window for interaction between the worlds divided by the big walls. It may be a little ahead of the time idea, but is definitely worth exploring.

On a separate note, I bought an eggless cake from there and it was absolutely fresh and delicious.

Flowers

As the Indian winter draws to an end, the right season to be in Delhi, some of the best flower shows one can visit are held at Garden of Five Senses that I wrote about revisiting again, and all over NCR region. Lalbaugh at Bangalore is another must visit flower exhibition destination.

The sheer variety of colorful fresh flowers, plants and the designs created by the imaginative gardeners is something that blissfully draws nature admirers year after year. 

Sharing a few of the flower images one can admire for those who are missing these flower exhibitions this time.

Dear Winter, come back soon.

Welcome summer, be kind, time to look for Indian Summer Drinks

Discover Delhi XXXIV: Visiting the Parliament

Budget season is when everyone in the country is looking at the parliament, anxious about its impact. The plans may have to change, some things may get added to the shopping list while others may get dropped. While looking at visuals of the parliament house in media, I got reminded of my visit to Rajya sabha last year and I realized I have not written about it. This is not a tourist destination, but let me tell you it is in no way less fascinating than any other tourist destination in the city.

You may not know that as a citizen of India you can visit the parliament and see the proceedings of the house from the public gallery. Children below the age of ten are not allowed, but anyone above that age can visit. The process to visit is documented here on the Rajya Sabha website. Google devta did not help in locating a similar document for Lok Sabha but I think the process may not be different. You need to know a member of parliament or an official of the Rajya Sabha to be able to visit the house. They will apply for a visitor’s pass for you on your behalf, using which you will be given access to the house. There are many galleries on the first floor of the house, above the hall where the members sit. Apart from public gallery meant for general public there are five other galleries.  Press Gallery is obviously meant for media personnel. Distinguished visitor’s gallery meant for legislative members, spouses of the parliament members and other distinguished public figures. Lok Sabha member’s gallery is for the members of the lower house to witness the proceedings of upper house. Special box is meant for governors of the states, guests of the president and visiting heads of states. Official gallery is for the government officials who need to participate in the house discussions. As an ordinary citizen you get to sit in the public gallery, which has seating capacity of 160, and usually a pass is issued only for one hour that is specified on the pass.

Though you can see all the proceedings live on TV through almost static cameras, and keep yourself appraised of what our elected members are doing, but being there in the same space as them is an experience in itself. The most fascinating part for me was the formal protocol followed by the members. They all address the chair of the house, which in case of Rajya Sabha is vice-president of India, and they speak to each other through him or her. It is almost a school classroom kind of environment where students seated on their uniform red benches are not allowed to speak to each other and they must communicate through the teacher. Another fascinating feature is the headphones where you can switch the language in which you want to hear the proceedings. There are live interpreters sitting somewhere, I could not make out where, and they interpret the spoken word almost instantaneously for you to hear. This is important, as most members tend to speak in their chose language that may not be understood by others. Just my choosing the right number, you can hear the content in your chosen language. I also liked walking around the pillared corridor that we all recognize so well. The place is grand with its broad corridor running around the building with verses written in few places.  Large image of Mahatama Gandhi in the lawns is sure to catch your attention and it makes you wonder if things would have been different if he was present in blood and flesh instead of stone.

I must tell you about the security gates that you have to cross to reach the public gallery. You are not allowed to carry anything with you – no mobiles, no cameras, no pen and paper. Nothing except may be a wallet with only cash in it. There are counters available where you can leave your stuff but it is better to leave it in your car or at home. Just take yourself. You will be screened at various places, on every floor by a security officer. You will be instructed that you must sit straight, you cannot cross your legs or put them one upon the other, or put them on the chair and restrict your movements to the minimum. In case you happen to do any of these unconsciously, be sure someone will come and tell you to behave yourself. You are obviously expected to maintain silence and listen to the noise your selected members are making downstairs.

