A Sunday Visit to Old Delhi Springs Some Unexpected Surprises!

Books by the Kilo

A Sunday visit to Darya Ganj today sprang a few surprises. Gone were the street-side stalls overflowing with piles of books, instead of a street lined with numerous actual shops selling books, there were just a couple of them. I was able to get George Orwell's, Animal Farm from the first shop that had also diversified into stationery items and then decided to explore more options in the narrow alleys down the road. My brother and I finally landed up in a shop that had a huge number of books of all kinds. The best part was that some of the books were being sold at the rate of Rs.200/- per kilo. I was able to buy a further four books from the Dhruv Book Centre at Darya Ganj, including one titled The Tandoor Murder a book authored by Maxwell Pereira. When I talked to the proprietor of the shop, he told me that they were doing good business although the inroads made by e-books on kindles and tablets had definitely affected the sale of actual books. I guess he was trying to put up a brave face! However, I know that where there once used to be roadside stalls, there were empty spaces.

You never know, you might come across a rare book!

This Visit for me came after almost ten years!

Intricately designed facades a throwback to a resplendent past

Where the signs point towards the famed Paranteh wali gali

The famed Paranthe wali gali

Our next destination after Darya Ganj was Chandni Chowk. Another surprise awaited us when we reached it. We could not drive down Chandni Chowk since entry from the Red-fort side had been restricted. However, we were able to enter the place by driving from the Cycle Market side. We could drive unrestricted till the entry point to Nai Sarak and Ballimaran. It was, moreover, a pleasant sight that met us when we reached Chandni Chowk. The bollards, vistas and neatly planned walkways including restrictions on vehicular movement made it less crowded, though I guess we had reached the place early at about ten in the morning so there were fewer people around.

Emperor Firoz Shah's Tomb stands tall

It is said that the foremost Tomb is that of Firoz Shah

The intricate design of the roof of the tomb is simply amazing

The entrance to Emperor Firoz Shah's Tomb

After Chandni Chowk, we had planned to visit the Qutb Minar, the world's largest brick-made tower in the world. On the way, we had also decided to visit Sunder Nagar as we remembered the days in the nineties when we were regular visitors to the  Sunder Nagar Sweet corner. Unfortunately, when we reached the spot, we could only see another sweet shop. Of the erstwhile shop, there was simply no sign. Disappointed we made our way to the Qutb Minar tower but we were scared to see large crowds at the ticket counter. Scared by the prospect of having to stand for hours in long queues we decided to visit the monument another day! Instead, my brother suggested that we should visit Haus Khas. I guess that was a life-saver in a way because it turned out to be a good decision! 

One of the few domed buildings

The Pillars in one of the halls - mathematical accuracy!

The Lake in the Firoz Shah Monument complex

Hauz Khas is, incidentally a place where artisans and artists gather to create some of the most artistic objects, whether it might be designer boutiques, household decorative artefacts, or even some of the most quirky hookahs! It reminds me of the short story, The Last Leaf where the aspiring artists, Sue and Johnsy live. Besides, Haus Khas is a must-visit place for food. The words, 'Hauz Khas' mean Royal Tank. The tank was excavated under the orders of Allaudin Khilji (1296-1316) for the use of the inhabitants of Siri, the second city of Delhi founded by him. Firoz Shah restored the water supply to the tank and built a madrasa around it.

Incidentally, I used a Canon f-2.8, 40 mm STM pancake lens for all the above photographs. I wanted to experiment with the lens since I have not used it for quite some time. While, no doubt, the lens doesn't have a wide enough field of coverage making it difficult to a wider area without having to move back quite a few steps. However, the result is very good, with crisp and sharp results.