Old Delhi Walking Tour – Chandni Chowk

It is always wonderful to visit and explore new places, for me Old Delhi was enigmatic as I had heard a lot about it from my parents and friends about the market- parathe wali gali and the most important, Red Fort as well, but I had never got a chance to visit.

One day before Diwali I planned to visit Old Delhi with one of my best friends. As we came out from the metro station of old Delhi, we saw the narrow patched road with unbelievable crowd, it dawned on us how different old Delhi is from New Delhi.

I observed that the place was crowded with people from all walks of life. There was a lot of hustle & bustle- street sellers such as a fruit seller selling the seasonal fruits and attracting buyers in their own style. We also sampled the fruits. Garment sellers trying to persuade the people to purchase their wares.

As far as my eyes could reach there were all kinds of people- rich people with branded cases, old people with bicycles and scooters that we hardly get to see in New Delhi.

As Old Delhi is famous for a lot of things such as Red Fort, Chandni Chowk, Gurudwara, Parathas, and Jalebi etc. We went to the famous parathe wali gali and we had parathas which were delicious.

Then we walked towards the Red Fort which is one of the remarkable historical places of India, preserved since ages. Millions of people from all over the world come here to visit it and to know about its history. It is decorated with lights on the occasion of Diwali. There are many shops selling handicraft goods. We also went to the museum where we saw the goods related to the soldier used earlier such as old guns, fuses, soldiers’ dresses, armours, shoes and bullets. Diwan-e-aam gave the royal symbol and reminded the architects of the Mughal period.

The beauty of the place lies in experiencing and feeling it, and I must say old Delhi is a must-visit place. We had an amazing experience discovering it.

And yes please have a jalebi on the century old sweet shop on the corner of Chandni Chowk and Dariba Kalan road!

Blog Writer: Prateek Singh, MBA (SOH)