During my visit it was the Question hour that was going on and after few questions the opposition staged a walk out. We got to see many political leaders and a couple of business leaders and film stars. As a token of our visit we were given a Rajya Sabha greeting card. As I walked out of the building, it was like a first hand learning of something that we have known since the days of our first social science lesson in school.

Discover Delhi XXXIII: Mehrauli Archeological Park

When you say Old Delhi, image of Shahajahanabad pops up and you want to head there for its Paranthas and other delicacies. But hold on, that is not the oldest living area of Delhi, it is only 400 or so years old. Mehrauli has been a living area for more than a millennium. And this longevity means that it has been witness to all the known history of Delhi, and sure you find imprints of all times in this small living village of Delhi. You can see the imprints of Jain city Yoginipura, of Tomars, Chauhans, Khiljis, Slave kings, Lodis, Mughals and British. To create the imprint of post independence India ASI carved out Mehrauli Archeological Park as a tourist hot spot. Though not sure of many tourists visit it, in spite of being so close to Qutub Minar Complex, but it is definitely a place that I recommend to all history enthusiasts and nature lovers. 

This park was a living village till sometime back, and villagers were moved out and some conservation work done on the some of the ancient monuments here. Traditionally this place is known as Jamali Kamali, after the sufi saint whose mosque is located here. Unfortunately there are no guides here to explain you the structures and give you the stories, unless you are going with some walking tour groups. Still move around and you would see nature and history interspersed with each other. There are tombs of Balban and Khan Shahid and when you look at the ruins of these, look at the early stage Indo-Islamic architecture. The arches are basic and gateways still have the beam and lintel, as the knowledge of making arches was not there with native workers. See the stone used and how it has managed to survive all these years. 

Little ahead is Rajon ki Bauli, a step well that was meant for the masons working on these sites, it usually sounds like a step well belonging to the kings. A little ahead of this in the Mehrauli village is Gandhak ki Bauli. These step wells were the native method of preserving water in an area, which does not have a direct water source like a river, though a canal used to pass through this area and there is a spring in Mehrauli village even now. The water levels have gone down a lot now so all these step wells are dry. If you wonder what are these long pillars corridors and rooms around the stepwell, well these step wells were social spaces as well or shared resources. So people used to meet here, sit in the cool air around water on hot days and rooms I assume would have taken care of any guests like traders who would be visiting the area. This is a beautiful Bauli and if you are tired after walking around in the park, you can sit here and relax.

Quili Qutib Shah’s tomb that was converted into a retreat by Metcalfe is a typical tomb from outside. Inside it was converted to act as the dining hall and there were lot of small structures added to make it living quarters. The most talked about structure Metcalfe’s canopy or folly here is a small canopy on top of a hillock that was added just to create the old world for the place is not an original structure from the park. This canopy though is a good vantage point to view the wonders of this park.

Early 16th century Jamali Kamali mosque is the best-known monument of this park, it has the mosque of Saint Fazalullah or Jalal Khan. I read an interesting story about his conversion from a Jalali i.e. an angry saint to a Jamali i.e. a loving saint. It is said that at this Kamal or magic happened at this place and hence the place came to be known as Jamali Kamali. Another story says that another saint names Kamal was responsible for converting Fazalullah, hence the name. Whatever may be the story but visit the tomb of the saint inside the mosque compound to see Delhi’s best-preserved tile work. The colorful work will hold you for sometime as you hardly expect the color in those surroundings. See the influence of Rajputana as Jharokhas on outer walls. 

Apart from this there are trees and lawns with no visible signs of modern day. You can do long walks here and if lucky you can see some birds too, specially the peacocks. Do visit this gem in your own city. 

Discover Delhi XXXII: Ode to Delhi Metro’s Women Only Coach

As I move to a new city from Gurgaon, I pause to think what am I going to miss the most from the city and I realize that Delhi Metro is what I am going to miss the most and especially it’s ‘Women Only’ coach. Delhi Metro gave me a hassle free connection to Delhi that allowed me to explore various facets of Delhi.

