Shoe Seller in Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi

This photo was taken near Jama Masjid in the Chandni Chowk area of Old Delhi. It was taken during Ramadan (Ramzan) when shops are open almost all night. Click on the image for a larger view.

Unsweetened Jalebis being sold during Ramadan in Old Delhi

Jalebis are a popular dessert in north India – they are deep fried, sweetened, high calorie, finger licking and best had hot. However, you also get an unsweetened like seen here sold mostly during Ramadan (Ramzan) in Old Delhi. It is had by adding to a glass of hot milk with sugar in it. Click on image for a larger view.

Paan (Betel Leaf) Seller in Old Delhi

This image of Panna Lal, the Paan Seller was taken near Jama Masjid at the corner of Dariba Kalan in the Chandni Chowk area of Old Delhi. Paan is a digestive made from betel leaf (seen floating in water in bucket) with other ingredients added to state. Some of these are seen in the image. Panna Lal sits with his box on the street, has been here for nearly 22 years doing the same business. He also owns a bakery shop, located just behind where he sits. During Diwali, he rents it out to others to sell fireworks. He says he too sell fireworks himself from 2010 onwards. Currently, this little Paan business makes more money than his bakery. Click on the image for a larger view.

Any celebration in India has to be accompanied with food. Period. Everything else is incidental.

Take the Dussehra celebrations in Subhash Park, also known as Parade Ground, located across the road from Red Fort in Old Delhi. Venue of the biggest Ramlila, stage performances based on Ramayana depicting the life of Hindu Lord Rama, you will find food stalls galore. Most selling street food of the area. This includes chaats of all kinds, differently flavoured home made ice creams, chilas, chole kulchas, tikkis, all kinds of sweets, fresh juices, lollies made from freshly crushed ice and lots more. All prepared fresh as you wait.

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How much do they sell? Just one stall had fruits stacked going at least 20 feet high. Good to make 10,000 portions of fruit chaat. How long does it sell out in? One night. That’s what the vendor told me. And this is just one of the stalls. Multiply this by a modest 10 stalls, and you are looking at 100,000 portions sold in one night at one venue. Maybe not on the same scale, but you can easily say the sales volumes across the city would be 10 times of this at the 750 small and big Ramlilas taking place. Over 10 days of Navratra, the holy period for Hindus, and Dussehra. Even at an average pricing of Rs. 30 per dish, do you want to hazard the math?

All this sale picks up after 9 pm, and goes on till at least two in the morning if not longer. Cuisines are not limited to from Delhi; you can get Gujarati, Rajasthani, south Indian, Chinese and kebabs of all kinds. Vendors need to keep their nerves together with everyone jostling to place orders. No wonder they perch themselves on platforms a few feet higher than others to avoid being trampled over.

To build up an appetite, you can always go for joyrides on carnival rides set up at many locations including the Red Fort. Burp!

The actors in the Dussehra procession have no fancy green rooms with teams of make-up and costume artists. They set up base in a modest guest house in Cycle Market in Old Delhi, and a single person gets to work on them.

This make-up artist is Shyam Sharma who single-handedly gets nearly 50 actors ready within a few hours. And he has been doing so since 1984. A music teacher and a linguist in Hindi rest of the year, he only does this voluntary work for 12 days with his briefcase of unbranded cosmetics.

Does he do make-up any other time? Sometimes when children in his school are on stage and need his services. He proudly told me that he has won many awards for such work.

Watching him at work can be fascinating as he does so without a break in the overheated room – pausing only for a few sips of tea served erratically. That too gets cold before he is done with it.

There is a certain order he follows too: the lesser demons and monkeys come first followed by the more important characters like Maa Durga and Shakti, Vaidji or the doctor and children dressed as Lord Krishna and Radha. Ravana, Lakshman and Lord Rama are the last to be attended to; being the main protagonists, they have to look good and fresh.

