Chandni Chowk (Hindi for “Moonlight Plaza”) is the most important market area in Old Delhi. Built in the 1600s by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, it is located next to the former Mughal capitol, the Red Fort, and Delhi’s central mosque, the Jama Masjid. In Desai’s novel, Nur lives in Chandni Chowk, which represents the heart of Old Delhi and the fate of India’s diverse traditional culture, with its Persian-influenced Urdu and mix of Hindu and Muslim influences.
Chandni Chowk Quotes in In Custody
The In Custody quotes below are all either spoken by Chandni Chowk or refer to Chandni Chowk. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 3
Quotes
If it had not been for the colour and the noise, Chandni Chowk might have been a bazaar encountered in a nightmare; it was so like a maze from which he could find no exit, in which he wandered between the peeling, stained walls of office buildings, the overflowing counters of shops and stalls, wondering if the urchin sent to lead him through it was not actually a malevolent imp leading him to his irrevocable disappearance in the reeking heart of the bazaar. The heat and the crowds pressed down from above and all sides, solid and suffocating as sleep.
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Chandni Chowk Term Timeline in In Custody
The timeline below shows where the term Chandni Chowk appears in In Custody. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...Murad says absolutely not. Murad tells Deven to find Nur at his home in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk , interview him, and ask him for some new work. Deven remembers that Nur is...
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Chapter 2
...infuriating. Murad admits that he doesn’t even know where Nur lives—just that it’s somewhere in Chandni Chowk .
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...take Murad’s word seriously at all. Murad tells his office boy to guide Deven to Chandni Chowk , then gives Deven the letter with a mysterious wink. Deven leaves the lunch Sarla...
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Chapter 3
Deven follows Murad’s office boy through the suffocating, nightmarish maze of Chandni Chowk , past textile shops and food stands, astrologers’ booths and jewelry lanes. Just when Deven...
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Chapter 10
Deven walks out into the ungodly Delhi heat and starts wandering around aimlessly. He passes Chandni Chowk and thinks about visiting Nur, but he continues on instead, past the city’s famous Red...
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