The women’s coach in Delhi Metro was special for many reasons. This was after a long time or may be the only time when I was in a completely women’s space (apart from wash rooms I guess). The first few times I enetered the coach, I smiled looking at the sheer no of colors that the coach had. While standing on a journey, I figured out that no two women had the same hairstyle, each one of them were unique in the way they managed their hair. There were women from all strata of society: there were ghooghat clad women travelling between their father and father-in-law’s house, there were working women from the corporate world and the government sector, there were daily wage workers, there were students since my yellow line connected directly to the north campus. There were women carrying infants in their arms, some carrying laptops almost like their kids, some carrying the huge shiopping bags from famous markets like Chandni Chowk and students carrying their bags with books. Another set of variety came in the footwear: from bathromm sleepers to pencil heels, from bland slipons to fancy colorful matching the dress chappals, from flat to high heeled, from bare minimum to a style statement. How could I miss the the bags women carried, whose style  of course depended on the purpose for which the bag is being carried. On an average each woman carried 2.5 bags at least and this does not include the small pouches used to carry mobile phones, ipods and wallets. There was this whole spectrum in that small space of dressing styles ranging from absolutely conservative to ultra modern. All this put together gave you enough to look at while you travel peacefully in more or less predictable way. And for someone like me it was a lesson in the current fashion trends.

Women being women would often strike a conversation with each other. They would talk about the everyday things in their lives and about the latest news of their interest. The younger lot would be constantly on their mobiles and most of them carried 2 mobiles and an iPod. I often wondered at their dexterity to handle multiple devices at the same time; talking on one mobile, texting on the other and listening to music at the same time while exchanging glances with friends around and almost talking through gestures.

If there were kids around, they would take all the attention and suddenly everyone would be either playing with them or at least feel relaxed in their playful presence. I guess by now they have settled down, but initially the lady guards took their job too seriously and would me mad at young girls trying to sneak in their boyfriends by feigning a sprained foot or something like that. It was also the place for best word of mouth publicity and you could get reviews of just about anything. I remember a young author telling me that she wears a T-shirt with her book cover on it and travels in the Metro to promote the book.

I would have loved to click pictures inside the metro but as it is not permitted I had to stick to the signs depicting the women only coach. And yes, I am missing those friendly pink signs that gave me comfort, security, speed, predictability and freedom at the same time…

Discover Delhi XXXI: Old Delhi Walk XXI: Ferozabad aka Feroze Shah Kotla

Early 14th century seems to be have been an era of fort construction in Delhi, as it saw the building of three major forts in the city. First being Tughlaqabad, which was quickly followed by Adilabad and then came the Feroze Shah Kotla, which was the only fort from where the king ruled. It was the century of Tughlaq rule in Delhi. After Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq and his son Mohammed Bin Tughlaq came his nephew Feroze Shah Tughlaq.

It is said that Feroze shifted the fort and palace to the banks of Yamuna to tackle the persistent water problem. His city extended from the current day northern ridge to the Hauz Khas on one side and Purana Qila on the other side. Besides the ruined fort there are other imprints of Feroze scattered around the city like his hunting lodge Khuske-shikar on the ridge, Ashoka pillar outside Hindu Rao hospital and his tomb at Hauz Khas. Ferozabad was the first capital on the banks of Yamuna that would later become a norm as Purana Qila, Salimgarh, Shergarh and Lal Qila are built along the Yamuna. About 1.5 Lakh people inhabited the city of Ferozabad, which it seems was a big number in those days though today a small colony may have a similar number. This city was built from the material from the forts of Lal Kot and Siri, which was again pulled out from here for the construction of later forts. So what you see now in the fort is just the ruins with open bare stones.

