Shopping in Delhi, Dilli Haat and Sarojini Nagar Market

Dilli Haat:

After my recent post on Rann Utsav, the cultural extravaganza showcasing Kutch handicraft and culture, here is a post on Dilli Haat, a place in Delhi to experience the culture from across India. Though I visited Delhi quite before my visit to Kutch.

Dilli Haat is a permanent open air market set up in rural style offering craft, food and cultural activities from across India. Dilli Haat was our last stop in HOHO Bus and our HOHO bus ticket got free entry to Dilli Haat. The hot sunny day had tired all three of us and we headed straight to the food court. Had chilling lassi at Amul counter and dosa at the Tamil Nadu tourism food stall and then took the tour of the market. Dilli Haat, reminded me of Dubai Global Village, which has stalls from across the world.

Set up in March 1994, DC handicrafts allows craftsmen to have their stall in the market on rotational basis for maximum 15days at nominal price. The stalls include wooden work, pottery, leather footwear and home decors, pashmina shawls, fashion accessories and many more. There was also a stall by one of the ladies from Hyderabad, who sold handmade dolls mostly used during South Indian weddings. Looking at the dolls I could make out those dolls were from south India and spoke to the lady, only to be told she was from Hyderabad and was settled in Delhi from last few decades.

The market is a treat to the eyes, with lot of colourful stuff. Its a one stop place to experience the handicraft, food and culture from around the country.

 

 

Sarojini Nagar Market:

Very close to Dilli Haat is Sarojini Nagar market. SN market is similar to Fashion street and Linking road of Mumbai, a road side bargain market. We took an auto-rickshaw from Dilli Haat to SN market. This market is more into ladies fashion, you really find some quirky tops, footwear and fashion accessories here. Though the permanent shops have fixed prizes, you can bargain with the street vendors. Its said, its the export surplus and rejected export clothing which comes to this market, which makes even reputed branded clothings to be sold out at throwaway prices. Babu market is the lane in SN market, where you can find lined up sweet shops, and yes my eye always goes on the Agra Pethas.

After shopping here we headed back to INA to take our metro to Chandni Chowk. We stayed quite close to Chandni Chowk metro station and even kiddo had become familiar with the route. While returning back we had street food at Chandni Chowk, that was the only time we got to have food here, as the first day being holi, the market was closed and we had our brunch at McDonald's and then after either we were out for city tour or had to rush to McDonald's which was just next to the place we stayed.

Same night we left for Jaipur from Fatehpuri bus station in Chandni Chowk, which is the starting point of most of the buses playing between Delhi and Jaipur.

Travel Info:

Dilli Haat is at INA. Nearest metro station INA, which is just at the entrance of Dilli Haat.

Entry Fee: Rs. 20/- for Adult and Rs. 10 for children
Open all days

Timings: 11 AM to 9PM

Nearest metro station to Sarojini Market is INA.

SN market is an open market, closed on Mondays.

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The Qutub Complex - A Photo Essay

Qutub Minar is one such heritage site, which non of the travelers visiting Delhi give a miss. I still remember my grandma, narrating her tour to Qutub. More than the minar, the remains of Jain temples in the complex was what she used to remember from her tour. My grandparents had traveled most of central and western India(especially Jain Pilgrimages), and which is related to me starting this blog, yes that of course needs a separate blog post to narrate my grandparent's travel dairy. Meanwhile getting back to Qutub Minar, we reached here after the visit to Lotus Temple. We took our entry ticket in the HOHO Bus itself, thats one of the best things, if you opt to explore Delhi in HOHO Bus. Though the ticket counter was not that crowded, we were told there are very long queues during weekends. 

Though the tower is visible right from the entrance, you walk through other monuments in the complex to reach it. As you walk through the main gate, there is information center, where you get the audio guide. After a walk through the garden, you reach the Qutub Minar through the Alai Darwaza, the main gateway from southern side of Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque.

Decorated in redstone and white marble, with inscriptions, Alai Darwaza is said to be the first building in India with Islamic architecture in construction and ornamentation.

Of the remnants of seven capital cities of Delhi(check the seven capitals here), the construction of Qutub Minar was started during the second capital, Mehrauli. It is said to be started in 1192 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak to celebrate the victory of Mohammed Ghori over the last Hindu kingdom in Delhi, which was then added upon by Iltutmish and Firoz Shah Tughlaq(the last two storeys) to get its present structure by 1388.

This 73 m-high tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony and tapers from a 15 m diameter at the base to just 2.5 m at the top. The first three storeys are made of red sandstone, the fourth and fifth storeys are of marble and sandstone, marking a variation in construction material and architectural style from Aibak to Tughlaq. The tower along with the other surrounding monuments are listed as UNESCO World Heritage site.

