Chawri Bazaar is a busy road as labourers, cars, rickshaws, scooters and walkers battle for the road during the peak market hours
One of Chawri Bazaar's paper vendors overseeing an outgoing order
Chawri Bazaar can be reached by taking the street near the middle projection of Jama Masjid's western (rear) wall. It is also accessible via the Chawri Bazaar underground station of the Delhi Metro
If the order is a small run; or needed "as of now" then delivery boys who have a customer database in their brain, are the saviours
Chawri Bazaar's streets are abuzz with wedding cards to wallpapers to subtle greetings. The main thing is: All types of paper is available; either in retail or in wholesale
According to urbanolgists, the street is named after a Marathi word chawri, which means meeting place
All grades of paper are available. From coated to uncoated; from metallic to specialty
Stock of Century Paper on a hath thela
Shouldering on: A labourer catering to Delhi's stationery and book market
Every inch is utilised; and paper stock lining the footpath is the norm
Specialty paper is the new paper grade on the block at Chawri Bazaar
Besides being a paper wholesale market, you can buy a brass or copper idol; plus items like jewelry boxes, vases, pots and oil lamps
Paper delivery boy loads a bundle of paper on his head. Chawri Bazaar is a road which has Jama Masjid at one end and Hauz Quazi on the other end of this lane
An operator working on a paper cutting machine
Most of the shop-owners monitor the paper stocks
A workforce of 10,000 services the print and paper industry
A narrow bylane which leads to Nai Sarak which is famous for books and ladies garments
Cycle rickshaws are a very useful mode of transport in the bazaar
Size of the sheets rarely affects the mode of transport
Chawri Bazaar-based paper vendors open their shops deep into the morning
Paper trade show their pious side through their names
The labour-force on daily wages can be seen waiting for work at Chawri Bazaar
With 1,400 paper traders in the area, a constant stream of paper stock is constantly on the move
Waiting for labour to unload the paper stock from the tempo; which is usually done in a record time
Besides trade and commerce, Chawri Bazaar is renowened for eateries like Hira Lal Chaat Waale‘s shop and Jugal Kishore Ramji Lal's chaat shop
Sometimes one comes across two or even three generations of workers who have been operating at Chawri Bazaar
The mighty fine "kraft" of balancing paper
The paper market serves wholesale and retail customers. One such retail customers is arranging his stock on a hand rickshaw after having struck a good bargain
The throb of commerce rarely quietens
JK and Bilt control the lion's share in the coated paper segment
View of the iconic Jama Masjid from the paper market
Lending a helping hand: The loading and unloading is the most onerous part of paper transport
Some of these hand-pulled carts trace their lineage as the paper suppliers to Mughal Emperors Shah Alam II and Aurangzeb
Chawari Bazaar’s paper market is said to be the biggest paper mandi in the world. In 1911, there were only seven paper merchants in this district
Chawri Bazaar caters to 30% of the total Delhi NCR paper market
Special grades, special colours, special jobs
Chawri Bazaar with its commercial potential, is the ultimate market for manufacturers and retailers
A labourer navigates sheets of paper through Chawri Bazaar
Paper trade is not about a shop at the posh South Extension Market or the Connaught Circle. The real action is at Chawri Bazaar
Chawri Bazaar: The world's biggest paper mandi
Established in 1840, Chawri Bazaar is a specialised wholesale market of paper and paper products located to the west of Jama Masjid in Delhi.
The daily trade value of this market is Rs 50 crore (approximately)and employs more than 10,000 workforce. Papers from most paper manufacturers are available here.
Rahul Kumar of PrintWeek India spends an enervating day discovering the paper tigers of Chawri Bazaar...