The pink gateway is flanked on each side by a small shop—Vikrant Generators and Sai Book Depot.
This is Dilli Gate.
The world’s no. 1 Dilli Gate, of course, is one of the four surviving gateways of the Walled City of Old Delhi. But this Dilli Gate is not in Delhi. The gateway stands in zila Ghaziabad that abuts Delhi. While the district does feel like an extension of the capital, it simultaneously exudes a strong individuality of its own.
This afternoon, the gateway is humming with the hubbub of urban life. One side of the gateway overlooks the Grand Trunk Road highway. The other side of the gateway overlooks a narrow market lane called Pandit Amrit Lal Marg—this side feels like a small town where everyone must be knowing everybody. Take the hyperlocal Bille di Hatti. The modest eatery is attached to the gateway like a limpet, specialising in plain chow mein, butter chow mein and soya chow mein. Currently, it has two customers chatting to each other in a confidential tone.
The gateway’s thick walls are plastered with flyers. An ayurvedic clinic is promising to cure arthritic pain in seven days. A “mobile center” is promising to turn prospective students into a “mobile engineer” in 15 days (for a fee of 15,000 rupees). And a partly torn flyer is promising solutions to “itching in private parts.”
This is not the only Dilli Gate outside the Purani Dilli walls. The world has many Dilli Gates. There is a Dilli Gate in Lahore, a Dilli Gate in Ajmer, in Bharatpur, in Aligarh. All these centuries-old portals must have gotten their common name for being the exit points to Delhi. It has to be said that the dullest of all the Dilli Gates is Old Delhi’s classic Dilli Gate—always locked and empty. But Delhi has another Dilli Gate, which pulsates with hyperactive life. The Dilli Gate in south-west Delhi’s Najafgarh is remarkably similar to its Ghaziabad namesake. One side of the gateway faces a busy road; the other side opens into a bazar crammed with shops and carts stocked with stuff as varied as amla murabba and “ladies chappal.” The Najafgarh gateway is almost like a kaleidoscope; every shift of the gaze shows something different, and equally vibrant.
{{/usCountry}}This is not the only Dilli Gate outside the Purani Dilli walls. The world has many Dilli Gates. There is a Dilli Gate in Lahore, a Dilli Gate in Ajmer, in Bharatpur, in Aligarh. All these centuries-old portals must have gotten their common name for being the exit points to Delhi. It has to be said that the dullest of all the Dilli Gates is Old Delhi’s classic Dilli Gate—always locked and empty. But Delhi has another Dilli Gate, which pulsates with hyperactive life. The Dilli Gate in south-west Delhi’s Najafgarh is remarkably similar to its Ghaziabad namesake. One side of the gateway faces a busy road; the other side opens into a bazar crammed with shops and carts stocked with stuff as varied as amla murabba and “ladies chappal.” The Najafgarh gateway is almost like a kaleidoscope; every shift of the gaze shows something different, and equally vibrant.
{{/usCountry}}As for the Ghaziabad’s Dilli Gate, it is difficult to determine its age. Nobody around seems to know just when it was built. A clue lies in the walls. Patches of peeling paint reveal an inner layer of lakhori bricks, which used to be the building material of 19th and early 20th century.
Anyhow, this moment, scores of crows are perched along the power cables that run over the gateway. Suddenly, all the birds fly away, abandoning their Dilli Gate.
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Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.