Chawri Bazar is a specialized wholesale market of brass

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...

, copper and paper products. Established in 1840, with a hardware market, it was the first wholesale market of Old Delhi

Old Delhi

Old Delhi , walled city of Delhi, India, was founded as Shahjahanabad by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan in 1639. It remained the capital of the Mughals until the end of the Mughal dynasty....

 it lies to the west of Jama Masjid

Jama Masjid, Delhi

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,in the year 1644 CE and completed in the year 1658 AD, it is the largest and best-known mosque in India...

 in Delhi, lies.

It can be reached by taking the street just near the middle projection of Jama Masjid's western (rear) wall. It was accessible via the Chawri Bazar

Chawri Bazar (Delhi Metro)

Chawri Bazar is an underground station located on the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro, a rapid transit system serving Delhi and its satellite cities in the National Capital Region of India...

 underground station of the Delhi Metro

Delhi Metro

Delhi Metro is a rapid transit system serving Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad in the National Capital Region of India. It is one of the largest metro networks in the world. The network consists of six lines with a total length of with 142 stations of which 35 are underground...

.

History

Once popularly known for its dancing girls and courtesan

Courtesan

A courtesan was originally a female courtier, which means a person who attends the court of a monarch or other powerful person.In feudal society, the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...

s in the 19th century, frequented by nobility and rich alike. After the advent of British as the tawaif

Tawaif

A tawaif was a courtesan who catered to the nobility of South Asia, particularly during the era of the Mughal Empire.The tawaifs contributed to music, dance, theatre, film, and the Urdu literary tradition.-History:...

culture faded out, subsequently prostitutes came to occupy the upper floors of the market. This eventually lead to the area becoming hub of criminality and thus the Delhi Municipal Committee evict them from the area, all together., the street is named after a Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

 word chawri, which means meeting place. The street got this name mainly because here a 'sabha' or meeting would take place in front of a noble's house and he would try settling the disputes before it would reach the emperor. A second reason is probably that a gathering used to get organized when a respected dancer performed and showed the finer nuances of her skill. The whole ambience of the street however got changed after the 1857 war when British destroyed many huge mansions of the nobles.

Built of Lakhori bricks, a small canon is placed over the gateways of both the buildings. The buildings have semi-octagonal projections on both sides with two small rooms on either side. The rooms have semi-circular arches to enter and it is difficult to visualize its former shape. The main features of the buildings are its niches and arches at the roof-level on the semi-octagonal projections, though difficult to make out.

Today, Chawri Bazaar is a very busy road as laborers with their laden backs, cars, rickshaws, scooters and walkers almost battle for the passage during the peak market hours. Again it is also a wholesale market but you will be allowed to purchase a brass or copper idol of Lord Vishnu, Buddha and others. The shops also keep many useful items like jewelry boxes, vases, pots and oil lamps. However, at present Chawri Bazar is more known as the wholesale market of paper products than copper or brass. From beautiful wedding cards to attractive wallpapers to nice greetings to any types of papers required for any use, everything is available here in retail as well as in wholesale. Though the whole process is very exhausting but it will be a day to remember, as you will definitely enjoy it.

Chawri Bazar is a road which have Jama Masjid on one end and Hauz Quazi on the other end. Now there is a metro station at Hauz Quazi by the name of Chawri Bazar

Chawri Bazar (Delhi Metro)

Chawri Bazar is an underground station located on the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro, a rapid transit system serving Delhi and its satellite cities in the National Capital Region of India...

. Nai Sarak which is famous for Books and Ladies Garments joins it at Bad-shah Bulla. Besides Nai Sarak there is another way through Ballimaran which connects Chawri bazar to Chandni Chowk

Chandni Chowk

Chandni Chowk , originally meaning moonlit square or market, is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, now in central north Delhi, India...

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External links

• Chawri Bazar Metro Station at wikimapia
  Wikimapia
  WikiMapia is a privately owned, online map and satellite imaging resource that combines Google Maps with a wiki system, allowing users to add information, in the form of a note, to any location on Earth. Users may currently use this information for free...