As you exit the Chandni Chowk Metro station to walk towards the market, which has been in place since the Mughal era, you come across a building called Oxame Chowk, a complex-cum-mall.
The Omaxe Chowk was built through the public-private-partnership model with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and Omaxe.
The Instagram account by Omaxe Chowk makes a clear statement as to what it stands for, it is not merely a mall or a parking space, but it positions itself as “the New Chowk of Old Delhi.” The account is dedicated to posting images and videos of a traditional Old Delhi in an attempt to show culture that has been preserved through the ages.
Once you step inside the complex, you realise that the “new chowk” promise was not empty. Decoration, motifs, and even lanes inside the mall are modelled to make it seem like a mini-Chandni Chowk. Except it is a Chandni Chowk placed inside an air-conditioned building.
While India has long since been known for its extravagant weddings, less attention has been paid to markets catering to those shopping for such weddings. Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi is a staple in this regard.
Chandni Chowk in the 1860s. By Samuel Bourne – V&A Museum [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4175563
Imperial processions of the Mughals would pass through Chandni Chowk, a tradition which continued till the time that the Delhi Durbar was held, as late as 1930. The locality is known for its diverse stores, from eateries to stationery and an entire locality dedicated to wedding accessories, clothing, and invitation cards.
The commercial complex Omaxe Chowk came up amidst these historic places. It is adjacent to two places of worship, the Sunehri Masjid and the Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib, the former built in 1721 and the latter built originally in 1783 only to be rebuilt in 1930. While the historic religious buildings signify a legacy Chandni Chowk has held onto, the mall seems to draw from the very same legacy yet communicates an image of its own, one based on capital.
Omaxe Chowk. Photo: Authors’.
While Chandni Chowk has been the source of accumulation of capital and its legacy has certainly earned profits, such as through various Bollywood films, the Omaxe Chowk is an actual manifestation of appropriation of ‘local culture’ for profits. The mall has a dedicated website where it says it aims to transform the cultural geography of the space by being the largest development in Chandni Chowk spreading over 18,524 square metre, a multi-level car parking with a capacity of more than 2,100 cars, a food court with a seating capacity of over 2,000 people, and last but not the least – a proposed ‘special entry’ to the first floor of the mall through the Chandni Chowk Metro Station.
Omaxe Chowk does not merely attempt to follow in the footsteps of the original Chandni Chowk Market by aiming to target shopping for weddings, but it caters to the elite. The mall uses the aesthetics associated with Chandni Chowk by decorating the walls with Mughal motifs and chandeliers. Interestingly, the navigation plan uses a gali number system, paying homage to the main market.
However, the most intriguing aspect of the mall is the food court, which Omaxe Chowk labels Dawatpur, which has been divided into four distinct areas where different shops have been clubbed together: Sunehri Nagri, Laal Bagh, Neel Nagar, and Pannapuri. Each distinct area is decorated in a specific theme and the stores are curated accordingly. Sunehri Nagri is a hub for dessert and sweet shops. From this part of the food court, there is a small lane called Itihaas gali which takes you to Pannapuri, a hub for globalised chain restaurants. Pannapuri is directly connected to Neel Nagar, which not only has global chain restaurant options but also Mughal options as well as two purely vegetarian chains. Through Neel Nagar, there is a small lane to Laal Bagh which again consists of global restaurant chains.
Why Dawatpur stands out more than any mall food court is because it follows a theme; the different areas have been assigned different colours with motifs inspired by the Mughal tradition. Dawatpur does not have dustbins, which is uncommon for food courts in malls but has staff members dedicated to collecting them. Security staff keep an eye on the people lest they eat food not purchased at the food court.
“While the mall looks extremely elegant I will not spend money inside the mall because I can find the same accessories and food items at less than half the price right outside the mall,” says Aarzoo, a woman in her mid-twenties.
The markets in Chandni Chowk have been known to have ‘a little something’ for everyone, but when a shopping complex with only high-end brands comes up, it essentially segregates the area from the larger city.
Tashifa Shakeel is pursuing her Master’s in Social Work with a specialisation in Community Organisation and Development Practices from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Ankush Pal is an undergraduate student in sociology at Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. He is a researcher and writer.