QAFILA

A walk through Chandni Chowk is a gamble with history. Chandni Chowk metro station forks into two roads, that plunge itselves into narrow alleys that bustle with market life. We walked out of the metro station to the main road that faces Red Fort, to be greeted by Gurudwara Sisganj, built in 1783 to commemorate the martyrdom of Guru Tegh Bahadur. We let ourselves be carried away by the rhythm of the crowd into narrow lanes, that burst with shades of all colours and goods of all sorts from sarees to spices. Winding lanes brought us back and again to the metro station, much to our agony. Built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, Chandni Chowk has been an indispensible part to the growth of Delhi. The market initially had a canal that ran through its centre, reflecting moonlight, thereby giving it its name. Home to centuries of history, Chandni Chowk still houses havelis, fort gates and masjids that stand tall in glory. Towards one end of the market is the Delhi Town Hall, built in 186...

The last time we came to Delhi our driver Sanju Bhaiyya told us that Tughlaqabad Fort was just stones and rubble. We decided not to waste our time staring at inanimate stones and instead use it for more productive purposes like marveling at beauty of more polished and maintained structures.Tughlaqabad was history- unwanted and deserted. No one at the Tughlaqabad metro station seemed to even know of the existence of the fort. When rickshaw walas swarmed us like flies, alarm ed, we gave a second thought to our decision. Powered by our instincts, however we chose to move on. Abandoned and unattended, 7 kilometres into our journey, we saw the ruins of the fort welcoming it's rare visitors. Built by Ghiyaduddin Tughlaq, the founder of the Tughlaq dynasty in 1321 ,the fort which originally covered 7 kilometres is now nothing more than disconnected stone ruins. But even in these ruins, overgrown by dusty trees, lies an enchanting magic. They stand tall amidst the test ...

Nizamuddin Dargah at night is a beauty unparalleled. Though I've been to the place quite a few times and all in the mornings and despised the state of the place at all times, the dargah at night made me fall in love with each of its corners that I despised and each of its people that I felt sorry for.  There is something magical about its air once the sun sets. Adorned in the soft glow of  yellow lights and coloured papers that hang mid air, the dargah and its narrow alleyways are a sight to behold. And then there are those small shops inside its alleys, selling rose petals, colourful 'chadars', athars, rings and tasbis that beam in the glory of the night, adding to the mystique of the place. As a qawwali enthusiast, I've literally grown up listening to qawwalis that sing praise of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (most of which were composed by Amir Khusro, whose tomb lies just opposite the sufi saint's). And the first time I visited the place, I expected t...