All the costumes are also in the custody of organizers who have no links to theatre otherwise. These come out during Dussehra, actors are fitted in them (and these change daily) before being collected to be ready for the following day. And then locked up for the rest of the year till Dussehra comes back.

I used to go to watch the Dussehra procession in Old Delhi as child; I must have last gone 25-30 years back. And when I went back this year, I could not help drawing comparisons between the versions I remember and the one I currently witnessed. Here are some key differences:

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The procession would earlier start at about 4 pm. It now starts at 6 pm. Reason given by organizers? The bulls that pull the floats would come in the morning itself earlier. And their owners would be happy with a tip of ten rupees. But they are very busy now carting goods, and even a few hundred rupees are not enough to entice them. So they come only after finishing their regular work. Yes, old Delhi still uses carts pulled by bulls, cows, horses and men to ferry goods.

The actors on the floats would earlier act on stage when they reached the Ramlila grounds – it is a different set now.

The procession size has gone down – lack of interest in people? Or are there fewer volunteers willing to drop everything for 12 days to work for free?

There were many more vendors selling candy, balloons, toys and other street finger snacks that accompanied the procession – it is only a handful now.

Except for local residents and shopkeepers, there are only a few from beyond Old Delhi who come to the event. Most are not even aware of it.

Who are the actors and organizers participating in the Dussehra processions? And what motivates them to be a part of it?

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For one, most of them are not professional actors. They are students, businessmen and professionals who stop whatever they are doing for a fortnight to be a part of the festivities. No one is paid – it is all voluntary. In fact, many even end of spending out of pocket to pay for meals, refreshments etc. Some are newcomers, many old-timers.

Brahmanand Tyagi has been playing Ravana for 20 years now. Amit Vig, a pipe fitter, has been playing various roles for eight years since he was 17; he was Durga on the day I went, and had played Bali and Ravana’s sister on the previous day. Interestingly, only men are allowed to play the roles. The only exception was a nine year old girl Pratha Singh playing Radha, Lord Krishna’s lover. Apparently girls under 10 are allowed but only sometimes. The sound shaped Hrithik Dikshit, also nine, was playing Krishna. He was grumpy, and had got a dressing down from the make-up artist for being too fidgety resulting in his face going all dark. His family runs a parantha (fried Indian breads) shop in the famous Paranthewali Gali in old Delhi.

All actors keep changing roles by the day except those playing Lord Rama, Lakshman, Bharat and Ravana. One of the actors, playing usher on the day I went, was disappointed to learn I would not be coming the following day to take pictures; he had a role to play.

What motivates them to be a part of it all? Faith is certainly a major driver. The families always feel good about it says Amit. It’s fun for some, while some want to revel in the spotlights; within their neighbourhoods, they all become mini-celebrities. Unlike the Gods they were enacting, many actors certainly had a dash of vanity waiting to be appeased; they would specially pose whenever my camera posed at them. Some organizers would even prompt me to ensure I have covered everyone.

No other festival in India is celebrated the way Dussehra is. It is celebrated in most parts of the country, and stretches to 10-12 days. You can witness stage performances of Ramayana, the story of Hindu God Rama, fairs, special prayer sessions and burning of the effigy of Ravana, the demon king slayed by Lord Rama. But few people know of the special procession that takes place in Old Delhi every year.

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I was lucky to witness this procession every year as a child – my mother’s family roots in old Delhi meant we could visit relatives, stand in their balconies and watch this procession go by. Returning to this event after over 25 years meant a lot of nostalgic memories coming back, even as all relatives have either moved out or I have lost contact with. 

The procession includes actors dressed as the key characters of Ramayana, all sitting on their colourfully decked up floats. While some like Lord Rama and his brother Lakshman sit with somber expressions, the demons including Ravana try to make menacing expressions and gestures at passers by. The vaid, or doctor, who treated Lakshman throws spicy digestive tablets at children sending them scrambling to collect these from the street. Accompanying bands belt out both religious and Bollywood numbers.

