The Truth About DARYAGANJ... How The Daryaganj's Sunday Book Bazaar Came Into Being?

Scrolling through HT City, I read this article and felt like sharing it...

So, here the story goes...

Fifty years ago, a kabadi bazaar selling used clothes, sandals and furniture was held each Sunday near Jama Masjid in the walled city. The shops would be lined on both sides of what once was Delhi's biggest fish market. In 1964, three men gate-crashed hte bazaar and set-up second-hand book stalls.

After five years, the kabadi bazaar was moved to Red Fort's 'backside'. This ' backside' was not easily accesible by public transport. Within six months, one of the three original book-sellers (Kuldeep Raj Nanda) left the place to set-up a Sunday stall just below the lohe wala pul and become the first book-seller of the present-day Sunday Book Bazaar in Daryaganj.

Nanda was soon joined by many other book-sellers. For six straight days, these men would visit the city's kabadis. The kabadis would get used books from wealthy families in the city, and these book-sellers would but books from them on per-kilo basis. On the seventh day - Sunday - the books would be displayed on the little stretch in Daryaganj.

Initially, a small number of passers-by would stop to check out the books. Gradually, a few of these became regular. More people started coming. More book-sellers set-up stalls.

The Sunday Book Bazaar is now a city institution.