The most important part of the ruins of Feroze Shah Kotla is the Ashoka Pillar, which was brought here from Topara near present day Ambala. There is an interesting story of how the pillar was wrapped in cotton and then transported through the river route. A grand three storeyed pyrimadical structure was built to mount the prized pillar. Ironically, today an industrial chimney many times in height of the Ashoka pillar and very similar in shape makes the original pillar look dwarfed. When you climb up the dilapidated structure, almost taking a risk, you wonder what is it about these pillars that they have been a subject of intrigue for so many centuries. They were erected by a king who wanted to spread his chosen dharma, but what was it that Feroze Shah Tughlaq saw in them that he wanted to have them in his fort. Was it just the fancy of a ruling king or was there a superstition associated with the pillar? It must not have been for the height of pillar as Delhi already had it Qutab Minar, and must not have been for the inscriptions as they are not even in a language known to the king. The pillar’s top is broken as of now, but it is said that when it was installed here, it was crowed with a capital of precious stones and a globe with a crescent on top of it, probably indicating the goals of the Sultan. Though the whole structure is enclosed in an iron grill, a small opening in the grill allows you to enter the structure. Now we do not know is officially you are allowed to go inside or not, but the ASI in charge led us to the opening, so we assume you can enter it. Though the structure’s glory is hard to imagine, but it seems a fait amount of effort was put to construct a beautiful structure on which would be mounted this pillar, indicating again the importance that the pillar had. There are many inscriptions on the pillars, most of them are in Pali language and Brahmi script but the last 4 lines are in Devnagari script and dates to 1220 Samvat which would mean about mid 12th century. From wherever you stand in the fort, you can see this pillar.

Another interesting feature in the fort is the round Baoli or step well. Unfortunately, the structure is closed from all sides and you can just get glimpses of it from some the openings in the walls. When you climb on top of the pyramid structure to close to Ashoka pillar, that is when you get a top view of this baoli which does look elegant with lust green lawns around it and an old tree standing by its side like a security guard. 

Jami masjid or mosque on side of the Ashoka pillar is still a practicing mosque. You have to climb a flight of stairs, which seem to be recent construction, and then pass through a gate with a dome to enter the mosque. The arches around the corridors have been marked green and most of the structure is nothing but an open space. In the centre of courtyard is what looks like an erstwhile tank, which is now filled to make a smooth ground. Most of the other parts are not visible now, but it was supposed to be a beautiful mosque as the literature tells us that invader Timur was so impressed by this mosque that he got a similar one built in Samarkand. 

The part that is marked palace ruins is hard to decipher. You can see some rooms on the side and some corridors with open arches. One interesting feature in this palace part is protruding rooms with pyramid roofs, which are quite spacious for rooms of security guards. There are gateways with recessed arches, and you may wonder what they divide the space into. Very few walls are left with a thick plaster that would have covered the stones below. You can see the modern inscriptions of visitors who wanted to leave their names on the structures. Only in one place I could see the red color in an arch with white outline amidst the monotone grey color of the rest of the complex. You cannot see any parapets on top of the wall, which going by the period of construction would have been there, but you do see arrow holes in the walls. 

We noticed the multiple signs of a strange kind of worship being done on various walls and gates of the fort. These walls were dead black from smoke and soot of the incense and oil lamp burning and then there were marks in various bright colors. There were nails in the walls, which seem to be a part of the worship. We were told that some Baba Syed is worshipped here, but no one could tell us more about it. Interestingly, even the Ashoka pillar seems to be worshipped regularly. There were lots of cats, a few dogs and vultures flying over the structure, as there were feeding bowls all over the place to feed the animals and birds. 

This fort today is known more for the cricket stadium that bears its name, at least its name is not lost like that of Lal kot whom no one seems to remember, not even Archeological Survey of India. Located in the heart of the city, the fort is easily accessible, but not many seem to visit it. To me the strong bastions at the entrance were quite inviting. About 150 years of city’s history are buried in the ruins of Ferozabad, so go there sometime to meet that part of your history.

Discover Delhi XXX: Old Delhi Walk XX: Tughlaq Forts

The two Tughlaq forts stand opposite each other, divided by a road and almost no time, built by father son duo, none of whom lived in these forts as far as we know. Each fort can be best viewed from the parapets of the other fort as if they were keeping an eye on each other. In between them lie the graves of both father and son along with the women who bound them together. Not much is known or said about these forts, but what makes these forts interesting is the stories that have lived in the memory of the people. These forts are contemporary to the most popular saint of Delhi, Hazrat Nizammudin.

