When the Mughals ruled Delhi, they laid out broad avenues linking the Red Fort to other monuments of grandeur. Four centuries ago, silvery moonlight glinted on the waters of a canal running through the open spaces that fronted the ramparts of the fort, lending Chandni Chowk its name. Today, it is a rabbit’s warren of streets buzzing with cars and rickshaws plying excited shoppers to thousands of stores selling saris and watches, stationery and snacks.
In the midst of this unsightly jam are glimpses of the Mughal era — a pot of biryani simmering with spices, strains of Urdu poetry and filigreed doorways over which bundles of cable hang dangerously low. In Sitaram Bazar, a sinuous road that branches through the neighbourhood, a doorway opens into Kathika Cultural Centre (KCC), an art space that takes you from cutting-edge modernity to the Mughal era in minutes, and celebrates the Delhi that was.
