Delhiwale: A city that is a gram

Gurugram turns 10 in 2026, celebrating its rich heritage and modernity with Instagrammable spots like Sham Sweets, Gateway Tower, and Gwal Pahari.

Reserve your thrills for 2026. Next year marks a special anniversary: Gurugram will turn 10. It was back in 2016 when Gurgaon was renamed Gurugram, and with that, an official recognition was granted to the belief that the so-called Millennium City actually originated in ancient India as a gram (village) which the Pandavas gifted as their gurudakshina to Guru Dronacharya.

Each scrawl is in a different handwriting, indicating that this is a popular getaway for local Romeos and Juliets. (HT Photo)

The old name was re-embraced just six years after another “gram” had come into existence — Instagram. To emphasise on the rhythmic bond between these two names, here are three of the most Instagrammable spots of Gurugram. These picks show the city in its modern as well as early avatar, and complicates our understanding of the place.

Food-gram

What peda is to Sandila and dandedar shikanji is to Modinagar, doda is to Gurugram. Instagram influencers must head to Sham Sweets in Sadar Bazar to celebrate the sprouted-wheat mithai, often garnished with kaju and badam. The iconic shop was set up by Partition refugee Sham Lal Bajaj, whose family operated a mithai ki dukan in Dera Ghazi Khan, a town in the Punjab of present-day Pakistan. The dark-brown doda certainly wasn’t invented in the said establishment, but it helped firmly embed the mithai into the traditions of Gurugram.

Architecture-gram

The Millennium City is densely vertical with scores of high-rises, but the first among equals has to be the Gateway Tower. Perhaps the earliest high-rise of Gurugram, it came up before the millennium. What sets it apart from other much-taller concretes is the romantic fact that many Gurugrammers relate it to a historic ship that dates to an even earlier millennium. Architect Hafeez Contractor’s grey-and-glass edifice has a shape that at night somewhat resembles the.. sinking Titanic! A most picturesque view of the building is accessed from the grounds of DLF Cyber Hub.

Land-gram

Hills, boulders and so many trees. Are we still in Gurugram? Instagrammers must check out Gwal Pahari, especially if they happen to be film buffs. Tucked within Gurugram, the hilly area is a jungle, instantly evoking the landscape of Daku Gabbar Singh’s rocky hideout in Sholay. The setting also evokes the landscape of the tragic climax of QSQT, where the runaway lovers portrayed by Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla gave away their lives, à la Romeo Juliet,. Indeed, every rock in a particular corner here is scrawled with “I love you.” Each scrawl is in a different handwriting, indicating that this is a popular getaway for local Romeos and Juliets. Lately, high-rises have popped up in the vicinity. Instagram the place before its grandness dims.