Tughlaqabad fort can be called the fasted constructed fort, constructed in about 2 years and that too in a mode where different commanders of the Sultan built various parts of the fort and the joints to these parts were the city gates. The founder of Tughlaq dynasty Ghiyassudin Tughlaq built this third city of Delhi, after Lal Kot and Siri, in early 14^th century. Spread over more than 6 kms, it has two walls – an outer and an inner wall, many step wells and a palace area. As you climb the fort now, all you can see is total ruins, showing the broken bare walls, walkways, bastions, courtyards, rooms and multiple layers of the various structures. There are certain parts that carry a distinct Mughal era stamp on them but the walls are definitely prior to that. Some ends of the fort are still inhabited by people, but most of the fort lies barren. You may find a few young couples here and there otherwise it can be scary to be alone there.

I could see a very deep square step well inside. There were probably rooms below the thick outer wall and you could walk on the top of these rooms and have a look outside the fort. There are parapets here and there on the walls while most of them are gone. There are bastions that probably belong to an inner wall which are not solid but have some structures built in them. The stairs take you to various levels of the fort. From the back wall of the fort, you can see the landmarks of south Delhi like Lotus temple and tall buildings of Okhla and Nehru place. On one side a narrow passage below the surface level with spacious rooms on both sides would intrigue you. You can walk past the passage to reach a part of the front wall and would wonder what these rooms could be. It could have been a jail, but the rooms look too big for that. It could have been living quarters for the summer season when you need to keep yourself cool. From different points in the fort, the picture of the fort looks entirely different. From the front wall parapet you can get a bird’s eye view of the tomb and the Adilabad fort across the road.

Legend is that when Ghiyassudin Tughlaq wanted to build this fort, he asked all the labor in the city to come and work on the building of the fort. At the same time Sufi saint Nizammudin was building a Baoli (step well) in a village a few miles away, which was ironically called Ghiyaspur then and would be later known as Nizammudin. The Sulan being a Sultan, forced the labor to work at the fort, but the labor was more inclined to work for the saint, so they would work during the day at fort and at night for the Baoli. This was also eventually stopped by the Sultan and this is when the saint got angry and said that the fort will either not be inhabited or only Gujjars (the local tribals) will live here. Incidentally, it looks like the saint’s words did come true and the fort was not inhabited by the sultan and his men and till sometime back Gujjars were living inside the fort. Another legend says that when Tughlaq was serving the earlier Sultan of the Khilji clan, once he had proposed to build a fort here and the Sultan sarcastically told him that when you become the Sultan of Delhi, you build a fort, little realizing that his words would come true.

A narrow causeway connects the Tughlaqabad fort to its builder’s tomb across the road. The tomb is simple and elegant with fort like walls. Well maintained with manicured gardens around the building, the building in red with white dome and slanting walls stands tall. There is not much ornamentation on the walls, or inside the white marble dome or on the graves or the mihrab. The two male graves belong to the Ghiyassidun Tughlaq and his son Mohammed Bin Tughlaq and the female grave belongs to the former’s wife and latter’s mother. On one corner of the compound lie the graves of another couple Zafar and his wife, who was a commander of Tughlaq’s and his grave probably, preceded the now more famous ones. There are corridors along with arched openings along the boundary wall that has long narrow openings giving view of both the forts. It seems there are cubicles for the convicts below the ground as at places there are steep staircases going down and there are holes from where the guide told us the food was thrown down for the prisoners. There is a small grave in the corridor that is supposed to be of the pet dog of the sultan.

Walk or drive across the vast ground to reach the base of Adilabad fort, a little known fort of Delhi. Climb the flight of stairs and then climb a steep slope to reach the gate of the fort built with beam and lintel. The fort is being restored at the moment and we could see the ongoing work at the front bastion. The fort as it stands now is much smaller than the Tughlaqabad fort. It is said that the plan of this fort was very similar to that of Tughlaqabad fort and the two forts were connected through a causeway, though I could not locate this causeway. A map there shows the layout plan of the fort. From the main gate you get a panoramic view of the other fort. The lawns have been recently laid and so have been the small plants. Looks like ASI or Delhi Govt have some plans for the fort.

