Connaught Place : The Times Square Of India

Classical English architecture, wide beautifully-kept roads, colonnaded walkways and glittering large showrooms of every known brand – if it were not for the recurring garbage piles and betel (“paan”) stains ornamenting the white walls and grey marble floor, one would have thought they were somewhere in Europe. Welcome to Connaught Place – the heart of Lutyen’s Delhi! Officially called Rajiv Chowk and often abbreviated as CP, the massive commercial area was originally conceived to provide maximum shopping experience to British colonialists and military officers who then ruled over the subcontinent from their newly developed capital apparently called as “New Delhi”, but now predominantly caters a audience consisting of the Westernized, rapidly multiplying, newly affluent middle-class of a modern capital. A reflection of the vast changes that have crept unopposed in the society with time, the market’s large buildings that once housed British shops, bakeries and bookstores are now owned by multinational retail and food outlets catering to Indians and foreigners alike who throng them in search of instant enjoyment.

There is no place quite like CP anywhere for its combination of sheer architectural splendour and an increasingly egalitarian shopping experience.CP, named after the Duke of Connaught after he visited Delhi in 1921, is a 1,100-foot diameter circus “with pure white colonnades, palladian archways, rounded pillars and symmetrical two-storeyed buildings”, in the words of veteran architect-town planner A.K. Jain in his 2010 book ‘Lutyens’ Delhi’. Modelled after the Royal Crescent of Bath, with its imposing Georgian architecture, Connaught Place is a shopping arcade built as two concentric circles.
Wide verandahs were provided for shoppers to stare at show windows. A park was laid out in the centre to absorb dust and to provide a place to the shoppers to recover from the shock of high prices… The white skinned were the first to be skinned. The central park is loaded with lush green lawns, trees, an amphitheatre, fountains and water cascade and is a perfect place to sit, relax and enjoy the surroundings.

If there is one place that showcases the fast-paced and frenzied life in Delhi and also its vibrance, it would definitely be Connaught Place. Walk into any of the wide colonnaded avenues along its horse-shoe structure and into the outlets offering everything from food (McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Bercos, Kaventer’s, Café Coffee Day, Wenger’s) and clothing (Pantaloons, Levi’s, Shopper’s Stop, Woodland) to electronic and electrical accessories (Sony, Nokia, Samsung, Canon) and you will notice an equal mix of foreigners and Indians alike enjoying their time here. Even the pavements are lined up with stalls and pavement dwellers selling books, posters, street food, cold drinks and ice cream. This is what I like the most about CP, the big and small conduct their business side-by-side, especially the numerous book sellers with their wide range of popular covers (though one can get much cheaper, though often second-hand or pirated, books at Daryaganj flea market). Over time Connaught Place has become a shopper’s paradise, and even if you aren’t one for shopping, the wide walkways and shop windows that give a glimpse of the marvels they store within shall certainly tempt you into buying one thing or the other.

The underground metro station at CP, officially Rajiv Chowk station, is one of the largest and busiest in the city and serves as interchange station for Yellow and Blue lines of metro service. The headquarters of Delhi Tourism is also located in Connaught Place, opposite the famed Hanuman Mandir. Also located nearby is the revered Sikh shrine Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. If you are one for history and monuments, head to the nearby located (or rather hidden!!) Agrasen ki Baoli or the majestic Jantar Mantar complex. And if even after all this your urge to shop isn’t satisfied, you can always visit Palika Bazaar (an underground shopping arcade immediately next to the inner circle) or Janpath (which is basically a large flea market selling both men and women clothing and accessories at dirt-cheap prices). Of course, unlike Connaught Place, one has to extensively bargain at both Janpath and Palika Bazaar, plus there aren’t trial rooms available at either which becomes an issue for women shoppers.
Delhi is full of awe-inspiring places; you just need to have time to visit there. In just Connaught Place in Central Delhi, you can find at least a hundred such locations where you can spend a good deal of time and never get bored. It is only your body that will get tired of roaming around Connaught Place; your heart will always ask for more of it. And when you return home, you will have your heart full of profound memories that you can cherish for a lifetime.