Unpredictable...that’s Chicago

The movie Chicago is a broadway musical directed by Rob marshall. It’s seductively stylish in a very unique way and leaves a mesmerizing impact on the audience. Roxie hart, a struggling wannabe star, is played by Renee zellweger. Most of the movie’s songs and dance numbers are the imagination of roxie. She has that lust for stage, lights, fame , freedom and stardom. She wants it all. She wants everything.

She dances her heart out in all of her imaginations with the grace of a broadway performer. Velma Kelly, the STAR and roxie’s idol, is exceptionally played by Catherine zeta jones. She rises the hot quotient in the movie, he personality just heats up the screen completely.

Most of her dance performances in the movie are solo and she pumps up the energy level of the film to a great pitch.

Richard gere, surprisingly plays a very humorous character. His sense of humor did make the audience laugh their hearts out. “Chicago” has all the right notes and does hit all the right places.

The tap dances of Richard gere, the strutting of Catherine jones and the songs of renee -surprisingly all of it works. It’s a movie filled with sensuality, scintillating romance mixed with adultery and murder with comedy, drama and dance.

Velma Kelly  used to dance with her husband and sister. On getting to know that her husband cheated on her by sleeping with her sister, she kills both of them in bed. On the other hand roxie makes her simple husband take the blame for killing fred, with whom his wife had an affair with but she made her husband believe that he was a burglar. In jail Roxie fights for starlight, freedom and headlines alongside her ido velma. They both hire the same lawyer Bill Flynn( Richard gere) because he had never lost a case. He likes roixie’s angle of he tried to kill me more than velma’s I blacked out more. So he chooses to take roxie’s case and makes her famous. With the help of matron mama both spot as illinois’s most frames murderess, but there is room for only one legend… that’s Chicago.

Khari Baoli , a road running from fatehpuri masjid to the western edge of the old city is where you find a hectic wholesale spice market.a visit is a must to catch a different side of delhi. little has changed over decades. Huge sacks of herbs and spices are trundled to the whole salers on long narrow barrows pushed by labourers, who then sit on their barrows drinking tea and chatting while waiting for their next hire.

Analogy

Chandni Chowk emanates a lot of things that one can experience when they visit it but not all of those things relate to the Musical comedy and crime film Chicago. Some of the themes that I did pick out in particular that run parallel with the setting of Chandni Chowk are discussed in this week's blog post below.

1. Hustle 

In all my visits to the Chowk and as well as our appointed research area, Khari Baoli one cannot overlook the most common thing there is; the Crowd and its constant hustle. The movie constantly projects Chicago's swerving crowds of people always rushing to their own business. You cannot stand in Chandni Chowk for even a moment without being pushed and shoved every now and then and their snide remarks don't get any better.

2. Bling

Chicago's entire plot revolves around the protagonist's persistent avidity for fame, money and all that jazz. This isn't quite that different from what most small markets in Chandni Chowk have to offer. Kinari Bazaar, Dariba Kalaan or even Khari Baoli in particular entices a shopper to purchase as much as one can lay their hands on all thanks to their substandard prices and fine quality.

3. Expectations

In the movie, Roxie Hart imagines a vaudeville show she creates in her mind to escape from the blatant reality and it's harsh truth's about how her career can never kick start respite all her dedication and beauty. Most of the laborers you meet and talk to in Chandni Chowk don't have anything different to say. All they dream of is a fixed minimum wage that meets their expectations. Even the shopkeepers and the shoppers imagine what the place would have looked like if it were cleaner and more organized.

4. Media

Being that Chandni Chowk is a prominent old shopping hub of the city, most shops are very keen on receiving attention from the media. One such instance was when we approached a Paranthewali shop for an interview, the cook immediately asked, "Are you from the press?" and our witless answer to the question made him ask us to leave the shop because he had no time otherwise. The role of media in Chicago's story emphasizes crime, murder, celebrities, disasters and anything that dishes a juicy scandal.

A tête-à-tête with a Tobacco personage

Conversations usually begin with common ground in most cases or an acquaintance of each other.

At Khari Baoli, the only thing an outsider can find familiarity with would be the spices and herbs due to their importance in every aspect of the Indian cuisine. Finding common ground here can be difficult as such and the maahol combined with the busy routine of the laborers carrying sacks of spices up and down make the prospect of a conversation seem near to impossible.

Luckily for us and our timing, we reached a shop right on the entrance of the spice street that offered us an insight to the shop. The owner who sat along with his employees had just opened the shop to business and began acquainting us to the vast kinds of snuff tobacco he sold. He also admitted to being one of the sole sellers of this kind of tobacco in the entire of Delhi and that the tobacco sold at his shop came from all parts of India not just any in particular.
When asked which brand was preferred the most or sold the most he replied, "No particular brand is sold the most but yes, the one preferred the most is definitely 5 Photo snuff and after that the 6 photo snuff."
His shop as a total of 4 laborers employed who help him in the setting up of the produce as well as bringing the produce from god downs or traders. The most amount of business that happens is during the festive season as wholesale buyers flock the market to buy as much produce as they can.