This walk requires good 2-3 hours and involves climbing two forts. Like one of my historian friend told, this is a site that belongs to a single culture and is not multi-cultural like say Mehrauli or Purana Qila. This is a lesser-known and not so frequently visited part of Delhi. Explore it when you get time.

Discover Delhi XXIX: Re-visiting Garden of Five Senses

I had visited Garden of Five Senses exactly two years back, and yesterday I went there primarily to click the beautiful flowers on display. Nothing seems ti have changed in two years and the format of the flower festival was also more or less the same. Sharing some of the pictures.

One of the Basket contest winners

The snake charmers with a Guinness Record

Pick your favorite Color

These pink flowers stood tall around the garden

Riot of Colors

Experimental Variety - Playing with Colors

Waiting to open 

Cultural Program by Hindi Academy

A nice place for once in a year visit at a time when weather is just perfect in Delhi.

Discover Delhi XXVIII: Food Walk by Sid Khullar of Chef at Large

I being a vegetarian would never be able to do justice to Delhi's food on this blog, so I invited Sid Khullar, to do a guest post on Delhi's food. Sid is the primary contributor to and editor of Chef at Large. A self confessed food addict who likes cooking, writing and photography... and travel, if it gets him closer to a good book and interesting food. He's spent 17 years in varying functions of technology including research & development, training, sales, marketing and mentoring technology startups. He now applies himself to learning more about food and building food and beverage brands online for Chef at Large clients. 

Foodwalk: /fud:wak/ An out of home excursion comprising one or more people, the focus of which is the copious consumption of interesting food and drink. 

I was introduced quite recently to the concept of a foodwalk, perhaps just a few years ago, when my interest in food led to numerous street side excursions the prime purpose of which were to hunt down good fare. Joining the bustling food scene in Delhi, I found quite a number of people were already engaged in an activity called ‘Foodwalks’; quite similar to our own fond ventures. Obviously, most of us foodies weren’t quite satisfied with the fare we had easy access to and weren’t afraid to venture out of our comfort zones in search of a better platter. It had to happen; the hunt for better comfort food was inevitable. How many times have we found ourselves unable to eat a roadside aloo-tikki or gol gappa, finding them utterly unworthy of their names? Many times, I’ll guess. A few days ago, we found a street vendor selling the ubiquitous aloo-chat and two bites later, we continued on our way, leaving our snack unfinished. It just was so badly made, finishing it was out of the question. Considering the calories one such meal contains, every bite must satisfy. Foodwalks, I guess were started for similar reasons; one person compulsively finds joints and shares them with others during walks expressly meant for that purpose. 

Our most frequented Foodwalk destination is Old Delhi, as is probably the case with most others. We usually visit the predominantly non-vegetarian Jama Masjid though the largely vegetarian Chawri Bazaar and Chandni Chowk areas are also quite popular. A typical day will see us taking the Metro and meeting opposite Jama Masjid Gate #1. We start with Dilshad’s boti and seekh kebabs, both of which are spicy, juicy and quite delicious. Accompanied by roomali roti, green chutney, lemon and onions, we try not to overdo it here and barely succeed. Popping into Yaseen’s next, located on the right barely a few seconds after entering Matia Mahal opposite Jama Masjid Gate #1, sees us feast on portions of Nihari, extremely tender meat bathed in a thick, meaty and spicy broth. Our next stop is Aslam’s Butter chicken, a few minutes further, to the left. Aslam’s speciality is grilled fish and chicken, tossed in spices and large quantities of butter and cream, served with roomali rotis. A health freak’s nightmare, chicken doesn’t get tastier than this. A ten minute walk, with numerous twists and turns through tiny galis brings us to Biryani Point in Haveli Azam Khan, a tiny, literally hole in the wall that sells one thousand kilos of Biryani a day. There’s no seating, so standing, we sample one of the best biryanis in town keeping just a little space for dessert, for which we make our way back towards where we started and stop at Cool Point on the left, which offers some pretty good Shahi Tukra and flavoured milk. Note, all of these places offer Buffalo meat only. 

