Writing related to urban life.
Capital Communities: Delhi’s Gujaratis aren’t all business. ♦ Gujaratis have a long history in Delhi, going back hundreds of years when Gujarati and Marwari traders stayed in the walled city, in the areas of Chandni Chowk and the Clock Market. With a monopoly on textiles and chemicals in Rang Bazaar, Gujaratis earned a reputation for …
The civilised life in Delhi. ♦ When I came to Delhi for an exchange semester at St Stephens College, I was housed with several other students in a posh apartment complex site built on the site of an old bungalow in Civil Lines. Though I spent only eight months there, I grew to love the …
There’s more to life with… ♦ Campa Cola was always a Delhi drink. Bombaywalas had Thums Up, we had Campa. If you pass by the Campa factory in Connaught Place, it looks like a representation of lndia’s dashed isolationist dreams. The windows are broken, the paint is peeling and the sign says “ama”. But if …
If you only have one night in Delhi… ♦ Delhi has a surprising amount of nightlife, but it can be difficult for a newcomer to dig beneath deserted city streets and Paharganj dens. Expats or upmarket tourists may never get beyond a stuffy hotel bar or an overpriced lounge, and even if you have guests …
Secret Delhi: Coronation Durbar Park ♦ North of Old Delhi, in a now-desolate field, lies an incredible historical junkyard. Coronation Durbar Park — named for the sumptuous durbars of 1877 and 1903, and for playing host to the coronation of King George V as Emperor of India in 1911 — is a dusty slice of …
Secret Delhi: Shalimar Bagh ♦ There is a scuffed-up, chipped and fractured jewel of a garden close to Delhi’s northern limits — Shalimar Bagh. Despite its slightly unkempt appearance, the garden has historical importance. It was here that Aurangzeb was first crowned emperor after deposing his father Shah Jahan in 1658. The garden itself was …
Secret Delhi: Mekkeh Cola ♦ This one goes out to all the anti-globalisation activists. For a refreshing, non-American cola while on your protest marches this summer, try Delhi’s home-grown Mekkeh Cola. Started in 2005, the cola is made by Okhla-based Golden Dew Inc. The fizzy drink is available in cola, lemon, clear lemon, orange and …
Secret Delhi: The Petite Hotel. ♦ If you thought the only place you could find an Italian pensione in Delhi was in the well-worn pages of a copy of A Room with a View, think again. Tucked into a little lane off Flagstaff Road in Civil Lines is the diminutive Petite Hotel, with a pocket …