scorecardresearch
Saturday, September 13, 2025
TopicOld Delhi

Topic: Old Delhi

Badass Begums — A new heritage walk of Old Delhi is all about Kothas & courtesans

Mughal princesses and princes were sent to kothas to learn elite etiquette or train in music and dancing. They were the ‘etiquette institutions’ of the Mughal era, said the tour leader Anoushka Jain.

Sita Ram Diwan Chand, Paharganj’s one-dish restaurant selling Lahori chole bhature since 1947

Sitaram's modest stall in Imperial Cinema, set up after Partition, made his venture a part of the refugee ecosystem in Paharganj. His business only grew thereon.

An old Delhi heritage walk that’s not about Jama Masjid, Red Fort. It tells queer histories

Iqbal Ali who leads the walk observes that within the current political climate that’s hostile to the LGBTQ+ community, these walks are a source of resistance.

Move over Old Delhi, Nizamuddin. Jamia Nagar is capital’s new food adda—Mughlai to Lebanese

What makes Jamia food special compared to other areas of Delhi is the pocket-friendly cuisine with no compromise in quality and quantity.

Rose, sandalwood, petrichor—Gulabsingh Johrimal that captured Mughals with ‘Indian’ scents

Tucked in the heart of Old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk, the shop is still full of rare treasured aromas and scents. It had scores of noblemen as its customers.

Lal Kuan, Chawri Bazaar to Chand Mohalla—Chinese manjha rules kite-flying. And kills too

Manjha-caused deaths in Delhi epitomise the dark side of a sport that has traditionally brought joy to generations over hundreds of years in India.

Delhi’s Chandni Chowk gets new look, a restoration of not just facade but 400-yr-old legacy

Delhi govt will unveil Chandni Chowk's new look next month — freshly tiled with red sandstone, its sides colourful with flowerpots, punctuated with benches for the tired feet.

An ‘ambitious’ courtesan & a British officer — the tale behind Old Delhi’s Mubarak Masjid

The mosque was built by Mubarak Begum, an influential nineteenth century courtesan who was also the 'bibi' of British officer David Ochterlony — the First Delhi British Resident.

Masjid dome that collapsed in Old Delhi part of 200-yr-old mosque commissioned by a woman

The Masjid, built in 1823, is situated in the centre of Hauz Qazi Chowk in Old Delhi and was built by a dancing girl from Pune Mubarak Begum.

What the girl in the pink burkha taught me about life and loss in Old Delhi

As a child of the 'patri,' Gulab's survival, in part, depends on her ability to blend into her backgrounds.

On Camera

Russian-style socialism dominated Nehru’s imagination. It was disastrous

It is necessary to break the spell of socialist dogma on the imagination of those attracted by its Utopia as the only scientific way of progress, wrote MA Venkatarao in 1963.

What’s behind bond yields’ logic-defying spike? The market’s concern over the future

While bond yields tend to fall amid low inflation & interest rate cuts, market experts say they’ve been rising due to concerns over tax collections, fiscal deficit & potential impact of US tariffs.

Navy gets first Tata-made Spanish 3D surveillance radar for its warships, 19 more to come

It is one of the most advanced long-range air defence and anti-missile radars. It has been acquired under an about USD 145-million deal signed in 2020.

Gen Zs have taken down the Nepal regime. Here’s why this will never happen in India

To be truly functional and durable, even eternal, a state doesn’t just need a leader, a party or an ideology. It needs functional and robust institutions.