Chawri Bazar
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2006) |
Chawri Bazar | |
|---|---|
  Chawri Bazar Location in Delhi, India | |
| Coordinates:28°39′01″N77°13′46″E/ 28.650402°N 77.229379°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Delhi |
| District | North Delhi |
| Metro | New Delhi |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Hindi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30(IST) |
| PIN | |
| Planningagency | MCD |
Chawri Bazaris a specializedwholesale marketofbrass,copper and paper products.[1]Established in 1840, with a hardware market, it was the first wholesale market ofOld Delhi[2]it lies to the west ofJama Masjidin Delhi. [3]
It can be reached by taking the street just near the middle projection of Jama Masjid's western (rear) wall. It was accessible via theChawri Bazarunderground station of theDelhi Metro.
History
[edit]Once popularly known for its dancing girls andcourtesansin the 19th century, frequented by nobility and rich alike. After the advent of the British as thetawaifculture faded out, subsequently, prostitutes came to occupy the upper floors of the market. This eventually led to the area becoming a hub of criminality and thus theDelhi Municipal Committeeevicted them from the area altogether,[4]the street is named after aMarathiwordchawri,which means meeting place. The street got this name mainly because here a 'sabha' or meeting would take place in front of aMarathanoble's house and he would try settling the disputes before it would reach theemperor.A second reason is probably that a gathering used to get organized when a respected dancer performed and showed the finer nuances of her skill. The whole ambience of the street, however, got changed after the1857 warwhen the British destroyed many huge mansions of theMarathanobles.
Built ofLakhoribricks,a small canon is placed over the gateways of both the buildings. The buildings have semi-octagonal projections on both sides with two small rooms on either side. The rooms have semi-circular arches to enter and it is difficult to visualize its former shape. The main features of the buildings are its niches and arches at the roof-level on the semi-octagonal projections, though difficult to make out.
Today, Chawri Bazaar is a very busy road as labourers with their laden backs, cars, rickshaws, scooters and walkers almost battle for the passage during the peak market hours. Again it is also a wholesale market but you will be allowed to purchase a brass or copper idol of LordVishnu,Buddhaand others. The shops also keep many useful items like jewellery boxes, vases, pots and oil lamps. However, at present Chawri Bazar is more known as the wholesale market of paper products than copper or brass. From beautiful wedding cards to attractive wallpapers to nice greetings to any type of paper required for any use, everything is available here.
Chawri Bazar is a road which hasJama Masjidon one end and Hauz Quazi on the other end. Now, there is a metro station at Hauz Quazi by the name ofChawri Bazar.Nai Sarak, which is famous for Books and Ladies' Garments, joins it at Bad-shah Bulla. Besides Nai Sarak, there is another way through Ballimaran which connects Chawri bazar toChandni Chowk.
References
[edit]- ^"Purani Dilli continues to prosper".The Tribune.4 November 2000.
- ^Ashok Kumar Jain (2009).Urban transport: planning and management.APH Publishing. p. 166.ISBN978-81-313-0441-9.
- ^"Pin Code of Chawri Bazar Delhi".citypincode.in.Retrieved9 March2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^Maheshwar Dayal (1975).Rediscovering Delhi: The story of Shahjahanabad.S. Chand. p. 176.