Quicksilver tongues in a wise old square

A top-notch lawyer and an iconic TV star. Shoma Chaudhury finds veteran Chandni Chowk unmoved by either

Chandni Chowk is not easily impressed. It has history, sprawl and the self-assurance of those close to seats of power. The story goes, Jahanara, Emperor Shahjahan’s favourite daughter, designed Chandni Chowk in 1650 ad. From the fanciful indulgence of a princess, it has swelled over the centuries into a bloated and bewildering constituency.

In 1650, the Red Fort was directly opposite; today Parliament is just ten minutes away. Several large disparate parts make up modern day Chandni Chowk. There is Paharganj, washed up, old, a cheap hang-out for visiting hippies. There is Daryaganj, aggressive marketplace, restless and robust. There is Matia Mahal, Jama Masjid and Turkman Gate, the Muslim heart, where the fragrant smell of roasting kebabs rises tantalisingly to meet the dusk. Old Chandni Chowk, where history is only visible in the crumble. And Majnu ka Tila, the dispirited caravan of the Tibetan exile. At first glance though, it all looks the same. The Chandni Chowk constituency teems, bursts, spills. Wires tangle its skies. Cell-sized houses, packed like honeycombs, hide multi-layered lives. Tiny shops, no larger than a child’s first square, stalk the streets looking for business. Faces press out of everywhere. The roads are moving limbs of people. You get everything there: meat, silver, brass, paper, books, cycles, auto parts, music, parathas, hotels, oil, spices, cloth, wedding gowns, women, washing machines, the rich, the poor. You also get fine French patisserie.

Into this tangle, this election season, two candidates have stepped. The three could not be more mismatched: Kapil Sibal, Smriti Irani and Chandni Chowk. The first is a Congress spokesman and a top-notch lawyer, Harvard educated, suave, refined. As far removed from the life of Chandni Chowk as it is possible to get. The second is a Mumbai-based television star married to a vineyard owner. Youthful, energetic, mesmerised by the “discipline” of the bjp. And the third is an old, old constituency. That well understands the feints of power.

Kapil Sibal is not scintillating on the campaign trail. It’s a searing day. A bunch of us wait at Mujje Chowk, opposite New Delhi railway station. Sibal arrives on time and sets off at a brisk trot. Congress workers follow him. It’s a mangy tail, no thicker than 40 or 50. We weave our way into the squalid katras — zonal colonies that house people belonging to the same trade. Basant Road, Shaura Kothi, Ladoo Ghati, Ram Gali, Dariba Paan, Ramnath Patwa, Tel Mandi. It is a dismal scene. Narrow alleys turn and twist back on themselves. Nothing is grander than a dirty hutch. At times, the tail breaks away and loses itself. Sibal soldiers resolutely ahead, waving diligently all the while. There is a whisker of the absurd in the act. People look on impassively. Often, they don’t wave back. The idioms don’t match. When the odd person steps forward to garland him, Sibal whisks the flowers off his neck before they quite touch him. He rarely stops to chat. Even the beating drums cannot mask the listless air. “I wish you could see how people shower him with rose petals in the Muslim areas,” his aide says.

It is true. Neither Harvard nor television charisma is going to move Chandni Chowk. The real issues here are of sanitation and sewer, water and roads, electricity and education. Pan-Indian anxieties. Yet, elections here will only be won on the cynical arithmetic of caste and religion. And in this, Sibal, no matter what his personal style, stands the better chance. For though it has Hindus, Sikhs, traders and dalits, Muslims make up the largest percent of Chandni Chowk.

Later in the day, as Sibal walks through the Muslim quarters of Daryaganj and Jama Masjid, the mangy tail fans out to something like 150-200. There is a more energetic swish in its wag. Even the drums are more excited. Some people at alley corners recognise him: “Bahut bada vakil hai yeh (He is a very big lawyer),” they say. Sibal has been defending some pota and Gujarat riot cases; he has also spoken against shifting the Idgah abbatoir. But it is not this that will earn him a victory. What will is the fact that brokered by VP Singh, Shoaib Iqbal, the Janata Dal (Secular) candidate who used to split the Muslim vote, has stepped down in his favour.