Old Delhi

Old Delhi Purāni Dillī
Municipality
Red Fort
Old Delhi Old Delhi
Coordinates: 28°39′39″N 77°13′48″E
Country	India
Union Territory	Delhi
District	Central Delhi
Founded by	Shah Jahan

Old Delhi, Yamuna river bank

Old Delhi (Hindustani: Purāni Dillī) is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city and officially named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. The construction of the city was completed in 1648, and it remained the capital of Mughal India until its fall in 1857, when the British Empire took over as paramount power in the Indian subcontinent.

It serves as the symbolic heart of metropolitan Delhi and is known for its bazaars, street food, shopping locations and its Islamic architecture; Jama Masjid being the most notable example, standing tall in the midst of the old city. Only a few havelis are left and maintained.

Upon the 2012 trifurcation of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Old Delhi became administered by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, but in May 2022 the city was re-unified under a new Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

History

Two boys seated whilst embroidering on either side of an embroidery frame, Delhi, 1870

Arrival of an imperial procession of the emperor Farrukh Siyar - at Delhi's "world-revealing" mosque of congregation on a Friday, to hear the sermon (khutba) recited in his name

Jama Masjid built by Shah Jahan, 1656.

Delhi Sultanate era

The site of Shahjahanabad is north of earlier settlements of Delhi. Its southern part overlaps some of the area that was settled by the Tughlaqs in the 14th century when it was the seat of Delhi Sultanate. The sultanates ruled from Delhi between 1206 and 1526, when the last was replaced by the Mughal dynasty. The five dynasties were the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90), the Khalji dynasty (1290–1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1414), the Sayyid dynasty (1414–51), Lodi dynasty (1451–1526) and the Suri dynasty (1540-1556).

Mughal era

Delhi remained an important place for the Mughals, who built palaces and forts. Most importantly, Shah Jahan ordered his famous chief architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori to build the walled city between 1638 and 1649, containing the Lal Qila and the Chandni Chowk. Delhi was one of the original twelve subahs (imperial Mughal provinces), renamed Shahjahanabad in 1648, bordering Awadh, Agra, Ajmer, Multan and Lahore subahs. Daryaganj had the original cantonment of Delhi, after 1803, where a native regiment of Delhi garrison was stationed, which was later shifted to Ridge area. East of Daryaganj was Raj ghat Gate of the walled city, opening at Raj Ghat on Yamuna River. The first wholesale market of Old Delhi opened as the hardware market in Chawri Bazaar in 1840, the next wholesale market was that of dry fruits, spices and herbs at Khari Baoli, opening in 1850. The Phool Mandi (Flower Market) of Daryaganj was established in 1869, and even today, despite serving a small geographical area, it is of great importance due to dense population.

Colonial era

Police in Delhi under Bahadur Shah II, 1842.

The Lahori Gate of Red Fort from Chandni Chowk.

After the fall of the Mughal Empire post 1857 revolt, the British Raj shifted the capital of British controlled territories in India to a less volatile city, Calcutta in Bengal, where it remained until 1911. After the announcement of the change, the British developed Lutyens' Delhi (in modern New Delhi) just south-west of Shahjahanabad. At this point, the older city started being called Old Delhi, as New Delhi became the seat of a national government. It was formally inaugurated as such in 1931.

1876 description

In 1876, Carr Stephen described the city as follows:

Of the two streets described by Bernier, the longer extended from the Lahore Gate of the city to the Lahore Gate of the citadel, and the other from the Delhi Gate of the city to the Lahore Gate of the fort. Both these streets were divided into several sections, each of which was known by a different name. The section between the Lahore Gate of the fort and the entrance of the street called the Dariba, known as the Khání Darwázah, was called the Urdi or the Military Bazaar; owing, very probably, to the circumstance of a portion of the local garrison having been once quartered about the place. Between the Khúní Darwázah and the present Kotwálí, or the Head Police Station of the city, the street has the name of Phúl ká Mandí or the flower market. The houses in front of the Kotwálí were built, at a short distance from the line of the rest of the houses in the street, to form a square. Between the Kotwálí and the gate known as the Taráiah, was the Jowhri or the Jewellers' Bazaar; between the Taráiah and the neighborhood known as Asharfí ká Katrá, was, par excellence, the Chándní Chauk. There was a tank in the center of the Chauk the site of which is now occupied by the Municipal Clock Tower, and beyond this to the Fatehpúrí Masjid was the Fatehpúrí Bazaar. The houses around Chándní Chauk were of the same height, and were ornamented with arched doors and painted verandahs. To the north and south of the square there were two gate-ways, the former leading to the Sarái of Jahánárá Begam, and the latter to one of the most thickly populated quarters of the city. Round the tank the ground was covered with vegetable, fruit and sweetmeat stalls. In the course of time the whole of this long street came to be known as the Chandni Chauk.

This grand street was laid out by Jahánárá Begam, daughter of Sháh Jahán, in the year 1600 A. D., and several ears later she built a garden and sarái on it. From the Lahore Gate of the fort to the end of the Chandni Chauk the street was about 40 yards [37 m] wide and 1,520 yards [1,390 m] long. Through the centre of this street ran the canal of 'Alí Mardán, shaded on both sides by trees. On the eastern end of the Chándni Chauk stands the Lahore Gate of the Fort, and on the opposite end the handsome mosque of Fatehpúrí Begam.

The clock tower no longer exists, although the location is still called Ghantaghar. The sarai of Jahanara Begum has been replaced by the city hall. The kotwal is now adjacent to Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib.

Demographics

After the construction of the city, many people from Rajasthan, Awadh, Haryana, Punjab, Western Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir arrived for job opportunities and better living standards. The population of Old Delhi remains a mix of many different ethnic groups from the Indian subcontinent. While most areas are Muslim-dominated, Hindi–Urdu is the most spoken language.

Walls and gates

"Shahjahanabad or Modern Delhi", in 1911 map

The City of Delhi Before the Siege - The Illustrated London News Jan 16, 1858

Historic map of Delhi (Shahjahanabad), 1863

It is approximately shaped like a quarter cìrcle, with the Red Fort as the focal point. The old city was surrounded by a wall enclosing about 1,500 acres (6.1 km²), with 14 gates:

1. Nigambodh Gate: northeast, leading to historic Nigambodh Ghat on the Yamuna River
2. Kashmiri Gate: north
3. Mori Gate: north
4. Kabuli gate: west
5. Lahori gate: west close to the Sadar Railway station, Railway Colony, including the tomb of Syed Abdul Rehman Jilani Dehlvi.
6. Ajmeri Gate: southwest, leading to Ghaziuddin Khan's Madrassa and Connaught Place, a focal point in New Delhi

   

   A glimpse of Jama Masjid can be seen while passing through Chawri Bazar.

7. Turkman Gate: southwest, close to some pre-Shahjahan remains which got enclosed within the walls, including the tomb of Shah Turkman Bayabani.
8. Delhi Gate: south leading to Feroz Shah Kotla and what was then older habitation of Delhi.

The surrounding walls, 12 feet (3.7 m) wide and 26 feet (7.9 m) tall, originally of mud, were replaced by red stone in 1657. In the Mughal period, the gates were kept locked at night. The walls have now largely disappeared, but most of the gates are still present. The township of old Delhi is still identifiable in a satellite image because of the density of houses.

The Khooni Darwaza, south of Delhi Gate and just outside the walled city, was originally constructed by Sher Shah Suri.

Streets and neighbourhoods

See also: Meaning of Mohalla, Kucha, Katra, Haveli

Map of Delhi and New Delhi after the First World War. The descriptions are in Czech.

The main street, now termed Chandni Chowk, runs from the Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid. Originally a canal ran through the middle of the street.

