The Charms of Paharganj......

Jupiter · Feb 7th, 2008, 23:05

1. The constant hustle and bustle! The roads can take just that many people, cows, dogs and rickshaws it seems. Any more and the road would cave in you would think.

2. Salesmen of almost every shop pride their knowledge of what they believe is 'Global Understanding'. So, any White Male o Female who passes in front of their shop, they quickly decide whether the unsuspecting Soul is Russian, French, Italian or Aussie. And as soon as they decide who you are, in a a 'nailed you there' tone they greet you with a 'Hello Sir / Madam', 'Zdrastvuite, kak dela?'......or 'Bonjour Madamoiselle'.....'Senorita... Mama Mia'!!!!

3. Hotels and lodges to suit all budgets. Right from Rs. 200/- a day to.........well go as high as you want. But, I can assure you for Rs. 400/ ($10), you can get a very neat and clean room with TV beaming almost 100 Sattelite channels including CNN, BBC, excellent Indian news channels....many Indian channels in a myriad of languages, National Geographic, Animal Planet (last two are my favourites certainly!)

4. Lots and lots of places to eat around! Again.....all budgets will get a handsome meal and some of these places are...:

5. Malhotra's Eatery......right in front of dilapidated Imperial Cinema Hall, which from the movie posters atleast, seems to be a theater that shows sleazy Bollywood soft porn all the time. Well, Malhotra is superb for its Lamb dish preparations, Indian Roti / Naan and is good value for money. Nice food you can have for just Rs. 100/- (2.5 US $)

6. Malhotra's have opened another South Indian restaurent and it has some fabulous Dosas on offer...I love well made Dosas and this place is a winner. You can eat for under a $...and a family can eat for 2-2.5$ I would say. Nice food....all veg stuff here.

7. In the Main Bazaar road, there is Chat Cafe Sonu........serves everything.....Tea, Coffee, Curries, Doas, Idli, Chinese (lol its Chinese made Indian way, but what the heck..).....lots of Europeans and Orientals patronize this place and I have met many lovely Aussies, Kiwis,Japs, Yanks, Poms...you name it...here! BTW...I chat is not for chatting / Internet chat as some would imagine....but its Indian spicy snacks that are labelled CHAT. But in a way...it is a great Chat place....as thats what most do here.....CHAT!

8. 100 m from Sonu Chat Cafe is another Cafe that serves Israeli / Lebanese cuisine, Indian cuisine as well as (Indian) Chinese. Very popular with Europeans again and great place to get acquainted with each other and develop friendsips. Masala Tea or Spiced Tea is pure bliss. (The uninitiated may baulk at the idea of Milk tea.....but try. Its worth it.

9. Gem Bar........pretty noisy and eternally crowded. But Scarcity of Pubs in the region, (Don't even know if anything else is around), makes it a popular destination. Lager beer for Rs. 65 is reasonable at 650 ml bottle available for just 1.5$! And Kingfisher is reasonably good I would say. Sandpiper, Golden Eagle and Haywards are other choices. BTW...same beer can be bought for just Rs. 35/- (Less then a $), from the Wine shops here but then you can't drink on streets in India. You have to bring it to your room and sip your mug of refreshment!

10. Sex workers....................lol ......when I came, I had heard lots of stories. I have been here almost 15 days now, usually return around 10 PM to my room from work and trust me, I have never seen any suspicious activity either on streets or in / around my hotel. No pimp / girl ever approached me and so I would imagine all stories are exaggerated figments of imagination. Must say I don't have neither inclination nor desire to explore this side of carnal desires, so my apologies if my reporting on this point isn't correct. But till I see something, my vote for Paharganj. Its CLEAN GUYS! (

and lastly.............

11. There is a beggar! Once I was taking an evening stroll when an ear piercing cry came. It seems a beggar was crying and terribly hungry. He was crying in Hindi that he is dying of hunger. One look at him and I couldn't help taking out some money and offeered it to him.

3-4 days later.....I saw that this same fella is smoking and chatting with someone on the street. They are laughing, chatting, smoking.....and then he suddenly bids his friend a good bye....applies some water under his eyes to pass for tears, sits down on the road and lets out the ear piercing cry,"I am terribly hungry Sir...I am dying of hunger madam'!

lol..no! Didn't feel like strangling the con artist. Just saluted his skills and proceeded to have a yummy meal at Malhotra's! This time without parting from a few coins in my pocket!

