''For other places with the same name, see

Wazirabad (disambiguation) Vazirabad or Wazirabad ( fa, وزيرآباد) may refer to: Afghanistan * Vazirabad, Afghanistan, a village in Balkh Province, Afghanistan * Wazirabad, Kabul, a neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan Iran * Vazirabad, Fars, Iran * Vazirabad, ...

'' Dariba Kalan (Hindi: दरीबा कलान, English: ''Street of the Incomparable Pearl''), is a 17th-century street in

Chandni Chowk The Chandni Chowk, also known as Moonlight Square is one of the oldest and busiest markets in Old Delhi, India. It is located close to the Old Delhi Railway Station. The Red Fort monument is located at the eastern end of Chandni Chowk. It was bu ...

area of

Old Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. Th ...

Shahjahanbad Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal Empire, Mughal Mughal emperors, emperor at the time) decided to shift t ...

. It lies within the

walled city of Delhi Old Delhi or Purani Dilli is an area in the Central Delhi district of Delhi, India. It was founded as a walled city named Shahjahanabad in 1648, when Shah Jahan (the Mughal emperor at the time) decided to shift the Mughal capital from Agra. Th ...

, and connects the Chandni Chowk area with

Jama Masjid A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.* * * * * * * ...

. The words

Khurd and Kalan Khurd and Kalan (Hindi: ख़ुर्द और कलाँ, خرد اور کلاں Punjabi: ਖ਼ੁਰਦ ਅਤੇ ਕਲਾਂ, خرد اتے کلاں) are administrative designations used in India and Pakistan to indicate the smaller (Khu ...

, "small" and "big" in Persian, respectively, are used to distinguish two villages that have the same name.

History

It derives its name from the Persian ''Dur-e be-baha'', which translates as "unparalleled pearl", while suffix Kalan means big. There was also a smaller street near by, known as Dariba Khurd or Chhota Dariba, both ''Khurd'' and ''Chhota'' meaning "small"; it is now known as Kinari Bazaar. This is in reference to its history as a popular market for precious stones and gold and silver jewelry, especially under the reign of the 17th-century Mughal emperor

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

. The street witnessed the bloody massacre of Delhi in March 1739, ordered by the Persian invader

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...

, when hundreds of innocent civilians and soldiers were killed and the gold shops were looted.

Overview

Today, most of the shops in Dariba Kalan trade in costume jewellery. Some also deal in authentic ''

ittar Ittar, also known as attar, is an essential oil derived from botanical or other natural sources. Most commonly these oils are extracted via hydro or steam distillation. The Persian physician Ibn Sina was first to derive the attar of flowers ...

'', a special variety of perfume. These stores claim to date back to the early 19th century. Also near by is Kinari Bazaar, Gali Kazanchi, and

Gali Paranthe Wali Gali Paranthe Wali or Paranthe wali Gali ( hi, गली पराँठेवाली, literally "the bylane of flatbread") is a narrow street in the Chandni Chowk area of Delhi, India, noted for its series of shops selling paratha, an In ...

, also at both ends of the street are famous ''

jalebi ''Jalebi'' (, , , Urdu: جلیبی‎, , , si, පැණි වළලු, ), is a popular sweet snack in south and west Asia, Africa, and Mauritius. It goes by many names, including ''jilapi'', ''zelepi'','' jilebi'', '' jilipi'', ''zulbia'', ...

'' shops.

In popular culture

Dariba Kalan is mentioned in the popular song ''

Kajra Re Kajra Re () is a song composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, written by Gulzar and sung by the playback singers Alisha Chinoy, Shankar Mahadevan and Javed Ali. It is from the 2005 film ''Bunty Aur Babli'', starring Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Muker ...

'' from the hit Hindi film ''

Bunty aur Babli ''Bunty Aur Babli'' () is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy film directed by Shaad Ali and written by Jaideep Sahni, based on a story by Aditya Chopra, who serves as producer under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Abhishek Bac ...

'' (2005)

References

Streets in Delhi Retail markets in Delhi History of Delhi Jewellery districts Neighbourhoods in Delhi Shopping districts and streets in India {{India-road-stub bn:দারিবা bpy:দারিবা new:दरिबा vi:Dariba

History

Overview

In popular culture

See also

References