It is said that, the structure was constructed by demolishing many Hindu and Jain temples. Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque in the complex still preserves many structures, which proves the same.

 

While there are many monuments in the complex, the iron pillar is one which gains significance just after the minar. The pillar is said to be originally erected by Chandragupta II in front of Vishnu Temple complex in Udayagiri around 402AD, which was later shifted here by Aangpal in 10th century. This 7.21 meters pillar weighing six tonnes, is said to be corrosion resistant which makes the pillar world's foremost metallurgical curiosities.

There is a belief that a person's wish comes true if he is able to join his hands around the pillar with his back to the pillar. The pillar is shot in many Bollywood movies, the one I remember is the movie Cheeni Kum, when Mr. Amitabh Bacchan is here to wish his loved one's well being.

 

There are many tombs and a Madarsa in the complex, including the tomb of Itutmish, who added to the construction of the minar and Alauddin Khilji, the second Sultan of Delhi.

Alai Minar is yet another structure you can't miss as you are on the way back from the complex. This is a abondoned minar, which was started by Alauddin Khilji and said to be started to be built double the height of Qutub Minar. Its construction was abondoned just after the completion of 24.5meter height. We can just image, how tall the structure would have stood, if it was completed, a minor double the height of present Qutub.

The complex is just not about Qutub Minar, but reflects a series of architectural flow from Jain temples to Islamic architecture, through the Aibak and Tughlaq rule, till the British era. The complex has lot to see and explore, which definitely needs half a day to explore in ease. 

Travel Info:

Qutub Complex is in Mehrauli, Delhi. Nearest metro station is Qutub Minar station.

Entry fee:

Indian visitors: Rs. 10/-

Foreign visitors: Rs. 250/-

Open all days, sunrise to sunset

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Lotus Temple, Delhi

"This is the most beautiful structures of all the lotus shaped buildings in the world"

This is what our guide told us, while introducing us to Baha'i faith and Baha'i temple, well known as Lotus temple, at Delhi.

The front view, from the garden

With few of my cousins practicing yoga and meditation, I knew a pyramidal structure always spreads positive energy. The pointed top attracted the energy. Hence, a person sitting inside a pyramid is supposed to feel relaxed and meditating at such a place would be easier. And Lotus is considered to be one of the sacred flowers, the flower, which retains its purity, by staying untouched to the impure water, where it grows, which teaches us to stay disconnected from the outer world.

Temple, with its reflection on one of the nine ponds surrounding the temple

We were dropped by our HOHO bus, at the main entrance of the Baha'i Temple, which is almost half a kilometer walk to the temple. You go through security check in, where perishables and food items are strictly discarded. After walking half way through lush green garden, there is cabin to deposit your footwear and head to the main temple.

The structure is composed of 27 free standing marble clad "petals" arranged in clusters of three to form nine sides. The nine doors of the temple open onto a central hall, capable of holding up to, 2500 people. Its said to be made of white marble from Penteli mountain in Greece, the same from which other Baha'i houses of Worships are built. There are nine ponds surrounding the temple.

The pathway, with lush green garden on both sides

Tourists are allowed inside the temple in batches, after a brief introduction to Baha'i faith and the architecture. There are benches inside to sit and meditate. There is no restricted time to sit in the meditation center, as long as you don't disturb others. As soon as I entered, I could feel that positive vib. Sat for few minutes, only to be disturbed by my daughter, who wanted to go out, not able to sit quite.

Travel Info:

Lotus Temple is near Kalkaji Temple, east of Nehru place, Delhi

Entry free

Open Tuesday to Sunday(closed on Mondays)

Timings: 

Summer: 9AM to 7PM

Winter: 9AM to 5:30PM

Nearest metro station is Kalkaji Mandir

You can visit their website http://www.bahaihouseofworship.in to understand Baha'i Faith and other Baha'i houses of worship across the world.

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Delhi Tourism HOHO Sightseeing Service

As mentioned in my previous posts, our second day tour in Delhi was booked with Delhi Tourism HOHO sightseeing bus. They have two, full day routes which cover most of the sightseeing places of Delhi, you can either go for one day tour or cover both routes in two days. They also have Delhi Tour by evening, but only during weekends, I would definitely want to go for this during my next trip to Delhi. You can make an online booking at their official HOHO website. Tickets can even be bought on-board.

As soon as you board the bus, you will be given the route map and time schedule of that route. You can plan, which places you want to visit and alight accordingly. You can also purchase entry tickets to the monuments on-board, that way you save your time at the ticket counters, at every monument. Its an AC bus with on-board guide, they brief you about the upcoming sight in both Hindi and English. 

