Lajpat Nagar is a locality in the South Delhi district ofDelhi. It is named in honor of Lala Lajpat Rai, also known the Lion of Punjab, and is today most known for the Lajpat Nagar Central MarketThe suburb is divided into four parts: Lajpat Nagar I, II, III (north of the Ring Road) and IV (south of the Ring Road). Housing colonies like Amar Colony, Dayanand Colony, Double Storey (also known as Nirmal Puri), National Park and Vikram Vihar are also located in it. Lajpat Nagar I has one of the leading car accessories and clothing market in South Delhi. 3C's and Sapna are the nearest movie theaters.
The colony falls partially under the New Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency) and part of it is in the East Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency).
Lajpat Nagar IV has turned into a major commercial joint. It is so called the largest ladies suit market in Asia. It has all kinds of suits ranging from INR 200 (Approx US $ 4.5) to INR 45,000 (Approx US $ 1000). You can find all kinds of ethnic and fashionable ladies suit in this market.Lajpat Nagar IV- Amar Colony market is famous for joints selling momos, rolls and plenty of restaurants famous amongst the large number of students living in this area. Amar Colony also has an Institution for Blind.
It is close to Moolchand Hospital.
[edit]History
Lajpat Nagar was developed in 1950’s and most of its early residents were Hindus and Sikhs moving east from newly formed Pakistan following the partition of India in 1947. They were hardworking individuals who started small business and have some of the big stores in the Central Market, a prime market located in Lajpat Nagar.
Initially refugee camps were set up in Purana Quila.Plots and the people were allotted plots in areas like Lajpat Nagar, Patel Nagar, Rajendra Nagar. The plots were of 15x60 feet constructed like army barracks .The houses were all single storey , with asbestos roofs, in the beginning, but now most of the houses are multistoried.
The colony also housed a refugee camp for Bengali widows which came up much later known as Kasturba Ashram.
The colony has a railway line passing thru the north and has a local railway station where one can board the EMU trains. The line is usually used by freight trains. At present, it is common to see individuals from different parts of India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and African countries.
[edit]Accessibility
Lajpat Nagar is well connected by Delhi Transport Corporation bus services, but it's not connected by the Delhi Mass Rapid Transit System. The Delhi Metro is in the process of being build here and is shortly being inaugurated.
- 15 minutes from Nizamuddin Railway Station
- 35 minutes from New Delhi Railway Stations.
- 20 minutes from Nehru Place terminal.
- 15 minutes from Sarai Kale Khan ISBT
[edit]Areas Under Lajpat Nagar
[edit]Education
The educational institutions in the area include Balwant Rai Mehta Vidya Bhawan Senior Secondary School, Tagore International School, Blue Bells Public School, Frank Anthony Public School, Daisy Dales Sr. Sec. School, Central School, Sanatam Dharam School and Government Schools in Lajpat Nagar I and II.
[edit]Personalities
Some of the well known personalities who have lived in Lajpat Nagar are
- Tajinder Singh Marwah former MLA from Ashram Area
- Sushil Choudhery former MLA from Kasturba Nagar
- Naveen Jindal the steel barron of India is reported to own a bunglow in Lajpat Nagar
- Chhota Shakeel's right hand Atif Aslam reportedly does "Mandwali" business in Lajpat Nagar and has an office in one of the houses on the first floor of one of the kapda market's shops
The M.P. from this area also lives in Lajpat Nagar but claims that he lives there for the reason that his own house is being build (its been like that for about 7 years now btw)
[edit]Areas In South Delhi
Chandni Chowk was featured in the 2001 Bollywood film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham where the leading lady Anjali (Kajol) and her sister Pooja (Kareena Kapoor) lived. Though portrayed as a neighborhood populated by a lower-class population, Chandni Chowk is shown to be a rich, cultural hub.
A rhyming Indian tongue twister (which perhaps goes back to the 1950s) in the film goes as follows:
- चंदू के चाचा ने
- चंदू की चाची को
- चाँदनी चौक में
- चाँदनी रात में
- चाँदी के चम्मच से
- चटनी चटाई
- چندو کے چاچا نے
- چندو کی چاچی کو
- چاندنی چوک میں
- چاندنی رات میں
- چاندنی کے چممچ سے
- چٹنی چٹائی
- Chandu ke chacha ne
- Chandu ki chachi ko
- Chandni Chowk mein
- Chandni raat mein
- Chaandi ke chamach se
- Chatni chatayi
The tongue twister uses the multiple meanings of the word Chandni (a girl's name, moonlit, silver) for poetic effect. This poem has अनुप्रास alankar (anupraas alankar) (repetition of similar sound, here ch) and यमक یمک (yamak) अलंकार النکار (alankar) (use of the same word in different places for generating different meanings).
