reason behind the name
The new road to Delhi was built after the war of 1857. At that time this road was well equipped and wide. The British named this street as Egerton Road. But this street was newly built and was a bit better than the other streets, so people started calling it the new street. Gradually, the name used in common parlance became its official name and even today people know it by the name of Nai Sadak.
Glimpses of 20th century buildings
If you go to New Street, there are two-storey buildings showing the architecture of the early 20th century. There are shops on the ground floor of these two-storey buildings, where you will find books ranging from school children to higher education. Along with this, here you will easily find stationery items and registers, paps, etc. used in the office. Good books and other stationery items are available at very low prices on Nai Sadak. That’s why people from all over the country come here and buy books of their choice.
Delhi’s oldest bookselling and publishing hub
Nai Sadak is known as the biggest stationery market in the country. It is the oldest bookselling and publishing hub of Delhi. When the country was partitioned in 1947, many big publishers and booksellers from Lahore moved to Delhi and started running shops on Nai Sadak. The most special thing about this market is that even though its name is Nai Sadak, most of the shopkeepers here do business of old books. Apart from shops, there are many small roadside stalls where old books are sold on tables.
Book sales decreased by 60 to 70 percent
As big as the book market is today on Nai Sadak, once upon a time it used to be even bigger. But in the 1970s many publishers based here shifted to Daryaganj. After this the business started decreasing here. Because of this, many shops were gradually closed. According to a report in 2017, the sale of books in Nai Sadak Market decreased by 60 to 70 percent. It was told in this report that the reasons for the low sale of books here include getting books in the online market, becoming copyright of books and launching cheap books by foreign publishers.
How to reach Nai Sadak?
Apart from books and stationery, many wholesale shops of cotton, silk and embroidered sarees are also available in this market. Apart from this, there are also some music instrument shops, where new and old musical instruments are sold. This market remains closed on Sundays. If you want to go to Nai Sadak then Delhi Metro is the best option. You can get down by metro at Chandni Chowk or Jama Masjid metro station. The road can be reached by taking a left turn just before Paranthe Wali and Katra Nawab Gali on Chandni Chowk Road.
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Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
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