The guide

The best feature of this bus is, unlike the regular sightseeing bus, there is no time constraint. Their buses pass every destination, once an hour, you can catch any of their buses. They have specified bus stops at every destination. You also have flexibility of visiting places of your interest. Like we didn't want to visit markets and shopping malls, and spent more time at heritage sites. 

HOHO Bus stop at Qutab Minar

They have 24/7 customer support to guide you, we might have called them at every destination, to confirm we had not missed our bus, lol.

Two routes, Red route and Green route

Rates:

Rs. 300/- per ticket for one day, single route.
Rs. 500/- per ticket for two days, combined route.
Rs. 300/- per ticket for evening tour, though their site says both Saturday and Sunday, its presently running only on Saturdays.
First bus starts at 8:30 am and last at 4:30/4:45 for each route(if you board last bus, all sights will be drive through).
They don't operate on Mondays, as most of the monuments in Delhi are closed on Monday.

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Skywatch Friday - Sabz Burj

Heritage reflects in every structure of Delhi. Sabz Burj(Green Tower) at Mathura Road is yet another structure, reflecting history and heritage. Its a roundabout at the junction of Mathura Road and Lodhi road. Its locally referred to as Neeli Chattri (Blue umbrella).

 

Waiting for our HOHO bus at the entrance of Humayan's Tomb, clicked this pic of Sabz Burj.
You can find details about this structure here.

 

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Skywatch Friday - Gurdwara Dam Dama Sahib

This white structure attracted my sight from the terrace of Humayun's tomb. The grey sky, green palms and the red sandstone railing, enhanced its beauty. Only after browsing on Google, I got to know it is Gurdwara Dam Dama Sahib, and its historical importance.

This place dates back to 1707 and commemorates the meeting place of Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh and Bahadur Shah, then Prince Muazzum. Prince, who wanted to possess the throne of his father Aurangzeb after his death by defeating his brother, met Guru Gobind here, seeking his help and planning strategy for battle.
Though I couldn't visit the Gurdwara, am sure its one of those beautiful worship places..

 

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Humayun's Tomb, Delhi

After Red Fort, we had to catch our HOHO bus. The Green route of HOHO service would start with India Gate, followed by NGMA. India Gate been visited the previous day and skipping NGMA, we reached Humayun's tomb, then after to start our day tour with HOHO. 

I had heard a lot of the two main railway stations of Delhi, New Delhi and Nizamuddin and always thought Nizamuddin station was somewhere at a distance from Delhi city. Only to my surprise, when my rickshaw wala told me, Humayun's tomb was in Nizamuddin, quite near Nizamuddin station, which was just few minutes drive from Chandni Chowk. 

With the main entrance to the west gate closed, we were asked to take the other entrance on the Bharat Scouts and Guides Marg. A few minutes walk left us to ticket counter.

Humayun's tomb

Humayun's tomb, is the tomb of Mughal Emperor Humayun, built by his first wife Bega Begum in 1569-70.

You enter the complex through Bu Halima's Garden. To the right is the Tomb and mosque of Isa Khan, thinking of visiting while returning back from the main tomb, we headed further. To the left is Bu Halima's tomb, though there is no much records on Bu Halima.

Bu Halima's Tomb

Next is the Bu Halima Gateway, which was under renovation, and said to be built in 16th century.

Bu Halima Gateway

Ahead is West Gate, which is presently the main entrance to the tomb. The gateway is 16mtr high with rooms on either side of the passage on the ground floor and courtyards on upper floor. The rooms on the ground floor have Archaeological counter with miniatures and photographs of the complex.

West Gate

A photograph of ariel view of the tomb at Archaeological counter

From the West Gate you enter the main complex and get to see the main tomb of Humayun. On either side of the path way is the lush green garden, called Char Bagh(four gardens) built in Persian style.
The tomb is said to be the first garden tomb in Indian subcontinent and first structure to use red stone at such a scale. Its said that it was Babur, Humayun's father who started the tradition of being buried in Paradise Gardens, which created a precedent for mughal architecture of royal mausolea, which reached its Zenith with Taj Mahal in Agra.

Humayun's tomb

The building was first to use its unique combination of red sandstone, white marble and several elements of Indian Architecture, like small canopies, or chhatris surrounding the central dome, popular in Rajasthani architecture.

Humayun's tomb

This main tomb also has the graves of Bega Begum, the lady who built the tomb, Hamida Begum and Dara Shikoh(son of Shahjahan), and other Mughal emperors.

