One January evening I went to the Connaught Place for a stroll with some of my friends. Connaught Place is the most fashionable market of New Delhi. It is the centre of trade and commerce. All big firms have got their offices there. We had a mind to go round and visit this fashionable market. What amzed us was the great rush of park. There was one-way traffic only. The pedestrians could cross the road only from zebra crossings. The traffic was controlled by automatic signals.
What attracted us most at Connaught Place was its fine layout. The place is a circular market with eight radial roads which give access to the Connaught Circus. The shops were all grand and packed with goods of all varieties and descriptions. The customers were mostly foreigners or high class gentry. We visited some of the shops. The prices were high, much higher than in other markets in Delhi but Connaught Place has an attraction of its own. It is frequently visited by foreigners.
Connaught Place has a number of cinemas and fine restaurants. Only people with full purse should go there. The cinemas too are visited by high class gentry. There is absolute quiet in these cinema halls.
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Of late, Connaught Place has been made more beautiful. The central park opposite the Regal where thronged a large number of people both in morning and evening has been changed altogther. There has been built in the centre of the small park a big fountain with many lights. It has the shape of a big lotus flower with resting-place under it spread out like petals. The remaining portion of the big park has been used for parking. The smooth turf and the seasonal flowers of yester years are nowhere to be seen now.
Close to this lotus-like fountain is the Palika Bazar. It is an under-ground market, dealing in various goods. We went round and found that some of the shookeepers sold imported goods. Onward we proceeded. One of the radials took us to Plaza, a picture hall which generally caters to English cinegoers. We just had a cursory look at the pictures displayed in the gallery.
We continued strolling about. The chill now began to increase. So we had another sip of coffee at a restaurant and then left for home. On the way we noticed that the soft light of the lamps lent a peculiar charm to the place. Every thing looked like a fairy land.It was a of course a very pleasing experience.