How many times have we rendezvoused at Rajiv Chowk with our opposite campus friends or clicked ourselves in the picturesque lanes of Connaught Place (CP)? Here is a story of appreciation for Central Delhi.
There have been more than a few instances of my friends and I wanting to go out together and have fun, and ending up at CP, which some of my friends call the ‘heart of Delhi’. This British architectural marketplace is a student’s favourite with cheap first-copy goods of Palika Bazaar, clothing and the accessory haven of Janpath, and fancy café lanes, there is a place for everyone to belong here.
The complex-and-crowded-10-gate-Metro-Station of Rajiv Chowk lies centrally on the map of Delhi. It is an intersection between the two most crowded and heavily connected lines of the Delhi Metro – the Blue and Yellow lines. Hence, this becomes a perfect location to rendezvous with friends from different corners of Delhi. Shubhi Gupta, a student at Lady Shri Ram College, shares that meeting her friend from St. Stephen’s in the North Campus becomes easier at CP because it is equal travel for both of them.
The Central Park in CP sees several young couples venturing out and enjoying a simple yet romantic picnic date. In the evening, ice-cream vendors line up and bhelpuri sellers with balloon vendors create the vibe of a fair. Families come together to enjoy a peaceful evening here, and recently CP has even become a spot for extravagant wedding shoots.
Himanika Agarwal, a student at Gargi College calls CP wholesome in its appeal. She says, “It has fancy brands and top-notch expensive Italian cafes like H&M and Cafe Tonino along with the roadside chaat and rolls and cheap tops, denim, and bags from Janpath. You find the real Maybelline being sold at high prices on the ground and fake first copies being sold underground in Palika. Rajiv Chowk is a place for every mood.”
Although, many complain of the crowd at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station and many even call CP a by-product of elitist and capitalistic tendencies of the society where Janpath and Palika become home to the struggling crowd while the lanes of CP remain pristine with its upper-class crowd. The seclusion becomes apparent despite it not being deliberate.
Feature Image Credits: Rishabh Chauhan for DU Beat
Sakshi Arora
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