Dating back to the foundation city of Shahjahanabad during the time when Shah Jahan the great Mughal emperor was establishing Red Fort on the banks of river Yamuna next to his new found capital is how old Chandni Chowk history remains.
Princess Jahanara, Shahjahans favorite daughter was responsible for establishing the moonlit square called Chandni Chowk. Thebazar or market was designed in the form of a square shape. Its elegance was increased by adding a pool in the center of the complex.
The pool shimmered under the moonlight and it was this feature that led to the place earning the name –Chandni Chowk.The original shape of the shops was designed as half-moon shapes however today those patterns seem to be lost and faded. The market was known for its silver market during Shahjahans time. It is believed that because of the silver merchants and silver sales the area received its name Chandni meaning silver.
ChandniChowk has served the needs of many and over the years its fame has not diminished wee bit. It might have definitely lost its glory and splendor due to the urbanization and modern complexes and malls but Chandni chowk still manages to attract its patrons from around the world.
Dominated by several religious places in the vicinity Chandni Chowk is not just an ideal hub for shopping but it also attracts several devotees and worshippers who come to worship and make a stopover at the chowk for shopping or eating.
Religious places around the Chandni Chowk are:
- Sri Digambar Jain lal mandir
- Gauri Shankar temple
- Christian central Baptist church
- Sikh Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib
- Muslim Sunehri masjid
- Muslim fatehpuri masjid
- Of the list of havelis that bring back history of the place are
- Begum Samru’s palace
- Khazanchi haveli
- Chunnamal haveli
- Zeenat mahal
- Haveli Naharwali where Parvez Musharraf, former president of Pakistan was born
Chandni chowk is known for its beautiful shops with beautiful hoardings of all things beautiful. From wholesale shops to retail stores, clothes to book stores so on and so forth all your requirements are easily met at Chandni Chowk despite the fancy malls that have cropped up across the capital.
- The cloth market offers you different kinds of clothing’s and furnishings that all your cloth requirements can be easily met here
- Nai Sarak is known for its wholesale market of stationary and decorative materials. You can also buy fancy saris, bridal clothes and lehengas etc.
- Lal kuan is the wholesale market for hardware as well as hotel kitchen equipment’s
- Dariba is where you can buy gold and silver jewelry.
The Chowk is also known for restaurants and eateries. Some of the eateries are old and ancient and continue to run successfully. Paranthewaligali with its paratha shops has successfully run since 1875, Ghantewala halwai and Natraj’s dahi bhalle are some of the oldest eateries that continue to lure food connoisseurs.