While most foodwalks I know tend to centre on street food, at Chef at Large, we do tend to take things a bit further. For example, home based period food cooking is a tedious labour of love where we pick a region and a period, then cook using the technology, techniques, recipes and food stuffs available to people in that region and period. Though there’s no walking involved, period cooking is very high on labour and research and ends up amazingly satisfying and informative for hard core foodies. We usually pick Indian or British territories for period cooking foodwalks. 

Then there’s the lure of foreign food. Delhi is rapidly becoming a city where tastes of most kinds can be indulged in without travelling very far or forking out a great deal of money. These are the easiest kind, where there’s little or no physical effort involved, apart from the tedium of perusing and ordering from a menu. Far eastern food is a hot favourite these days, and some of our favourite destinations are Fu in Greater Kailash for Chinese and Chinese influenced food, including fare from Malaysia and Indonesia, Tamura Hauz Khas for Japanese, and Gung in Green Park and Gurgaon for some excellent Korean food in Korean surroundings. 

Apart from the obvious culinary impact, foodwalks are a great way to meet likeminded people. I know of quite a few good friendships that have developed within groups of people who didn’t know one another from Adam, the common thread being a love of good food. Foodwalks have greatly enriched my knowledge of Delhi as a city, exposed me to different types of food and brought me into touch with some very nice people, so much so, that I eagerly look forward to every foodwalk. 

Do you know of any interesting places? If so, join us on Facebook and share it with a growing and dynamic community of hard core foodies. 

Thanks Sid for this lovely introduction to Delhi's Food.

Discover Delhi XXVII: Old Delhi Walk XIX: In and around Purana Qila

Purana Qila in the heart of Delhi is a unique monument. Standing on the banks of Yamuna, it contains within it the mythology and the stories of medieval era and an excavation that is giving us insights into our past. Today, it has also become the favorite place for events and performances with the scattered monuments providing the romantic backdrop, vast size providing the required space for large gatherings and central location providing the much-needed convenience.

The beginnings of Purana Qila lie in the mythology or the most ancient history known, as you would like to believe. This was the legendry city called Indraprasth founded by Pandavas in pre-historic times. This is where the famous assembly hall of Mahabharata created by Maya was, though there is no archeological evidence that supports this today. The only oral evidence is the fact that till recent past there was a village by the same name that used to inhabit this area. 

The better-known part of the history of this fort is its construction by mughal emperor Humayun as a citadel for the city founded by him Din-a-panah in 1538 CE. It was soon captured by Sher Shah Suri of Sur dynasty and was renamed Shergarh. He also added some buildings to the fort during his short reign of 5 years from here. After Sher Shah this fort remained neglected for some years before being re-captured by Humayun, who died within a year of capturing it. Last Hindu King Hemu ruled for about a month from this fort. If you look at the pattern, no one actually ruled very long from this mighty fort. Anyone who captured this was killed very soon. This complex also served as a refugee camp for people displaced during the partition of the nation. Interestingly the British designed New Delhi is aligned along Purana Qila.

There are 3 gates to this fort and a huge moat surrounds it, which is now used for boating. The Bara Darwaza, facing west and flanked by two huge bastions is the main entrance for the fort. The southern gate facing Humayun’s tomb is called by the same name Humayun Darwaza. The third gate facing North is interestingly called Talaqi Darwaza and is closed permanently owing to a story. Story says that a king went out from this gate and this gate was to be opened only when he returned victorious, since he did not return this gate remains closed to this date. No one knows who the king was, but the only king who it could have been is Sher Shah. All these gateways are an example of Indo-Islamic architecture, adorned with beautiful Rajputana style Chhatri's that are decorated with blue inlayed tiles. 

