Tag: Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib Jama Masjid

“We talk, we bake, we laugh, we are!”

Jamie @ Life’s A Feast via twitter

Sorry I’ve been a bit slack of late. Time continues to fly by & I’ve been a tad busy of late. Time flies otherwise as well, or maybe it’s just that i’m getting old. After all, my little blog here is turning 2 today! It’s been a long, fun journey, & I can’t believe I’ve come such a long way, baking and blogging through 700+ days! Passionate still, and loving it. Lots has changed! I’ve met a great bunch of friends & we’re virtually in each others homes every other day. I’ve rediscovered that a camera is a fun thing & ‘macro’ rules my world. I’m braver in my use of eggs. I bake to blog, more than the other way around sometimes. Time to ‘fess up … I don’t bake to feed my family, but bake to feed my blog!! There I said it! The family does enjoy the proceeds though, & fortunately for them, I think it’s longhaul!! I have 2 things to share today. The first is a small window to my part of the world in Old Delhi, India. The second is a giveaway for my 2nd blogiversary! It’s a small Arabian Coffee Pot in brass that I picked up here, in the walled city.

The hub thought it was time the kids got a taste of the public transport system/Metro here, & should know how life is out of the car, and in the streets of Old Delhi. Initial protest gave way to intrigue, & we quickly bundled ourselves into the Delhi Metro for our maiden trip onto the train which has become the lifeline of Delhi. Luckily it was a holiday so it wasn’t crowded at all, & the hours ride whizzed by. Thought I’d share some sights and sounds of the walled city with you. Old Delhi, or Purani Dilli, as it is often referred to, is a different world in itself. The comfort was untold. Air conditioned luxury on a hot humid day, no traffic to swerve, no blaring horns & no road racers to watch out for. Yes, that is the normal scene on roads in Delhi, & for that part in most of India. Everyone wants right of way, even if it’s wrong, & they would drive over you to get to where they want to before you. Road rules do not rule here, & the bigger the better wants psychological advantage of the road! In all this mayhem, I love to drive. I find it challenging and spirited too, and I think you might find it both refreshing & nerve wracking, if you are used to the discipline of the West!

The minute we stepped off at the Chandni Chowk Metro station into Old Delhi, we were transported to a different world altogether. The sights, the smells, the chaos, the culture, the architecture, the crowds…everything hits you the minute you step onto the street! A different world, steeped in culture, a myriad of old building jostling for space with new, banks, gurdwaras and mosques rubbing shoulders, a sea of people, rickshaws literally swimming across roads, spice sellers dotting the roadside, wires criss-crossing dizzily overhead, horns blaring…in the midst of this, stood out a beautiful piece of architecture…

…a stunning gurdwara, Gurdwara Sis Ganj Sahib, a place of worship of the Sikh community. The Gurdwara Shish Ganj, located at Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi, was built on the place where Mughal Emperor Aurungzeb beheaded the ninth Sikh Guru, Shri Tegh Bahadur in 1675. ‘Shish’ literally means ‘the head’. Shish Ganj is a prominent pilgrim center of the Sikh Community and it is equally revered by the Hindus. As a rule, a gumbad (dome) is the crowning feature of a gurdwara. Sikh architecture reflects a lively blend of Mughal and Rajput styles. Onion-shaped domes, multi-foil arches, paired pilasters, in-lay work frescoes, etc. are doubtless of Mughal extraction, more specifically of Emperor-Architect Shah Jehan’s period, while oriel windows, bracket-supported eaves at the string-course, chhattris, richly-ornamented friezes, etc. are reminiscent of elements of Rajput architecture. We tripped along the street to find ladies draped in sarees, sitting on the roadside selling spices out of small sacks, with tea glasses as measures. I could see pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, white pepper…antiquated old ways to sell spices. The kids couldn’t believe it. They’ve only seen spices coming out of boxes & well packaged….

Going further, walking into narrow streets, we saw an old hand pump for drawing water, a letter-box that had seen better days, shops with shutters down as it was a holiday, doors dating back to more than a 100 years ago, 1912, with rusty padlocks that looked like they hadn’t been touched for years. With the tummys now rumbling, we decided to take rickshaws from the Town hall & headed for Karim’s to have a bite. Turned a corner enroute, loaded in rickshaws… and saw the Jama Masjid. The Masjid-i Jahān-Numā, commonly known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi, is the principal mosque of Old Delhi in India. Commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, builder of the Taj Mahal, and completed in the year 1656 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India. It lies at the origin of a very busy central street of Old Delhi, Chandni Chowk. We didn’t step into the compound, but the little we saw left us amazed. A lot of North India, especially Delhi & Agra is scattered with beautiful architecture like this that dates back to the Mughal era.

Karim Hotel is just a stones throw from gate number 1 of Jama Masjid. Of course we didn’t tell the kids it was a roadside eatery of sorts, or an Indian dhaba, as there was no way they’d agree to go in. The minute they saw the place, both declared in unison that they weren’t eating anything there. I firmly told them to sit & watch as we ate. To Karim’s credit, the minute the food appeared, the kids were the first to jump to it!

To quote from the Time Magazine, Travelers in Delhi have a lot on their plate. Mughal monuments like the hulking Red Fort and the elegant Jamma Masjid, India’s largest mosque, loom above the city’s myriad bazaars and the dusty homes of forgotten poets. But no matter how much there is to explore, locals and visitors alike always return to Delhi’s most beloved haunt: Karim’s. A cycle-rickshaw ride from the Chandni Chowk Metro stop, Karim’s is neither soaring fortress nor ancient temple, yet it is an unmissable landmark nonetheless, often filled to capacity with the faithful. This drab roadside dhaba (or eatery) serves up the most authentic Mughlai fare in the city—which is what you might expect considering who runs the place. Haji Zahuruddin comes from a family whose bloodline extends back centuries to the chefs who conjured elaborate feasts in the courts of Mughal emperors. Generations of chefs honed their culinary wizardry in the nearby Red Fort until the last Mughal ruler was toppled by the British in 1857. Returning to Delhi in 1911 after his family spent decades in exile, Haji Karimuddin, the grandfather of the present owner, set up shop in the same alleyway where his descendants now prepare their family recipes, each one a closely guarded secret. They are certainly secrets worth keeping. Best of all, these regal delights still come at dhaba prices. In this imperial city, even paupers can eat like kings.

BBC WORLD GUIDE, March 1994″…….recommend meat eaters to try Karim’s……for a traditional breakfast of spice goats’ totters….. better than the bacons & eggs and more delicious…” We had a ‘tandoori raan‘ or leg of mutton, ‘mutton burrah kebab’, ‘mutton stew’ and karim rolls. The raan could have been better, but the burrah & the stew were over the top GOOD! Didn’t get pictures too many pictures of the food because the kids were suddenly famished. Besides there were too many people, & all enjoying the food. I was amazed to see the number of foreign tourists enjoying a meal there!

There were boxes, kettles, fruit bowls, prayer wheels, wall plaques, bells, metal handbags, little pieces of jewellery, Tibetan handicrafts … the list was endless! I bought a selection of stuff from there, and my fave was a small Arabian Coffee Pot in brass. I really fell in love with it, so I went ahead and bought another one as my blogiversary giveaway … got to share the good things in life!!

One lucky winner will get this beautiful Arabian Coffee Pot made of brass with an antique finish. All you need to do is leave a comment on this post. Comments are open until the 19th of August 2009, wherever in the world, and a winner will be announced thereafter. Do leave an email contact if you wish to be considered for the draw.