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When Vivekananda charmed Chandni Chowk

Long before Chandni Chowk was reduced to a bazaar, it used to be a centre for religious discourses. R.V. SMITH comes up with one such tale

Chandni Chowk often renews its link with the past and the many occasions when it saw bloodshed and violence. A few years after it was built by Shah Jehan, the moonlight street saw Dara Shikoh being taken for execution on a dirty elephant to jeers from the soldiers of his victorious brother, Aurangzeb, and the sighs of the residents. It witnessed more gory sights when Guru Tegh Bahadur and his two disciples suffered martyrdom and later during the frequent battles for the throne among the successors of Aurangzeb. But the bloodiest sight was the invasion of Nadir Shah and then the "Mutiny" and its holocaust, which included the murder of the Moghul princes. Rioting in 1947 and other outbreaks of communal frenzy have also been witnessed here.

But Chandni Chowk has also been the hub and centre of the social, cultural and religious life of the Capital. Before Connaught Place was built this was the place where the latest fashions, both Indian and foreign, could be seen on an evening.

In front of the Baptist Church, where the British band played once a week, preachers of various faiths collected for debates. Such debates were also held in the Peepul Park whose site is now occupied by the Lajpat Rai Market.

During the freedom struggle, Chandni Chowk occupied pride of place and it was here that the procession of the Viceroy Lord Hardinge was attacked and also where the great leaders of the Independence movement held their meetings.

Earlier, Swami Vivekananda and Swami Shraddhanand were among the prominent preachers seen here. Vivekananda stayed for some time with his friend Dr. H.K. Sen.

One can visualise the Swamiji walking down the chowk with his disciples, pausing at the church and sometimes listening to the hymns and perhaps joining in them.

Landmark visit

His visit in February 1891 was a landmark and those who came to know him were duly impressed. During most of his three-week visit he stayed in Roshanara Garden at the house of Shyamaldas Seth. But he kept coming to Chandni Chowk, and often visited the Yamuna bank.

The Yamuna in those days was full of water in which one could bathe with ease and not the dirty, filthy stream that it has become now. After a bath, Vivekananda would sit on the riverbank and meditate.

His meditations found an outlet at the Peepul Park. It was at the park that exponents of various religions held debates, which attracted a lot of people. A gifted speaker like Vivekananda was naturally a big draw.

Swami Vivekananda's approach to life and religion was never rigid. He believed in the inherent goodness of all beings, and a benevolent, all-pervading spirit that was the Paramatma. His speeches reflected these views, which were appreciated and respected, even as far away as Chicago.

You can imagine the impression a group of saffron-clad men led by Vivekananda must have made on the people of Delhi.

Roshanara Garden, where Swamiji camped before proceeding to Rajputana, was past its prime even then and, in the absence of the Roshanara Club, established later, he couldn't have found it so enchanting after all.

But he did note that his visit to Delhi was a dream come true. A former pastor of the Baptist Church the Reverend Mark recalled in 1960 that his grandfather found Vivekananda very well conversant with the Bible. Swamiji referred to his relationship with Paramhansha as like the one between the prophet Elias and Elisha, who had no choice but to take over as successor. Vivekananda described his closeness to Sharda Ma as akin to the affinity between Christ's favourite disciple and his mother.

In this context he recalled the vision Paramhansa had of Jesus, in which the guru saw that the tip of the nose of the heavenly visitant was slightly flat something known to only the 12 Apostles.

Such conversations were part of Vivekananda's interaction with dignitaries of all religions at Peepul Park. They included North Indian brahmins, Jain munis Christian priests and also maulvis.

The spirit of Clio that broods over Chandni Chowk is witness to many memorable events and Swami Vivekananda's foot falls still echo for it on the medieval promenade.

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