Considering most of the tobacco snuff is flavored, we asked him whether the ones he sold were as well to which he explained, "Most of them have up to 23 fragrances and come in different flavors which directly depend on what the consumer likes and prefers."

To get an insight to what age group bought snuff the most he said, "There is no certain  way of explaining this apart from a demographic aspect. But right now there is no such particular age group that buys it the most. Everybody comes here and buys the one they like the most."

As India has a number of manufacturing company's of tobacco snuff despite the rareness of the product, we also inquired whether they exported to which he said that they exported through various export houses. Ending the conversation at what an insightful experience it was he also handed us his business card and addressed our other trivial queries. 

CHANDNI CHOWK: A SHOPPER'S PARADISE

Local shopkeepers play an important role in todays society. An area as popular and crowded as chandni chowk is famous mainly because of its sellers. They are so good at what they do because most of the shops are ancestral and are functioning since a very long time.

Chandni chowk is a shopaholic’s paradise.

For habitual shoppers it’s a major attraction. Its located opposite to the red fort.

The market it far from gorgeous looking shops with amazing interiors in posh markets or the conventional air conditioned malls yet its importance can be seen among wholesale retailers.

FURTHERMORE, I interviewed a salesperson who sold and specialized in “Bollywood Replica sarees”. I began my interview by asking him that when did he start this business. He told me that he did not own the shop and that the owner had gone to the workshop as he had some urgent work. He told me to wait for a few minutes as his boss was just on his way back. I then got to know that he wasn’t the owner of the shop. I did as he said, but then I thought of interviewing him. I asked him, since when had he been working at that shop. He told me that he was working there since 3 years, he did not seem very happy about it though. On asking about if the owner did some other business before this, he replied, “no he had started this business some 5 years back when this Bollywood fever had started”. 

I also asked him about their making , so he told me that all the sarees were made and came from Mumbai. All their main workshops were there, but minor alterations could be done in the small workshop that they had in chandni chowk itself.

He himself told me about the first piece that came out and started the business. It was a saree worn by priyanka chopra at an event like about 6 years down the line. I asked him about what did he do to survive before this. He told me that he was a salesman since 9 years and before that he was just a kid who did not do anything but stay at home in bihar.

After sometime, the owner of the shop came and I started to interview him. I asked him about him and his family and their living conditions. He told me that he did not live in a very hygienic place and that his two children were suffering from various diseases one of them being tuberculosis. He told me that he was the owner of the shop and that 12 people worked under him. The age group of people working under him was from 20-77.  According to him most of sale occurred during the festive season. I asked him about what time did he open and close his shop. He told me that there was no particular timing but he opened it around12 in the afternoon and closed it around 7 in the evening. He told me that he did not have any other outlets on being asked about it.

All in all I would say that it was a really good experience to interview some people on my own. I can confidently say that it really did help me in my communication skills, and made me a better speaker.

In the end I would really like to give some tips for going to chandni chowk:

1. Pay special attention to your pockets

2. Beware of touts and duplicate products

3. DON’T FORGET TO BARGAIN. If other markets are offering you something at a price of 500, you would get the same stuff here at flat fifty percent rate.

My first interview with A chandni chowk shopkeeper

We entered the dingy streets of khari baoli in chandni chowk for our assignment and started asking shopkeepers if they didn’t mind answering some of our questions.

I first went to a shop in the beginning of the market and asked a man dressed in a kurta pajama, “if you don’t mind can you answer some of my questions?” since I was taking the one talking to the shopkeepers.

He asked us “what are the questions related to? And where you from?”

I answered and explained saying that, “we pointing towards my group are students from Pearl academy, Naraina and are given an assignment on certain parts of chandni chowk and we have to find our as much as we can about the places we were assigned or the ones that we had chosen”

He said “ please go ahead, I’ll answer any questions you have”

I asked him “is this business ancestral?”

He said, “yes, it is ancestral and the business was started by his forefathers”

I asked him “ do u specialize in selling only dry fruits and spices or something else as well?”

He answered saying “Besides dry fruits and spices, we also specialize in sniffing tobacco”

I was shocked to hear that people dealing in tobacco in chandni chowk

I said “ tobacco?? how many brands do u have?”

He answered smiling to my reaction “ there are only a few brands and people buy them according to their preferences”

I then asked, “Do you keep flavored tobacco as well?

He explained, “ there is no such thin as flavored tobacco but there are fragrances

Added to the tobacco to make it smelling good and sometimes even flavorful”

I then asked “How many types of fragrances”

He said, “around 22-23”

I asked, “What is the highest selling brand?”

He said, “Like a smoker, everybody sticks to their own brand”

I asked after that “Do you import/export?”

He said,  “We export but only through export houses”

I asked, “Are there any other delers in tobacco as well in chandni chowk?

To that question he got a little offended and said “ I am the only seller of tobacco in the entire Delhi”

I asked, “Where does all this material come from, any specific state?”

He said’ “It comes from all over India”

I asked, “Do u have any branches?”

He answered, “No this is the only shop”

We ran out of time when customers started coming in to his shop but thanked him for his time and left.

Vlog #0 - Preview of Chandni Chowk