As we walked up the street from what was the Old Subzi Mandi crossing, We hit the heart and soul of Old Faridabad of those days. On both sides of the street were some real businesses that held the pulse of the city and to services that catered to the core businesses. Unabashedly, this is where the money rolled. The biggest of the jewellers were on both sides of town. Mind you in those days, jewellery was the chief security for a rural population.
Shri Raghubar Dayal and sons, Sh. Naraiyan Parshad Chandi Waale, Agarwal Jewellers, There were some more businesses that sold jute ropes and other essentials for the farmers. Some big cloth merchants, The Chowk was the hub of the fruit shops and rehris. Mukhi Ram was the biggest. To cater to the rich community, here were a few choice paan shops. Halwais that sold just milk and rabri. To the left were two small lanes one connected to Gopi Colony, a new part of the town, going past gurdwara. One connected to Sheikh wara via Masjid and Hakim Mohan lal ji. To the right was the Anaj Mandi, the hub of rural produce sale. Then followed the Govt high school, primary school,, police chowki, girls school, the Municipal Committe ( My Father's office for 12 years) and the civil hospital. Near here were the book shops and my favourite Ganesa with best Kalakand and lassi. Around schools were the ice cream, golgappa, churan and smattering of street vendors. Down the slope there was the mohalla called Ganj.
Returning back to main bazar where we left it at chowk. This was followed by several Utensils (Bartan) shops. Brass was the leader, steel was coming, aluminium was rare. Plastic was not heard of. Tucked in the middle of these was the rickety old Post and Telegraph Office. Yes !! there was something called "Taar". Much before Trunk calls and STD calling, the fastest way to send information was to send a telegram that reached you in a day or so. !!. At the farthest end of the market was the expensive textile shop of Amin Chand Bajaj. This was the followed by the Mehndi Giants of Faridabad namely, Kishan Lal Sham Lal and, Kishan Lal Kuria Mal, two giants of Mehndi business and philanthropy. Tucked nearby was Sh Amir Chand's godown followed by the expansive Barahdari of Sh. Ram Gopal and Sons.
At the farthest end of town was the picturesque Arya Samaj Mandir,This building to me represented the spiritual soul of Faridabad. MY MOTHER'S favourite. This is where I was entrenched with my Vedic Dharm Foundation that has kept me going all my life. To the right were two indivisible mohallas, the Thakur Wara and Ahir Wara, often the centers of strong voice emanating from the community. Along here was Arjan Dev Hari Kishan, our Mehndi Godown. The road eventually led to what was most farmers route to work every day to the fields nehar paar. It was also the final route of all citizens, rich or poor on their journey beyond via the Shamshaan Ghat, the crematorium.
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