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It's steal out here!
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From needles to noodles, from footwear to fashionwear -- all between Rs. 10 and 125 at the age-old Teh Bazaar in Chandni Chowk and all-new China Bazaar in Darya Ganj. RANA A. SIDDIQUI reports... .
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Cups and bowls, jackets and shawls... .everything at affordable rates at China Bazaar in Darya Ganj. Photo: R.V. Moorthy.
A QUALITY purse for Rs.35. The entire range of kitchenware for Rs 125. Coloured T-shirts, trousers, parallels, sweaters from Rs. 25 to 65. All this and more at Chandni Chowk's Teh Bazaar, a pavement market from the Red Fort to Fatehpuri Masjid in the Walled City. It has a clear segment of articles on sale ranging from Rs.10 to 125. The articles include everything under the sun -- from needles to noodles and fashion to footwear. Just like the stuff available at China Bazaar, not too far away.
But there is no trace of this Teh Bazaar when you go there during the daytime as it starts at 7 p.m. and lasts till midnight. On Sunday, since the main Chandni Chowk market is closed, the sellers of Teh Bazaar have a `legally sanctioned' field day. Heard the idiom, "When the cat is away, mice play?"
This bazaar exists here since ages. Senior citizens tell you that it started during the reign of the last Moghul Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. Then it used to be a bazaar for the financially feeble. The tradition continues with a difference. Now the crowd swells due to the frequent visits of the economically stronger sections of the society, who buy wholesale items away from the prying eyes of their counterparts.
But everything about Teh Bazaar was not always goody-goody. These pavement sellers used to be a menace for the main shopkeepers as they would encroach upon the pavement just outside these shops leading to a slump in their sales. Then Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapaar Mandal filed a case against the Government when Madan Lal Khurana was the Chief Minister. "Thankfully Supreme Court gave the judgement in our favour six years ago. Since then, the Teh Bazaar sellers are allowed time to sell only after 7-30 p.m. everyday and the whole day on Sundays," recalls an old shopkeeper who has been here since two decades.
"I have been benefited by the change as most office-going people now come here with their spouse and children and buy more items than they would when alone at day-time," says Saleem Bhati, a wooden item seller.
So it is toys, cosmetics, clothes and kitchenware -- take your pick in just Rs. 10 to 125 -- and even bargain! Not just here but also at a stone's throw from here at China Bazaar on Netaji Subhash Marg, Darya Ganj. Here, almost every consumer durable is available for as little as Rs 10 and as much as Rs 65! Blue banners greet you to tables where the enticing stuff is exhibited. Interested? Well, then jostle your way through to this selling outlet near Golcha cinema.
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