'Delhi's streets were not alleys but an artist's canvas,' the eminent poet Mir Taqi Mir noted more than 150 years ago.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf savours the sights and cuisine of the national capital.
Who goes on holiday to Delhi?
This was what my family asked when I proposed that we travel to the national capital for a year-end vacation.
"You will appreciate Delhi only after you visit it. The monuments of Delhi are like a painting," I told them, and quoted Mir Taqi Mir on Delhi:
Koochey nahin dilli ke
Auraaq-e-musawwir hain
Jo shakl nazar aayi
Tasveer nazar aayi.
(Delhi's streets were not alleys but an artist's canvas.
Every sight that appeared was a masterpiece painting that appeared.)
***
Arrival at Delhi's T2 airport terminal was smooth but what followed was bizarre.
I called the driver who was to pick us up to find out how far he was from the terminal.
"Two minutes."
Two minutes turned into 20 and no sign of the driver.
I called the driver and asked him to send his location so I could find out where he really was.
When he sent me the location I saw he was only a minute away.
He told me there was total traffic chaos at the place he had to take a U-turn, which is routine for Delhi, and that no government authority takes this issue seriously.
***
Delhi Ka Thug was a Kishore Kumar movie made in 1958.
The title resonates even today when you visit Chandni Chowk, or Delhi-6.
The driver told us that all our wallets and mobile phones must be kept in the front pocket or we would soon be running to the police station to complain about theft.
I took his instructions seriously and we didn't run into Delhi Ka Thug during our five day stay.
***
Delhi-6 is a paradise for foodies and non-vegetarians.
Oldtimers relish the Karim's and Al-Jawahar restaurants located opposite the historic Jama Masjid.
The nalli-nihari and the tandoori rotis served at Karim's is a must try if you are in the capital for pleasure as I was this time or for work as I was in the late 1990s when I was a reporter based out of Delhi.
But what surprised me is the rush we saw at Aslam Chicken restaurant, located 20 metres from Karim's.
Fifty people -- yes, 50! -- were waiting ahead of us to get a taste of Aslam butter chicken.
After waiting for 20 minutes we got a table to sit, which we shared with another family.
Nobody seems to mind the wait because they know the food -- most of which were Aslam butter chicken with tandoori rotis -- were delivered to your table in a jiffy.
Weight watchers, please stay away -- the chicken is bathed in butter and oil.
Overall, the food was tasty but didn't match the standards of Karim's.
But then Aslam Chicken is in demand and hence the rush.
On my way out, I asked if they had any branches in Mumbai.
Aslam Chicken has opened a branch in the Mira area in Thane district.
***
Chandni Chowk is supposed to be a shoppers paradise and on Sunday there is a huge market where you get everything that you want.
T-shirts, jackets, shoes, belts, phones, name it and you have it at the Chandni Chowk market.
It looked like the entire population of the National Capital Region had descended on Chandni Chowk to shop, and the Delhi traffic police had left crowd management to God.
My e-rickshaw driver would turn the rickshaw 180 degrees to change direction and every passerby was ready to adjust.
Nobody cared which vehicle was following what direction in the dingy bylanes of Chandni Chowk and everyone had the sab changa si (all is well) attitude.
The traffic was so bad that we decided to skip Chandni Chowk market because it was way too claustrophobic.
I told Zahidbhai it was better to go to Sarojini market, the other less pricey alternative rather than face the hordes of shoppers in Chandni Chowk.
***
Due to the rush at Chandni Chowk we missed visiting the Balimaran area where the greatest Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib lived. I compensated by going to his grave in Nizamuddin.
Ghalib's grave is located close to the Sufi saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya's mausoleum.
After the British conquered Delhi after the mutiny of 1857, Ghalib moved out of Balimaran to Nizamuddin.
On his grave is engraved one of his verses:
Na tha kuch toh khuda tha
Kuch na hota toh khuda hota
Duboya mujhko honey ne
Na hota mein toh kya hota.
(When nothing was, then God was there
Had nothing been God would have been,
My being has defeated me
Had I not been, what would have been.)
Unlike Mir Taqi Mir who left Delhi to settle in Lucknow in 1882, Ghalib never left Delhi post 1857.
Before Ghalib died in 1869 he wrote a must-read account of happenings in Delhi after the 1857 revolt in his book Dastanbuy.
The Ghalib Academy, which is close to his grave, has a great library and books if you want to know more about this greatest of Indian poets. A must-visit if you are like Urdu poetry.
***
I don't think any other Indian city can boast of historical monuments that Delhi does.
In every nook and corner you will see a historical monument and realise Mir Taqi Mir's verse on Delhi is so very apt.
There is the Red Fort, Agrasen Ki Baoli, Lotus Temple, Humayun's Tomb, Teen Murti Bhavan, Qutb Minar, India Gate, Jantar Mantar and the Akshardham Temple.
One place I would highly recommend for a visit is Rashtrapati Bhavan.
You get goose bumps when you visit the President's residence; the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum is a treasure trove about the history of Independent India.
Be careful while booking tickets for Rashtrapati Bhavan online because you may accidentally book tickets for Rashtrapati Nilayam, the President's retreat in Hyderabad.
So double check before booking a tour of Rashtrapati Bhavan or you will land up with the wrong ticket.
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