PeakXV · Feb 7th, 2008, 23:41

A very nice,passionate post Jupiter

..... but 12 hours a day of Indian madness,fumes,& chaos is enough for me - so when I go for sleep I want gym, sauna, shower, -> then some quality peace & quiet .... and non-toxic air to keep the REM sleep happening.

Jorge Reverter · Feb 8th, 2008, 00:27

Jupite,

Great post. Congratulations!!!!, from another Paharganj's lover.

I have already sent this web direction I found in a french indian forum to another thread about Paharganj, but here you have again:
http://members.lycos.nl/babajan/index.html a lot of stuff about Paharganj.

All the best

Jorge

Jupiter · Feb 18th, 2008, 01:35

Thanks PeakXV and Jorge....

BTW, recently befriended an amazing Aussie lady from Perth in Paharganj and its a shame she had to leave within a couple of days of our getting acquainted. But we had some lovely Russian Vodka and an evening of very interesting conversation.

Wish to see her / her likes more often!

ColinT · Feb 18th, 2008, 02:23

Great post Jupiter. I notice a mention is given to Sonu and a couple of other eateries. How about Cafe Madan, run by two really nice, friendly brothers, who always make a big effort to help out if you need help. They also have the cheapest menu among the backpacker cafes and great food.

I just checked out the site Jorge and I found Madam, with a familiar face there: Mr Bunty: Madan Cafe

See Rainbows in Chennai

Jupiter · Feb 22nd, 2008, 01:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColinT

Great post Jupiter. I notice a mention is given to Sonu and a couple of other eateries. How about Cafe Madan, run by two really nice, friendly brothers, who always make a big effort to help out if you need help. They also have the cheapest menu among the backpacker cafes and great food.

I just checked out the site Jorge and I found Madam, with a familiar face there: Mr Bunty: Madan Cafe

See Rainbows in Chennai

Yes ColinT! Madan Cafe is a popular hangout for many Europeans and right opposite is another popular joint Khosla Cafe!

One terrific place is a bit further down from Khosla Cafe and it is called Diamond Cafe. You can have Israeli, Lebanese and Continental stuff here and in cramped Paharganj, this place has surprisingly airy ambience. Very popular with tourists certainly!

