New Delhi: In the pre-British era, Lala Bhim Sain, a maverick businessman from Ambala, got out of the train when it stopped near Bengali Market, what is now one of the oldest markets in central Delhi. Sain established himself as the first chai-and mithai-wallah in the 1940s, Vivek Shukla, 52, said. The business he founded was later named after the market.
His descendants now own Bhimsain’s Bengali Sweet House, Bengali Sweet House and Bengali Pastry Shop & Snack Bar, according to Mr Shukla, a historian of Delhi. “The shop was named after the market and not the other way around. The market was built by Lala Bengali Mal Lohia,” Varjesh Aggarwal of Bengali Pastry Shop and Snack Bar said.
The self-contained market has nearly three dozen shops, as per the directory of Bengali Market Traders Association. Located amid largely plush residential areas, the market has catered to Bollywood celebrities, top parliamentarians, jurists, bureaucrats and businessmen, the association’s president Mukesh Gupta said.
“Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha and nearly all the prime ministers, including Indira Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri used to visit this market,” Mr Gupta said. The parking lots in the market were nearly full during lunch hours on a Tuesday and the trade association’s president told this newspaper: “The market is located in the cultural hub of Delhi. NSD (National School of Drama), FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and Kamani Auditorium goers visit this place frequently. People usually come here for the sweetmeat shops, Bengali Sweet House and Nathu’s Sweets.” Nathu’s Sweets, one of the early shops in the market, claims that it sells over 1,000 varieties of sweets, apart from serving sumptuous meals. “Kaju Barfi and Pure Pista Barfi are the fastest selling sweets. We have Bengali items: Anar Punch, Badam Punch, Sondesh Barfi, Chena Toast and Chum Chum. Chole Bhature was introduced in 1952 and we sell nearly 200 plates a day,” a Nathu’s manager said.
The family-owned businesses have flourished in the Bengali Market. It’s still one of those markets that are yet to see incursion by multinational food and retail outlets. Mr Shukla, who attended a local school here, said the sweetmeat shops here initially started by selling tea and snacks.
“Lala Bhim Sain narrated to me how he established his business in the ‘40s. The train stopped at the Bengali Market and it didn’t move for 10-20 minutes. How much could he have waited? He got out of the train and found that there was not a single shop that sold a simple thing like tea. It was a nearly deserted market,” he said.
The surrounding areas had then come to be inhabited by erstwhile residents of Chandni Chowk, comprising “old Baniya, Punjabi and Christian families”, Mr Gupta said. He describes Sain’s sweetmeat shop as the “life and soul of Bengali Market”. “Lala-ji himself took feedback from customers. He even used to request people to sample his new barfis,” he added. Set up in the 1950s, the local Rama Colour is one of the oldest photo studios in the Central Delhi area, Mr Gupta claimed. In her cover note for the local trade association’s last year directory, former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said: “The traders are both traditional and modern. Traditional, because of the manner they treat their customers and make them feel at home. They are modern because there is hardly anything that a customer requires which is not available.” Mr Gupta, an elderly man who has lived in the area for over 50 years, insisted that the market needs to be developed by the New Delhi Municipal Council.
The civic body has for long been planning to lay a small circular market pavement and improve the parking facilities in the market. “The circular shape of the market gives you a feel of Connaught Place,” Mr Gupta said.