West Gate with Char Bagh garden on either side, as seen from the tomb

There are many other tombs in the complex, Nai-ka-Gumbad(Barber's tomb) which is said to belong to one of the royal barbers, Afsharwala Tomb - of a nobleman in Akbar's court, Nila Gumbad - of Miyan Fahim, a servant. Arab ki Sarai is another small complex, said to be the restroom for the craftsmen who came from Arab for the construction of the complex. Sarai, which means restroom and so called Arab ki Sarai, restroom for Arab craftsmen.

Arab Ki Sarai Gateway

Of the other tomb's in the complex, Isa Khan's Tomb is one, which is said have been built even before the construction of the main Humayun's Tomb. Isa Khan was a Afghan nobel in Sher Shah Suri's court. It is a beautiful octagonal structure built in an octagonal garden with a mosque on one side, entire family of Isa Khan was buried in this complex.

Isa Khan's Tomb

Travel Info:

Humayun's Tomb is on Mathura Road. Nearest Metro station is JLN Stadium.

Entry fee:

Indian tourists: Rs. 10

Foreign tourists: Rs. 250

Open all days from sunrise to sunset.

 

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Red Fort / Lal Qila, Delhi

After our first day's tour of Connaught place, India Gate, Firoz Shah Kotla Fort, we had booked a day tour with Delhi Tourism HOHO bus service for the second day. With Red Fort not listed under our route with HOHO, we thought of visiting Red Fort before catching our HOHO bus. Red Fort was the first place we witnessed when we entered Delhi, staying just opposite to it, at Lal Mandir, we got its glimpse every time we left out for the city tour.

The red fort in old Delhi was the fortified palace of Shahjahanabad, capital of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1648. Constructed along the river Yamuna, the fort was commissioned when Shah Jahan decided to shift his capital from Agra to Delhi. The fort gets its name from its massive red sand stone walls, reflecting magnificent Mughal rule, its architecture is a fusion of Timurid, Persian and Hindu traditions.

And its known for the Independence Day celebration, when the Prime Minister of the country hoists the Indian flag and addresses the nation from the Lahore Gate of the fort.

Naubat Khana, clicked from Diwan-i-Aam

After buying the tickets(a collective ticket for the main entrance and museums inside the fort), you enter the fort through Lahore Gate, the gate which faces Lahore, the city now in Pakistan. As you enter the Lahore Gate, is the roofed street called Chatta Bazaar, lined up with shops selling souvenirs. The two storeyed buildings are said to have catered luxury trade of silk, velvet, brocades, gold and silverware, jewelry and gems during Shah Jahan's rule.

Diwan-i-Aam

The exit of the Chatta Bazaar leads you to the open space. Next is the Naubat Khana, a gate which takes you to the Diwan-i-Aam. Naubat Khana also houses the Indian War Memorial Museum. The museum has galleries pertaining to military history of India during first and second world war.

Diwan-i-Aam, a hall for the public audience during the rule, has the marble throne with intricate work. The walls and pillars too reflect great architectural beauty.

The marble throne at Diwan-i-Aam

Carvings on outer wall of Diwan-i-Aam

 There are a row of pavilions towards the back of Diwan-i-Aam. The pavilions are said to be connected by a canal known as Nahi-i-Behisht(Stream of Paradise).

Diwan-i-Khas

The row of pavilions include, Mumtaz Mahal(which houses Red Fort Archaeological Museum), Rang Mahal(Palace of colours) for emperor's wives and mistresses, Khas Mahal(emperor's apartment), Diwan-i-Khas(hall of private audience), Moti Masjid(Pearl Mosque), Hammam(the imperial baths). All the pavilions have great marble work inlaid with precious stones. 

The Archaeological Museum exhibits the articles belonging to Akbar and his successors and Bahadur Shah Zafar. Exhibits include miniature paintings, manuscripts, porcelain and jade objects, textile, furniture and other belongings of royal rulers.

Diwan-i-Khas

Diwan-i-Khas

Further ahead is the Hayat Bakhsh Bagh, meaning "Life Bestowing Garden" had beautiful gardens, which were destoryed during British rule. The garden presently has a reservoir with channels, with red stone Zafar Mahal at the center and two white pavilions Savon and Bhadon at the end.

Window at Khas Mahal

 Rang Mahal

Beyond the Hayat Bakhsh Bagh, the road leads to Salimgarh Fort through arched bridge.

Travel Info:

Red Fort is at Netaji Subhash Marg. Nearest Metro station is Chandi Chowk.

Entry fee:

Indian tourists: Rs. 10

Foreign tourists: Rs. 250

Fort is closed on Mondays and open from sunrise to sunset rest of the days.

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