New Delhi: A neighbourhood in the heart of the national capital has a dodecagonal structure which dates back to the British reign in India. Somewhat similar to the structure of Connaught Place, this miniature market is popularly known as Gole Market.
Built within a traffic roundabout, it is connected to four radial roads — Peshwa Road, Ramakrishna Asram Road, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, and Bhai Veer Singh Road — that lead out of the market.
The market caters to the daily needs of the nearby residents. Amidst several newly built shops, Delhi Sweet House is the oldest and it stands apart from the crowd. Catering to the daily needs of thousands of government employees living in the nearby residential areas, the market was built in 1921. It was designed by Edwin Lutyens.
By the turn of the 21st century, 28 shops operated in the market, most of them dating back to the 1920s. These included numerous confectioneries, sweet shops and fast food restaurants, and several meat shops. Over the years, the facade deteriorated as a result of unauthorised construction and was in a state of disrepair. The NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council) fined several shopkeepers for operating without proper licenses or for unhygienic conditions. Eviction notices were served to the shopkeepers by the NDMC, leading to a cessation of commercial activities. The move was supported by the traffic police as running a market in the busy roundabout caused traffic congestion. Later, the NDMC revealed new plans to convert the heritage market into a museum. However, the structure remains as it was, with the tin shutters pulled down and locked within the bounds of the roundabout.
Now, the market stands only on the outer side of the roundabout in a U-shaped double lane. The high pillars of the market still have a peach colored plate in every section. Engraved in English and Urdu, the plates read ‘fruits and vegetables,’ ‘dairies and bakeries,’ ‘wine merchants and general stores,’ and ‘goat meat.’ This gives a sense of how segregated the market was, unlike now.
In the good old days, the area from Gole Market to Gol Dak Khana was basically residential in nature with single storey houses. These houses were brought down to accommodate government servants in the 1960s. During the same time, the post office (dak khana) was formerly known as Alexandra Place and it served as the office of the CPWD (Central Public Works Department).
The post office is approximately 800 meters away from the market. It has been appropriately named for its strategic octagonal structure. It serves as an intersection leading to all crucial locations of New Delhi like Ashoka Road, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Pandit Pant Marg, and Baba Khadak Singh Marg. Consequently, upon the shifting of the seat of Central government from Calcutta to Delhi in 1932, Army barracks were constructed at Raisina Village.
(This is part of a weekly series on the city’s historic spaces)