North of the street, there is the mansion of Begum Samru, now called Bhagirath Palace. South of the street is Dariba Kalan, a dense residential area, beyond which is Jama Masjid. Daryaganj is a section that used to border the river at Rajghat and Zeenat-ul-Masjid.

The Urdu language emerged from the Urdu Bazaar section of Old Delhi. The Din Dunia magazine and various other Urdu publications are the reason for this language staying alive.

Its main arteries are

• Netaji Subhash Marg / Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg leading to India Gate (north and south)
• Chandni Chowk/Khari Bawli Road (east and west)

Old Delhi is approximately bounded by these modern roads:

• Nicholson Road (north)
• Mahatma Gandhi Marg (east)
• Shraddhananda Marg (west)
• Jawaharlal Nehru Marg (south)

In literature

The engraving accompanying Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The City of Delhi, appears to show the Jama Masjid with an elephant on the open ground before it. She associates the city's past glories with tales of enchantment, namely James Ridley's The Tales of the Genii (Sir Charles Mansell).

Historical sites

Lal Mandir

Old Delhi Railway Station built 1903

Many of the historical attractions are in the Chandni Chowk area and the Red Fort. In addition, Old Delhi also has:

• Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, a sikh Gurudwara built to commemorate the martyrdom site of the ninth Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur. It marks the site where the ninth Sikh Guru was beheaded on the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on 11 November 1675 for rebelling against the forceful conversion of people from other religions (Hindus, Sikhs, Jains) to Islam.
• Gaurishankar Temple
• Salimgarh Fort
• Mumtaz Mahal
• Gali Qasim Jan in Ballimaran is the site of Mirza Ghalib's haveli, and that of Hakim Ajmal Khan
• Razia Sultana's‍—‌ tomb near Kalan Masjid
• Jama Masjid, India's largest mosque
• Lal Mandir, Delhi's oldest Jain temple
• Fatehpuri Masjid
• Khari Baoli, Asia's biggest spice market
• Zinat-ul Masjid, Daryaganj built-in 1710 by one of Aurangzeb's daughters
• Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi's cremation site memorial
• St. James Church (near Kashmiri Gate) built-in 1836, Delhi's oldest church, built by Col. James Skinner.

Some of the historical mansions include:

• Begum Samru's Palace of 1806 now called Bhagirath Palace.
• Naughara mansions in Kinari Bazaar, 18th-century Jain mansions.
• Khazanchi haveli
• Haveli Raja Jugal Kishore
• Masterji Kee Haveli, Sita Ram Bazar
• Haveli Sharif Manzil in Ballimaran is famous for its Aristocratic Hakims and their Unani practice, and that of Hakim Ajmal Khan
• Haveli of Mirza Ghalib, Gali Qasim Jan, in Ballimaran
• Chunnamal haveli, Katra Neel
• Haveli of Zeenat Mahal, Lal Kuan Bazar
• Haksar Haveli, Bazar Sitaram, where Jawaharlal Nehru was married in 1916 to Kamla Nehru.
• Haveli Naharwali, Kucha Sadullah Khan, where Pervez Musharraf, former president of Pakistan was born
• Kucha Chelan (Kucha Chehle Ameeran), where the Persian descent inhabited
• Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib. Place where 9th Sikh Guru Guru Tegh Bahadur was executed.

Old Delhi cuisine

Historic Karim's at Old Delhi.

Old Delhi is well known for its cuisine. Old Delhi as the seat of the Mughal Empire for over two centuries has come to the modern hub of Mughlai cuisine. Karim's, a restaurant described as the city's most famous culinary destination, is near the Jama Masjid. The Gali Paranthe Wali and Ghantewala halwai are also situated here. Chawri Bazaar is one of the oldest markets in Delhi, dating back to the 17th century and was before known as a hardware market, but is known nowadays for its wholesale paper products.

Old Delhi is also known for its street food. Chandni Chowk and Chawri Bazaar areas have many street joints that sell spicy chaat (tangy and spicy snacks).