Qila-e-Kohna mosque and Sher mandal are two monuments that are well preserved within the Puran Qila complex. Qila-e-Kohna mosque designed as a Jami or Friday mosque is a beautiful example of Indo-Islamic architecture style. Built by Sher Shah Suri, this mosque with one dome and 5 gateways has extensive ornamentation especially on its mihrabs. Walls have geometrical designs in red, black and white marble done skillfully through inlay work. The inside of the dome has a nice play of bright blue and yellow color through glazed tiles. The pointed arches are horseshoe shaped. The corner pillars at the back of the mosque if looked in isolation would give a feeling of a Rajputana building in red sandstone with well defined Chhajjas and beam and lintel arches. A staircase from within the hall leads to the upper storey that was meant for the females of the royal family. There is an interesting water body in the courtyard outside the mosque, which would have been used for Wuzu purpose when the mosque was practicing.

Shermandal is an independently standing double storeyed octagonal structure in red sandstone with a Chhatri on its top. This structure was built as a pleasure resort by Sher Shah to enjoy the weather and a good view. It is said that it was intended to be higher than this and was planned as an observatory, but could not be completed because of Sher Shah’s death. Later when Humayun took over, he converted it into library and one fine January morning he died on the stairs of this building as he tried rushing to the call of prayer from the mosque. 

All the above is more or less commonly known about Purana Qila. The not so well known things are the ASI museum, which traces the history of Delhi through the articles discovered through various excavations in different parts of Delhi region including the Purana Qila. Here you can see the ornate doorways of ancient Jain temples from Mehrauli area, along with potteries of various eras discovered from the different layers of Yanuna riverbed. Then there are two small but interesting excavated sites within the complex. One is a step well, which has many storeys and is in an elongated rectangular form, with arches on one side. The steps seem to have been recently restored. The other is a Hamam or a bathing place, which seems like a complex structure and has various places where water can flow from one place to another. I tried but could not make out the exact functioning of this Hamam. 

Another interesting thing to see is Kunti Devi temple, right in the middle of the complex. It is a small temple dedicated to Shiva. It is said that this is a temple from the time of Pandavas and probably belonged to their mother Kunti as it is still known by her name. It is a small temple with nothing much to note about except its historical reference. There are two Bhairon temples just outside the Qila complex, adjoining its back wall. Both these temples are said to be have been setup by Pandavas when they had made their capital here. In fact one of the temples has an idol of Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers who is said to have carried Bhairon on his shoulders to this place, before building the temple. Interestingly alcohol is the preferred prasad or offering for this deity. All the beggars gather around to receive the prasad for obvious reasons and government has a tough time controlling the crowd here, especially on Sundays. 

You can walk around the Qila along it thick and seemingly impregnable walls. The walls also served as the quarters for the soldiers and guards and today these are home to ASI offices and ASI museum. Most walls are in dilapidated state and those that are standing erect, have been restored by ASI not so long ago. The same is true for the two unused gateways. If possible, try and walk on the walls of the Qila to get a view from the top and from here Delhi does seem a beautiful city. 

Bang opposite Purana Qila, across the Mathura road is Khair-ul-Manzil mosque. The name literally means the best or most auspicious of the houses. The name is also a chronogram that means the letters when written in Persian refer to the year of its construction. Built in 1561 CE, this mosque belonged to Maham anga, the wet nurse of Akbar and Adham Khan’s mother. It is a relatively plain mosque when compared to Qila-i-Kohna mosque but has an impressive gateway and is fairly large in size. The glazed tile ornamentation on arches has more or less worn out. It also houses a madarsa or a school.

Just ahead of Khair-ul-Manzil mosque is the Sher Darwaza more often known as Lal Darwaza, built by Sher Shah Suri. This is an impressive gateway in red sandstone, quartzite and marble with remains of a massive wall behind it. There are ruined shops on both sides of the pathway leading to the gateway. This was one of the gates to Delhi Sher Shahi. Its northern gate is near Feroze Shah Kotla known as Khuni Darwaza. 

To complete this walk you can also visit the Zoo that is in the area that was inherently a part of Purana Qila and take a boat ride in the small lake outside Qila Walls. On a good weather day you can enjoy the extensive gardens of Purana Qila. 

There is something for everyone in this walk.