Bhogal Market: You can get everything here, and for relatively cheap prices. It's smaller and easier to navigate than Lajpat Nagar Central Market, and it's a lot cheaper than Khan or Defence Colony. Also, Alice and Pooja live here! (Note about Pooja: she is a lawyer who works in an OFFICE located in Bhogal Market. Apparently a previous post made her sound like a street vendor or something.) (While I'm clarifying things, Alice and Pooja do not sleep under subzi (vegetable) carts on the streets of the market; there are apartment buildings in Bhogal.)
Tuesday night flea market: On Tuesday nights, Bhogal holds a flea market. The streets of Bhogal become incredibly crowded, and that makes the atmosphere really fun. I have bought several household items, Indian clothing, Hindi and Punjabi music, and Bollywood movies for super cheap. I may or may not go every Tuesday. May or may not.
Tuesday night flea market, viewed from Alice's terraceKadimi's: A chaat place in Bhogal Market that, without question, serves the best samosas in all of India. Even Pooja, an Indian, agrees with me on this one. Not only are their classic aloo (potato) samosas superb, they offer a variety of samosas that I have seen nowhere else: daal (lentils), paneer, mutter (peas), gobhi (cauliflower), and--get this--Chinese noodle samosas!! Kadimi's also has excellent paneer pakora. And I still haven't tried their kachori, but I intend to. This place is SO GOOD. I really cannot stop raving about this place. No trip to the Tuesday night flea market is complete with a stop at Kadimi's. If for some reason you're looking for me but can't find me, I'm probably at this place. Just ask Alice. She's found me there before.
(Yeah, I'm aware that the last two reasons are really part of Bhogal. I love Bhogal.)
Kadimi's
so good
preparing the best samosas in IndiaCelebrations: The other day there was a Sikh holiday, and since my neighborhood has a large Sikh population, there was a musical procession through the streets, stalls set up with free food for everyone, and fireworks being lit on the street and in the sky. During wedding season several weeks ago, I could see a fireworks show from my terrace literally every single night. I'm not even exaggerating.
celebration of some sort, viewed from my terrace
celebration of some sort, viewed from my terraceHistory of welcoming outsiders: See previous post about Jangpura's history.
The only downfalls:
The auto pimp: The autostand on Birbal Road is run by an auto pimp. Or at least pimp is the word I use to describe him. He's a humongous bearded, turban-clad, concealed-sword-wielding Punjabi who strikes fear into the hearts of the other autowallahs. They pay him to park their autos there; I've seen some autowallahs slip him rupees. Also, on several occasions he has intervened while I was in the middle of bargaining with an autowallah. Kris and Katrina, who used to live in Jangpura before moving to Dayanand Colony, said he even rode with them once. He made sure their autowallah gave him a portion of the money when they reached their destination. He particularly likes to pick on a fellow Sikh autowallah who is small and quiet (and who is coincidentally named Harvinder Singh, like my dad's partner in his oncology practice). All of this means that the autowallahs at the Birbal stand charge more than they should, because they have to give a cut of their earnings to the pimp for permission to wait there. Since I don't want to support the pimp's abuse (and since I want to pay more reasonable fares), I no longer use this autostand. Instead, I walk to the main road, about 6-8 minutes away, to catch an auto. (On a related note, I think a book on the Secret Lives of Autowallahs would be fascinating. Someone--an Indian male, obviously--should go undercover.)
Eros Cinema: This movie theater is currently under construction. When it finally opens, this multiplex is going to bring a ton of traffic to the neighborhood. Sure, it seems really convenient to have a movie theater literally a 4-minute walk from my home--until you realize that you're going to have a movie theater in your backyard. Luckily construction is super slow in India, so it probably won't open until I move out of Jangpura anyway!
The only downfalls:
The auto pimp: The autostand on Birbal Road is run by an auto pimp. Or at least pimp is the word I use to describe him. He's a humongous bearded, turban-clad, concealed-sword-wielding Punjabi who strikes fear into the hearts of the other autowallahs. They pay him to park their autos there; I've seen some autowallahs slip him rupees. Also, on several occasions he has intervened while I was in the middle of bargaining with an autowallah. Kris and Katrina, who used to live in Jangpura before moving to Dayanand Colony, said he even rode with them once. He made sure their autowallah gave him a portion of the money when they reached their destination. He particularly likes to pick on a fellow Sikh autowallah who is small and quiet (and who is coincidentally named Harvinder Singh, like my dad's partner in his oncology practice). All of this means that the autowallahs at the Birbal stand charge more than they should, because they have to give a cut of their earnings to the pimp for permission to wait there. Since I don't want to support the pimp's abuse (and since I want to pay more reasonable fares), I no longer use this autostand. Instead, I walk to the main road, about 6-8 minutes away, to catch an auto. (On a related note, I think a book on the Secret Lives of Autowallahs would be fascinating. Someone--an Indian male, obviously--should go undercover.)
Eros Cinema: This movie theater is currently under construction. When it finally opens, this multiplex is going to bring a ton of traffic to the neighborhood. Sure, it seems really convenient to have a movie theater literally a 4-minute walk from my home--until you realize that you're going to have a movie theater in your backyard. Luckily construction is super slow in India, so it probably won't open until I move out of Jangpura anyway!
Life in Delhi can be challenging, and I know I complain about it a lot. But at least I live in a neighborhood I love coming home to.
I want Indian food, and your pictures might make me go crazy. I should come live with you :p
ReplyDeleteYou should DEFINITELY come live with me!! That would be glorious.
ReplyDeleteafter graduation, i'm going to moveto india and secure a living as an auto-wallah. i shall become the new auto-wallah pimp.
ReplyDeleteWonderful presentation on Jangpura. Living here all these months (15 in total), has been quite an experience. As much as I am looking forward to the opening of Eros cinema here, I am also eagerly waiting for the inauguration of Metro station in Jangpura so that I don't have to go all the way to Pragati Maidan to catch the Metro rail. If that happens, I can go to Chandni Chowk daily to eat dahi valla and some other mithais.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's very confusing as to where Bhogal ends and Jangpura begins but still I feel Bhogal could be one of the reasons for me to like Jangpura. Without Bhogal, Jangpura could be lifeless. That's why I have told someone here who lives with me NOT to underestimate Bhogal, never! It offers everything that one can easily see in Lajpatnagar Central market.
And the Kadami samosas. Uncle Mehra, my landlord, fondly remembers those evenings in summer when I used to take him for a samosa or two. One full-fledged restaurant, I mean proper one where people can sit and order and eat, is lacking though there is one near Mathura Road. The restaurant that serves thali, I mean, is really what Jangpura needs. At least, I need that for sure.
And yes, your entry reminded me of my own: B 19, Jangpura Extension [New Delhi-110014, India]
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ReplyDelete