Once upon a time Chavanni used to tinkle in the brothel, read the full story of the name of Delhi’s Chawri Bazar

Why did the area get its name?

There is a very interesting story behind the name of Chawri Bazar. Its name is derived from the Marathi word ‘Chavari’. The word Chavari means a place to sit. It is said that earlier there used to be a meeting here in the house of a noble, which was like a kind of panchayat, where people used to come and try to solve their problems.

Chawdi Bazar got its name from Chavanni.

Apart from this, another story is prevalent behind the name of Chawri Bazar. It was once known for its dancing girls and tawaifs in the 19th century, an area frequented by the wealthy, according to a user on the Quora website. These people used to give them Chavannis in exchange for dance and thus gradually the name of the place came to be ‘Chavannis’ and then later ‘Chavari’.

Old Delhi’s first wholesale market

But after the coming of the British, the culture of courtesans ended. Thereafter, prostitutes came to occupy the upper floors of the market but were evicted by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Chawri Bazar was later established in 1840 as a hardware market. This was the first wholesale market of Old Delhi. Now Delhi’s Chawri Bazar is a specialized wholesale market for brass, copper and paper products.

one of the busiest streets

You can buy cheap brass and copper idols

Now Chawri Bazar is one of the busiest streets of Delhi. If you go here, you will find laborers with luggage on their backs, rickshaw pullers and pedestrians. During peak hours and weekends, there is no space to even set foot here. But still lakhs of people go to Chawri Bazar for shopping. Although this is a wholesale market, but here you will find brass and copper idols at cheap prices. Apart from this, you can also buy home decoration items from here. Apart from the shops of brass idols, there are also many old printing presses in Chawri Bazar, where you can get invitation cards printed for wedding or any other event at a low cost.

How to reach Chawri Bazar?

If you want to go to Chawri Bazar, then the best way is by metro. Chawri Bazar has a metro station, which is located on the Yellow Line of the Delhi Metro. Apart from this, you can also reach Chawri Bazaar on foot from Jama Masjid or Chandni Chowk. Here you will find many old buildings which give a glimpse of Old Delhi.