Monday, July 18, 2005

Chawri Bazar

Today was one of the best Sundays I've had in years! Nothing out of the ordinary but just got to live the simple life for a few hours. And the fact that my whole family was together also might add to the fun!

It wasnt a lazy morning today. We were all up and ready to go by 10 AM. When last night Dad told me that we'll be going to Chawri Bazar, I wasnt really keen. I've always heard that its a cramped up place, full of small crowded alleys and filled with the dank smell of cooking oil...eugh! I agreed anyways because its not everyday that all 8 of us go out together.

We took the new underground metro from Central Secritariat to Chawri Bazar. I am very impressed with our Metro. Its a great package altogether with state-of-the-art stations and trains. In fact, my brothers found it better than the London metro. Just hope dilli ki janta is careful not to ruin the clean stations with their paan spits!

Anyway the escalators brought us right onto the road at Chawri Bazar. I don't remember coming here at all, though Dad insists that he used to get us when I was about 3 years old. It wasnt at all like I expected. We were right in the middle, surrounded by small kiosks selling God knows what-not! We followed Dad onto a 1-foot broad footpath with people everywhere and no place to stand. We walked into what looked like a small dhaba which was packed with sweaty, hungry people crammed together in groups, gobbling away. We had to wait 10 mins for a table to be free. We finally sat down admist wailing children at one side and roaring sardarjis on the other. I was hungry and could hear my stomach growl. And the heady smell of poori chholey made my mouth water. Finally food arrived in small steel plates and we dug in. It was yum! After a hearty brunch we tried their famous lassi...whew! It was great! On a normal day I wouldnt have let such oily food pass my lips...but today was an exception! Today was special.

Among so many people and my own family I reflected on the good old days when everything was so simple and uncomplicated. I didnt feel icky at all like I was expecting to. Instead I felt happy and strangely relieved. I wish there are more Sundays like that... :)

23 comments:

milo said...

its soo gud to hear dat u had a gr8 sunday with gud food.woow!!choley puri!!!!
n u will enjoy any damn place wen all ur family is out to hav fun wid u:-)

D'yer Mak'er said...

i wish just the same!....nostalgia expects lucidity....n' these frames..i'm quite sure gonna last long in your lanes of memory...but did anythin in that crowded picture remind you of somethin way past...maybe you?

Pilli said...

whew. that's a mast time gal. wish u get more of such times... :)

someone told me roads in hyderabad are red in colour;)$#@$@# may those pan spitters rest in their own sputum.

Mirage said...

@milo: I knw yaar...family and friends can make anything fun!!

@Strangers'Inc: maybe it did. But i was too mesmerised by the present that didnt think about the past too much. :)

@pills: hehe! Yea screw them!

@maverick: lol! I dont need to tire myself out to sleep soundly! I jes need a bed and i'll doze off within 2 minutes!

Anonymous said...

i wanna visit delhi sometime..... :(
don remember much from my last visit aaaaages ago.

Vikas said...

The present days are not as complicated as we make them out to be...

Vivhyd said...

good to hear u had a good time.. heard a lot abt metro trains in Delhi.. saw them in a movie.. is tht really tht good? mm wish I cud c them myself...

manuscrypts said...

back to the past...:)

Sujith said...

"...8 of us..." ??:-)
roaring sardarjis.. lol..

Mahdi said...

it is nice to find some similarities between your bazara and the bazar here in my country.
(next time plz describe the food plz,I got hungry but I had no idea for what kind of food. ;)

nibujohn said...

cool mirage, it is hard to find time for family these days. i am turning green with envy. (joking) glad you had a great time.

Stone said...

No doubt metros are great, but security is inadequate. And police walky-talkies do not work in underground metros.
If such attitude of security staff conitnues then Metro is nothing but a major disaster waiting to happen.

Mirage said...

@hit: sure, i think the best time wud b arnd sep-oct.

@maninthebox: well its definitely more complex than wht it used to b. But hey i'm not complaining!!

@vivhyd: I'm only quoting my bros, bt the Metro is quite an interesting addition to delhi.

@manuscrypts: yea sorta! :)

@jithu: yea 8 of us! Its a huge family...thnx 2 my 2 bhabhis and a brat of a niece!

@ms: sure...I'll describe the 'food' for ur sake next time! :p

@manu: thnx man! hope u get to hv a better time!

@stone: yea man u may be right. but its only just started, may b with time security will improve. We know how slow Indian govt is...I guess we just need a great deal of patience!

Kroopa Shah (Kr00pz) said...

Hey, where is this place?? I mean what trains are these? Never heard of them!!!

VM said...

There's still a lot of the city that I still have not seen ... will you take me along on a tourist trip next time arnd??? :">

Mirage said...

@avik: aww sowiee! I'll tell u next time, promise!

@kroopa: hehe! now u've heard of it!

@bhim: sure no biggie! :)

Arun Gopalan said...

Sweet sunday it was! I love it when i read about Delhi in any blog :).

Vikas said...

Did someone say hyd roads are red with pan spits???

Come on dude!! you and me! outside!! lets settle this right here right now!

PS: If you are tall and big, kindly ignore.

anubhav said...

hey even i love it when somebody talks abt delhi, really miss it,

but i think shahadra is more crowded..ever been there..

P.S: the author of the comment hesitant to confess that he doesnt know where chawri bazar is :)

Mirage said...

@mr.mediocre: Yea? Well I could go on and on abt delhi...bt its rare tht i write somethin good abt it! ;) jk! i love delhi too!

@maninthebox: "Take whtver u want bt plz dont shoot...!!"

@anubhav: oh! hehe its near chandni chowk if u remember. I didnt even know it existed until last sunday! :)

Random said...

thats what i was wondering too...where the hell is chawri bazar? but then again, there were some scenes in monsoon wedding, and i was like..'thats in delhi?'

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Btw me too a delhi blogger n yes chawri bazaar never been there but then know its DAMN congested after all Chandni Chowk mein hai.

[Amod] said...

I M BACK!!! well havent been anywhere but was busy with coll... sundayssssssssssss r so boring...how can u find them interesting?ok this one was good 4 u but generally i like working days atleast u have a schedule and u cant just keep lazing around..