Chandni Chowk food tour

You asked for food pictures, and you're getting food pictures. We're kicking off this set of food posts with an exploration of the area in Delhi with the highest concentration of vendors selling mini flavor explosions: Chandni Chowk.

Chandni Chowk is the central street bisecting Old Delhi, and leading right to the front gate of the Red Fort, once the capitol of the Mughal Empire. We went on a fairly tame walking tour designed to pass a couple of the main sites and as many food stalls as our stomachs could handle. After passing through the Jama Masjid, we wound our way up through the lanes around Chandni Chowk and loaded up on jalebis, chaat (snacks), and paranthas from the famous paranthewali gali.

Some non-food-related musings

(skip to the next post for more food porn)

I've found Old Delhi to be something of a difficult place ever since I first came to Delhi, as I imagine it is for many other tourists. It has a lot to offer -- Mughal architecture, the Jama Masjid and Red Fort, tiny lanes (galis), the occasional beautiful old haveli (a large house built around a central courtyard), and delicious food. It can also be insanely overwhelming for people new to India, or for anyone who doesn't know exactly what they're doing and where they're going. Moreover, it's the place where I personally have felt the most uncomfortable as a foreigner, and as a woman. I associate Chandni Chowk with the highest concentration of stares and harassment I've experienced in my life, and one of the lowest ratios of women-to-men. It's a place I'd love to explore if I could turn myself invisible for a day -- or, as it turns out, bring along a man.

Apparently traveling in a pair where one member is obviously male makes an absurdly large difference in my level of background discomfort. Either that, or Delhi has come a long way in the past few years -- something entirely possible after some city-wide soul-searching in the wake of a few well publicized rape cases and protests a few years ago. I'm guessing it's probably a combination of both of the above, with the greater weight going to traveling with David.

This is the first time I've traveled in India with a guy for any length of time. I actually feel a little silly that I warned David to expect plenty of stares and the possibility of harassment (for me, if not for him). Nothing of the sort has materialized, thankfully. The other interesting side effect of having him with me is that in just about every interaction, the people we meet turn to him to do the talking, bargaining, and deciding. In other circumstances I might just let him take the lead, despite gritting my teeth a bit. The problem is, his Hindi is still more or less limited to "thank you" and "I'll have a water, please." There have been a few conversations that teeter between amusing and annoying when the guy in questions looks at and talks to David while I talk to him.

I don't want it to seem like we're spending all our time wading through a sea of raging misogynists. India is fantastic. It's a wonderful, gorgeous place, filled with welcoming people who often go out of their way to help. I'd guess over 95% of the men I talk to are nothing but friendly and helpful. It is, of course, #NotAllMen. The problem is, in a country as densely populated as this one, interacting with that other 5% is a daily occurrence.

It would also help if there were more women active in the public sphere. I'm sure it'll get there -- I think I already see more than I did five years ago. I'll be interested to see how much changes in another five, or ten.