Culinary history

Old Delhi has certain identifiable landmarks of food. These include:

Paranthe Wali Gali

Pandit Gaya Prasad shifted from Agra to Delhi in 1876, in search of a better life. In Delhi, he set up a single shop business selling hot paranthas. The product gained popularity to an extent that he required the aid of his family members for help in the production. Eventually, Paranthe wali Gali, the lane in which the original shop was came to house 16 of them. It is now run by the families of Pandit Gaya Prasad and his relatives. The sixth-generation continues to run four of the sixteen original shops that remain.

Karim's

Having been in the business of catering to Mughal Emperors, the family that runs it was displaced following the Revolt of 1857. In 1911, Haji Karimuddin moved back to Delhi with inspiration to open a Dhaba to cater to people coming to witness the coronation from all across the country. It was in 1913 that he established the Karim Hotel in Gali Kababian, Jama Masjid. Karim's exists here today to cater to the wants of people from all over the country and the world, being a major tourist attraction.

Kallu Nihari

Nihari is a traditional meat stew that is slowly cooked to preserve its taste and the tenderness of its ingredients. Kallu Nihari is a shop in Old Delhi that has served the dish exclusively since it was opened by the late Mohammed Rafiquddin (better known as Kallu Mian) in 1990. The shop, which is well known in the area, has served millions of portions.

Harnarains

Harnarain Gokalchand was a pickle and murabba shop that was originally established in Khari Baoli by the name Harnarain Gopinath in 1857. It is often considered to be one of India's first commercially available pickle brands and was at the time India's largest food preservers. Their pickles and sharbat have been a household delicacy for over a century and a half, and have even served Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Having started from a small shop in Khari Baoli, Old Delhi, it has now become a global brand that goes by the name Harnarains International.

Banta

Characterised by a codd-neck bottle, Banta is a drink that has survived in Old Delhi since 1872. The glass bottle in which this comes has a marble stopper, which is pushed into the bulbous neck of the bottle to unseal it. Engineer Hiram Codd patented the design of the bottle in 1872 in London to effectively seal fizzy drinks.

The Banta bottles even contributed to the Indian National movement. This was so as protestors and rioters would often use these bottles as improvised cannons by adding calcium hydroxide to the mix. Thus, the bottles were banned in many cities across the country at some point before 1947.

Economic structure

Old Delhi has markets running through its streets. The area is vast and multiple products are being sold. Most of them are wholesale sellers and have been selling their products for many years. One such business is Gulab Singh Johrimal which was established in Dariba Kalan in 1816 mainly as an attar (perfume) manufacturing business. Since then they have diversified into compounding, incense and toilet soap manufacture. Their retail outlet in Chandni Chowk was started later on. Another such shop is Harnarains manufacturers of pickles and preserves, located in Khari Baoli. Under operation since 1944, it is one of the older shops currently located in Old Delhi. Some migrants sell products like clothes, fruits etc. The sellers of one product often form an association to serve their interests and negotiate with the local government and other official bodies. The Old Delhi area and its markets are governed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

See also

• History of Delhi
• Timeline of Delhi
• List of tourist attractions in Delhi

Further reading

• Delhi, the emperor's city: rediscovering Chandni Chowk and its environs, by Vijay Goel. Lustre Press, 2003. ISBN 81-7436-240-1.

Footnotes

• H.C. Fanshawe (1998). Delhi, past and present. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 81-206-1318-X.
• Stephen P. Blake (2002). Shahjahanabad: The Sovereign City in Mughal India 1639-1739. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52299-4.

External links

• Old Delhi dictionary and introduction to the names of places
• Street Pictures from Old Delhi
• "Purani Dilli continues to prosper". The Tribune. 4 November 2000.
• The Gastronomy of the Eye, a Photographer on the Streets of Old Delhi
• A painting of Ruins, Old Delhi by Samuel Prout engraved by S Lacey for Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1834, as an illustration to Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Zenana..
• A painting of Ruins, South Side of Old Delhi by Thomas Shotter Boys, engraved by G Hamilton, as an illustration to the conclusion of Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poem The Zenana.