Celebration at Old Delhi with Dhruv

If Chandni Chowk was a heroine, romantic and a perfect size 6, Dhruv Gupta would be her Javier Bardem. For his is not just another food tour of the Old Delhi but a sampling of her most delicious secrets, which he has managed to coax out and shares with only a few.

A management consultant and self-confessed travel junkie – “Now only Australia and New Zealand are left,” – Dhruv grew up in a haveli situated deep in the folds of the Old Delhi. He conducts several tours including shopping and marriage (!) but the half day food tour, where six participants are taken on a cake walk of the area’s best street food vendors and to his haveli for a home-cooked meal, is his most popular.

The tour, which lasts for Four hours, begins at the Chawari Bazaar metro stop and involves rickshaw rides through winding, whirring lanes with pit stops for laccha tokri and bedwee aloo, chaat and kadai  milk, desi ghee tikki and dahi bhalla. No matter how full you are, don’t miss milk cake, cooked on a gleaming, giant kadai by a moon-faced halwai and transferred to your plate piping hot, in all its sticky-steamy glory. Vendors visited are friends and carefully vetted for hygiene. “No one has ever gotten sick after my tours,” Dhruv assures.

Dhruv also adds a surprise element to his journeys, impromptu stops at enchanting little nooks like the workshop of an ancient biscuit maker, for instance, or a huge kiln that mass-produces naans. Like a true hero, however, he saves the best for last: a meal & Kite Flying  at Masterji Ki Haveli, his ancestral home and current residence.

We could tell you that the haveli is carefully preserved and tastefully decorated, that it features four floors and seventeen rooms, 58 doors and 360 degree views. We could tell you that the walls are sky blue and thick, insulating the interiors against extreme weather, that the furniture is Colonial, the central courtyard punctuated by an ancient hand pump. But what’s most striking here is the sense of space and family, of welcome and heritage.

Five minutes inside and you might find yourself perched on a high old bed, deep in conversation with his mum, grandmum or daughters, all of whom live here, or learning the proper technique to fry paneer pakodas in a modern kitchen with Dhruv’s lovely wife.

The best seat in the house is on the  open terrace with the Jama Masjid soaring up on one side, an old couple watching TV in a little house on the other, the whole neighbourhood unfurling like a gleaming, glittering, wrinkled skirt. And it’s not just the sights: here you can hear azaan and a game of gulli cricket, Star Plus and a hawker selling hapus mangoes in the same one minute.

A friend described it as the sound of community, but we like to think of it as the conversations between a heroine and her many suitors, fruit sellers and budding Sachins, troubadours and tourists, her and Javier.

He gives a friendly tour in English with a combination of Culinary, Heritage and Cultural Experience.

Morning Tour starts at 10.30am every day, followed by complimentary traditional Lunch at the Masterji kee Haveli ( Old Private Mansion)

Evening Tour starts at 4pm every day, followed by complimentary traditional Dinner at the Masterji Kee Haveli ( Old Private Mansion)

Full Day tour starts at 10.30am every day, followed with Lunch at a safe local restaurant and complimentary Dinner at teh Masterji Kee Haveli ( Old Private Mansion)

2. Meeting Point: Chawri Bazar Metro Station - Outside Exit Gate 3

PLEASE REACH ON TIME at the meeting point “Chawri Bazar Metro Station – Outside Exit Gate No. 3”, to join the tour. For quick reference Metro Rail Route link is as follows: http://www.delhimetrorail.com/big-route-map.aspx

3. If you need Hotel to Hotel pickup & drop service, he may organize at an extra cost

4. He RECOMMENDs to have LIGHT Breakfast / Lunch OR NO Breakfast / Lunch to enjoy the experience thoroughly.

5. PLEASE NOTE: Do not offend by offering tip, Tips are not accepted and you are not allowed to pay single penny anywhere, everything is a part of the package.

Other Escorted Tours which he offers:

http://www.masterjikeehaveli.com/other-tours.html

Visit www.masterjikeehaveli.com or call Dhruv Gupta at                                     +91 9810750217                  , Rs 2500 per person  includes Old Delhi Bazaar walk, some street food tasting for those who feel adventurous, all ingredients, visiting a local home - Masterji Kee Haveli (Old Private Mansion), interactive cooking session,Cycle Rickshaw rides, Kite Flying, complimentary traditional Meal, bottled water and services of local English Speaking Friend. 

TOUR NEEDS TO BE BOOKED  IN ADVANCE