The event is believed to go back to the mid-19th century when Mughal King Bahadurshah Zafar had still not ceded complete power to the British. The route has also remained mostly unchanged: It starts at Cycle Market, crosses Dariba, Chandni Chowk, Nai Sarak, Chawri Bazaar and Ajmeri Gate before reaching Ramlila Ground. Starting at six in the evening, it usually takes about two and a half hours to complete. Once at Ramlila Ground, everyone watches Ramlila, plays based on Ramayana, before going back the same route at around 11 in the night.

The streets are lined with people who either come to watch this carnival, or to seek blessings from the actors regarded as Gods by the highly religious Hindus. Many try to touch the feet of the ‘Gods’ but are usually kept at bay by the ushers. You can see hundreds standing with folded hands with heads bowed as the procession passes them. Children are happier making mocking gestures at Ravana, who obliges by trying to show anger.

The procession takes place for 12 days, starting on the first day of the Navratras, a ten day holy period for Hindus, and ends two days after Dussehra when Lord Rama comes back home after a 14 year exile to be greeted by his younger brother Bharat. On this day, Bharat waits at the town hall while Lord Rama comes in a procession through Chandni Chowk. The journey is shorter but takes longer as shopkeepers along the way keeping stopping the procession to offer sweets and garlands.

Don’t miss it the next time.

The holy month of Ramadan is the time when beggars can laugh all the way to their piggy banks. The benevolence of people draws not only beggars to come to old Delhi, but also makes some people to switch to this profession temporarily.

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Take the case of Salim who hits the market with his partner. Both are physically challenged in their arms and legs. While Salim drags himself on the road in a cross-legged position, the other guy lies on his back and drags himself head forward. With cries calling upon people’s conscience and generosity, their collection platter seemed quite rich by relative standards.

When I asked if this is what they do all year, Salim said he usually sells gutka, a mixture of tobacco, betel nuts and other digestive ingredients near Agra. But they take to begging during Ramadan. Shopekeepers and other passers-by – never a dearth of people stopping to listen in on such conversations – said Salim was lying and  begs all year. Salim tried to make a case otherwise – not that it really mattered – and said he will stop begging altogether once he gets married?

Was marriage on the cards? Oh yes, he said. In one or two years. The parents have even identified the girl who is currently studying.

There was no dearth of the likes of Salim – but an old beggar could not be ignored. He lay sleeping on a goods cart in the middle of the street, with a young girl – who could be his daughter or granddaughter – sitting patiently on her honchos by his head. Even as the world passed by in their festive finest, the money just kept coming in. The image of the two said it all.

Season’s greetings!

When you walk with a camera, people automatically tend to ask you the newspaper or channel you represent. And many will try to find a place in your frame for a shot at two minutes of fame.

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While a feel-good is the usual motivation to seek the spotlights for most, Samir Khan surprised me with his reasons. Samir runs a tea stall in the Matia Mahal bazaar near Jama Masjid (mosque) in old Delhi. However, during the holy month of Ramadan or Ramzan, this outlet focuses mostly on selling seviyan, or vermicelli, to be had in sweetened milk. Samir was curious to know who I work for and where would these pictures appear.

To keep my introduction simple, I named one of the national newspapers I contribute columns to. He got excited and asked if his photograph could be published. He was engaged to be married soon, and would like to impress his future in-laws by becoming famous. He promptly started posing in an effort to get be presented well.

I said sure with a big congratulations and smile to him  – but I knew I was making a promise I might not be able to keep. But I did mention my blog and proposed book on old Delhi – but he wanted to be impressed only with a newspaper coverage.

But if he does make an appearance in my book, he can impress his in-laws on the first anniversary of his wedding.

This is a video of images taken at Chandni Chowk, the oldest market in Delhi, and created by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan who also built the Taj Mahal. I would have liked to add more text to it but shall do so in another version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yARnEUiDk0c