The Main Bazaar in Delhi’s Paharganj: Digital Images of the Organised Chaos

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Delhi’s Paharganj

The Main Bazaar in Paharganj, an area of Central Delhi located right next to New Delhi Railway Station, is one of the freakiest spots on Earth, and one doesn’t need to have visited all such zones to understand that.

“Organised chaos” is the common term people use to describe the area.

The main road serves two-way traffic, but it’s only wide enough for barely one and a half vehicles. The street is also the main thoroughfare for those on foot, along with the roaming cows, which get free rein, because they’re sacred beasts.

Indeed, if you hit a bovine with a car and kill it, you’re pretty much damned for lifetimes to come.

Walking down the Main Bazaar one is overcome by the sweet smell of incense, the overpowering scent of trash, along with the odd waft of hashish intermixed.

And the beggars are hardcore along the strip. They’ve either got such determination, they’ll follow a potential donor halfway down the road for a few rupees, or they’ll lead them down the path of an elaborate story that before they know it, concludes with a reason to hand over some cash.

Paharganj has been a centre for hippies, or backpackers now, since the early 1970s. And everything’s on offer, all the trinkets and clothes available across the subcontinent are there, along with substances of the illicit kind, or at least those ones derived from the cannabis and opium plants.

Sydney Criminal Lawyers braved the symphony of horns that are a constant feature of the Main Bazaar in an attempt to capture that which can’t quite be grasped in digital images.

A couple of street kids watch the world go by
A couple of street kids watch the world go by
The neon lights of the Main Bazaar advertising hotels of questionable quality at very cheap prices for train commuters and backpackers alike
The neon lights of the Main Bazaar advertising hotels of questionable quality at very cheap prices for train commuters and backpackers alike
A greengrocer in his usual spot adorned with images of Hindu deities
A greengrocer in his usual spot adorned with images of Hindu deities
A child exploiting busking venture
A child exploiting busking venture
Breakfast on the Main Bazaar
Breakfast on the Main Bazaar
A cow gets into the leftovers late night
A cow gets into the leftovers late night
Marvelling at the view
Marvelling at the view
The main market in the central bazaar area
The main market in the central bazaar area
In the broad light of day
In the broad light of day
Traffic sprawls out in all directions
Traffic sprawls out in all directions

Getting a quiet shave in a side street at an open-air barber shop
Getting a quiet shave in a side street at an open-air barber shop

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Author

Paul Gregoire

Paul Gregoire is a Sydney-based journalist and writer. He's the winner of the 2021 NSW Council for Civil Liberties Award For Excellence In Civil Liberties Journalism. Prior to Sydney Criminal Lawyers®, Paul wrote for VICE and was the news editor at Sydney’s City Hub.

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