Literal translation:
- Chandu's uncle,
- To Chandu's aunt,
- In Chandni Chowk,
- On a moonlit night,
- With a silver spoon,
- Fed chutney.
Poetic translation (the raison d'etre :Chutney is spicy and sometimes sour) :
- Chandu's uncle,
- Made Chandu's aunt,
- In Chandni Chowk,
- On a moonlit night,
- From a silver spoon,
- Lick chutney.
One of the main characters, Rohan (Hrithik Roshan) in the movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, is identified when he says the tongue-twister (almost) correctly
Chandni Chowk is the major street in the walled city of Old Delhi, which was originally called Shah Jahanabad. The walled city which includes the Lal Qilla Red Fort of Delhiwas established in 1650 AD, by the Mughal Emperor, Shah Jahan and designed by his daughter Jahanara Begum Sahib, who also made significant contributions in the landscaping of her father's new capital of Shahjahanabad.Chandni Chowk runs through the middle of the walled city, from the Lahori Darwaza (Lahore Gate) of the Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid. Originally a canal ran through the middle of the street as a part of the water supply scheme. It was originally divided into three sections[1]:
- Lahori darwaza to Chowk Kotwali (near Gurdwara Shish Ganj): This section closest to the imperial residence, was called Urdu Bazar, i.e. the encampment market. The language Urdu got its name from this encampment. Ghalib noted the destruction of this market during the disturbances of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and its aftermath.
- Chowk Kotwali to 'Chandni Chowk': The term Chandni Chowk originally referred to the square that initially had a reflecting pool. It was replaced by a clock-tower (Ghantaghar) that was damaged and demolished in the 1960s[2][3]. This section was originally called Johri Bazar.
- 'Chandni Chowk' to Fatehpuri Masjid: This was called the Fatehpuri Bazar.
It is said that moonlight reflecting on its canal, earned it its name, 'Chandni (Moonlit) [4].
Chandni Chowk was once the grandest of the markets in India[5].
The Mughal imperial processions used to pass through Chandni Chowk. The tradition was continued when Delhi Durbar was held in 1903.
Even though today Chandni Chowk appears choked with congestion, it retains its historical character. The following terms are generally used to describle the buildings and the streets[6].
- Haveli: a mansion. A normal Haveli would have a big courtyard (atrium) surrounded on four sides by spacious rooms and often another walled courtyard around the exterior as well. e.g. one of the largest preserved havelis in the area is the Chunnamal haveli.
- Kucha: a zone with houses whose owners shared some common attribute usually their mode of occupation. Hence the names Maliwara, the gardeners' neighborhood and Ballimaran, the oarsmen’s neighborhood.
- Katra: refers to a separate wing of tradesmen and craftsmen belonging to the same trade. They usually lived and worked together. A system similar to the Guild housing in Amsterdam.
[edit]Overview
The area lies in the historically importantShahjahanabad, between the Lal Qila (The Red Fort) and Fatehpuri Masjid. On both sides of the wide Chandni Chowk streets are historical residential areas served by narrow lanes (galis).
With the most famous mosque of Delhi Jama Masjid (Delhi) built in 1644 in the vicinity, it is an unusual street that has several famous religious shrines, belonging to different religions, that coexist lending the street a genuine cultural harmony. Starting from the Red fort, the street has
- Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir, established in 1656 with a bird hospital established in 1929. There is also a Naya Mandir built in 1807 near by in Dharampura, which was the first temple with a shikhar permitted.
- Hindu Gauri Shankar Temple built by a Maratha general Appa Gandgadhar in 1761.
- Christian Central Baptist Church built in 1814.
- Sikh Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib. The 9th Sikh Guru, Guru Tegh Bahadur and his followers Bhai Mati Das, Bhai Dyal Das andBhai Sati Das were executed nearby by the Mughals in 1675 A.D. The permission to build the Gurdwara was given in 1783.
- Muslim Sunehri Masjid built in 1721 by Roshan-ud-Daula Zafar Khan in the reign of Mohammad Shah. The Persian invaderNadir Shah spent several hours on the top of the mosque on 11 March, 1739 to observe the Katl-e-Aam (the killing of everyone in sight) that he had orderd which resulted in 30,000 deaths.
- Muslim Fatehpuri Masjid built by Fatehpuri Begum in 1650, one of the queens of Shah Jahan.
Chandni Chowk's speciality is the variety of its markets and their Indian-ness. From authentic Indian food, delicacies and sweets of more than 1,000 kinds, to sarees withChikan and Zari work. There are lots of narrow lanes with many shops selling books, clothing, shoes and leather goods, electronic and consumer goods and what not. The area, even more so than the rest of the city, is very congested. This is also a good area for window shopping. It is the location of the originalHaldiram's. A particular local delicacy are the Jalebis, which are fried in pure ghee (clarified butter).
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