Feb 7th, 2008, 23:05	#1
Jupiter Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Moscow Posts: 39	The Charms of Paharganj...... 1. The constant hustle and bustle! The roads can take just that many people, cows, dogs and rickshaws it seems. Any more and the road would cave in you would think. 2. Salesmen of almost every shop pride their knowledge of what they believe is 'Global Understanding'. So, any White Male o Female who passes in front of their shop, they quickly decide whether the unsuspecting Soul is Russian, French, Italian or Aussie. And as soon as they decide who you are, in a a 'nailed you there' tone they greet you with a 'Hello Sir / Madam', 'Zdrastvuite, kak dela?'......or 'Bonjour Madamoiselle'.....'Senorita... Mama Mia'!!!! 3. Hotels and lodges to suit all budgets. Right from Rs. 200/- a day to.........well go as high as you want. But, I can assure you for Rs. 400/ ($10), you can get a very neat and clean room with TV beaming almost 100 Sattelite channels including CNN, BBC, excellent Indian news channels....many Indian channels in a myriad of languages, National Geographic, Animal Planet (last two are my favourites certainly!) 4. Lots and lots of places to eat around! Again.....all budgets will get a handsome meal and some of these places are...: 5. Malhotra's Eatery......right in front of dilapidated Imperial Cinema Hall, which from the movie posters atleast, seems to be a theater that shows sleazy Bollywood soft porn all the time. Well, Malhotra is superb for its Lamb dish preparations, Indian Roti / Naan and is good value for money. Nice food you can have for just Rs. 100/- (2.5 US $) 6. Malhotra's have opened another South Indian restaurent and it has some fabulous Dosas on offer...I love well made Dosas and this place is a winner. You can eat for under a $...and a family can eat for 2-2.5$ I would say. Nice food....all veg stuff here. 7. In the Main Bazaar road, there is Chat Cafe Sonu........serves everything.....Tea, Coffee, Curries, Doas, Idli, Chinese (lol its Chinese made Indian way, but what the heck..).....lots of Europeans and Orientals patronize this place and I have met many lovely Aussies, Kiwis,Japs, Yanks, Poms...you name it...here! BTW...I chat is not for chatting / Internet chat as some would imagine....but its Indian spicy snacks that are labelled CHAT. But in a way...it is a great Chat place....as thats what most do here.....CHAT! 8. 100 m from Sonu Chat Cafe is another Cafe that serves Israeli / Lebanese cuisine, Indian cuisine as well as (Indian) Chinese. Very popular with Europeans again and great place to get acquainted with each other and develop friendsips. Masala Tea or Spiced Tea is pure bliss. (The uninitiated may baulk at the idea of Milk tea.....but try. Its worth it. 9. Gem Bar........pretty noisy and eternally crowded. But Scarcity of Pubs in the region, (Don't even know if anything else is around), makes it a popular destination. Lager beer for Rs. 65 is reasonable at 650 ml bottle available for just 1.5$! And Kingfisher is reasonably good I would say. Sandpiper, Golden Eagle and Haywards are other choices. BTW...same beer can be bought for just Rs. 35/- (Less then a $), from the Wine shops here but then you can't drink on streets in India. You have to bring it to your room and sip your mug of refreshment! 10. Sex workers....................lol ......when I came, I had heard lots of stories. I have been here almost 15 days now, usually return around 10 PM to my room from work and trust me, I have never seen any suspicious activity either on streets or in / around my hotel. No pimp / girl ever approached me and so I would imagine all stories are exaggerated figments of imagination. Must say I don't have neither inclination nor desire to explore this side of carnal desires, so my apologies if my reporting on this point isn't correct. But till I see something, my vote for Paharganj. Its CLEAN GUYS! ( and lastly............. 11. There is a beggar! Once I was taking an evening stroll when an ear piercing cry came. It seems a beggar was crying and terribly hungry. He was crying in Hindi that he is dying of hunger. One look at him and I couldn't help taking out some money and offeered it to him. 3-4 days later.....I saw that this same fella is smoking and chatting with someone on the street. They are laughing, chatting, smoking.....and then he suddenly bids his friend a good bye....applies some water under his eyes to pass for tears, sits down on the road and lets out the ear piercing cry,"I am terribly hungry Sir...I am dying of hunger madam'! lol..no! Didn't feel like strangling the con artist. Just saluted his skills and proceeded to have a yummy meal at Malhotra's! This time without parting from a few coins in my pocket! __________________ *Travel this year ...........coz next year , you will have an year less* to discover new People & Places!!!!**

Feb 7th, 2008, 23:41	#2
PeakXV Naan.tering Nabob Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Abode of Glooscap Posts: 4,513	nice place to visit(briefly) but you don't need to sleep there ....... A very nice,passionate post Jupiter ..... but 12 hours a day of Indian madness,fumes,& chaos is enough for me - so when I go for sleep I want gym, sauna, shower, -> then some quality peace & quiet .... and non-toxic air to keep the REM sleep happening. __________________ What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

Feb 18th, 2008, 02:23	#5
ColinT Future Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: UK Posts: 335	Great post Jupiter. I notice a mention is given to Sonu and a couple of other eateries. How about Cafe Madan, run by two really nice, friendly brothers, who always make a big effort to help out if you need help. They also have the cheapest menu among the backpacker cafes and great food. I just checked out the site Jorge and I found Madam, with a familiar face there: Mr Bunty: Madan Cafe See Rainbows in Chennai Last edited by ColinT : Feb 18th, 2008 at 04:42.

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Feb 8th, 2008, 00:27	#3
Jorge Reverter Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Murcia - Spain Posts: 1,251	Jupite, Great post. Congratulations!!!!, from another Paharganj's lover. I have already sent this web direction I found in a french indian forum to another thread about Paharganj, but here you have again: http://members.lycos.nl/babajan/index.html a lot of stuff about Paharganj. All the best Jorge

Feb 18th, 2008, 01:35	#4
Jupiter Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Moscow Posts: 39	Thanks PeakXV and Jorge.... BTW, recently befriended an amazing Aussie lady from Perth in Paharganj and its a shame she had to leave within a couple of days of our getting acquainted. But we had some lovely Russian Vodka and an evening of very interesting conversation. Wish to see her / her likes more often!

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