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Ghantewala tolls no more

The shutting down of Delhi's oldest sweet shop that served Mughal nobles and was witness to history being made reflects the callous disregard we have for heritage sites, says Amrita Madhukalya

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There are many reasons being given for the shutting down of an iconic 225-year-old sweetshop in the heart of Old Delhi. Some say Ghantewala Confectioners downed its shutters because the city's culinary landscape is changing and not many want to indulge in sweets dipped in desi ghee and others are of the view that competition from the swanky air-conditioned Haldiram's opposite sounded the death knell. Any which way, it's a piece of heritage lost perhaps forever.

Ghantewala Confectioners, established in 1790 by Lala Sukh Lal Jain, in the heart of Chandni Chowk, was witness to every battle that was fought in the city, whose history stretches back 350 years. Historian Sohail Hashmi, who conducts heritage walks around the city, says it is a colossal loss. "This city existed for roughly 150 years before Ghantewala came up," he says. "Ghantewala was established in the tenure of Shah Alam II, while Shahjahanabad (as the city was known then) was established in 1640."

Hashmi says that the shop was witness to the Battle of Patparganj, where the Maratha kings were defeated by the Mughals. It was there when the rebellion of 1857, the first struggle of freedom, took place. It also saw the massacre of thousands of city people in the hands of the British. "The British beheaded 22 Mughal princes near the Chandni Chowk square, close to the shop," he says. "Raja Nahar Singh was executed by the British near the fountain, which is just spitting distance from the shop."

There are also various versions of how the name came about. Some say it was named Ghantewala because elephants of Mughal noblemen would rattle their bells till someone fed them. According to another story, Shah Alam would call for the sweets near the school bell-tower. But Hashmi says that that might not be the story. "If one looks closely at the prevalent practices of small-scale businesses, we will find that the kulfiwalas, pheriwalas, and falsawalas sell their wares door-to-door. I think that Lala Sukh Lal Jain had migrated from Rajasthan and started selling his sweets from a brass pot going from street to street, announcing his visit with a brass bell," says Hashmi. "He might have moved on to a pushcart, and eventually opened the shop in 1790."

Rubaiyat, who grew up in Mori Gate close by, remembers her grandfather buying the sohan halwa in the early 1950s. In an age-old continuum, she bought sohan halwa for her grandchildren last month. "The sohan halwa was a special treat; and it was so costly that you were considered lucky if you could have it once in two years," she says. Besides the sohan halwa, Ghantewala's kalakand, pista lau and petha were crown pullers too.

Anubhav Sapra, of Delhi Food Walks, says that the sweet shop is fodder for sweet memories. "It was the oldest sweet shop, and generations of Delhiites have some memory or the other to share," he says. Along with Ghantewala was Chaina Ram, the Karachi sweet shop that shifted base after Partition, and Kanwarji, in Paranthe Wali Gali. Now only two remain, rues Sapra, who has been going to Chandni Chowk every week for 20 years.

For the past 20 years, Sapra says he has been going to Chandni Chowk every week. And, over the years, the quality of the sweets have been on a decline. "Hem Chand Lathi in Kucha Ghasi Ram sells only three types of sweets - milk cake, barfi and rabri - and people still flock to him. The khurchandwala at Kinari bazaar, too, has no dearth of patrons," he says.

Hashmi feels that the city's administration is equally to blame. "Nowhere in the world will one find such callous disregard for heritage sites. Chandni Chowk's havelis are making way for aluminium and glass structures. The administration should revive the old city, so that people go to it. If enough people went to Ghantewala to buy their sweets, they would not have to share their regret on social media sites."

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