Saaddi Dilli...(our Delhi)

A Transition through Time - As you walk along the narrow bylanes of this city of dreams, tread softly. Every crumbling wall has a story to tell. Every yesterday is replete with history. Rulers have come and gone. The city has lived through wars and resurrection, repeatedly rising from the ashes. No, these are not my words. A tourism website describes the city like this. Delhi. The ‘proud’ capital of India. Proud…is it? Yes indeed. It has always been proud from the time it came to existence. The rise and fall of many empires might have given the city a plethora of magnificent monuments and a remarkable place in the world history as well, but this is not the time when it actually came to existence. Delhi existed from much before that. Yes. Remains of the early man were found in here. Is saddi dilli that old? Doesn’t look like. Keeping apart the renovation task going on in Qutab Minar and the Red Fort, the city is still jawan (young) like a zohra jabeen ( my beautiful love). Walking past the pothole free roads of the city anyone would feel oh my god! Who says that the government does not work in our country? Go to Prithviraj road, Ashok road or for that matter any road in the southern half of the city. Truly it does. And Delhiites who still crib about it, drop down to the City of Joy once, to know how happy can people be with so less! No roads at all. Okay coming back to Dilli. Can anyone beat the charm of Old Delhi, the so called walled city? A walk through the narrow galies (bylanes) and boisterous katras (markets) of Chandni Chowk and Chawri bazaar …the cheap yet latest in fashion spectacular spectacles market of Ballimaran (the shops will shock you with the originality with fakes of Armani and Tommy!), to garnish the visit, some of the most delectable kababs and mughlai food at the landmark Karim’s. Guess I will miss this the most when I someday will have to leave the city. Enough of Nostalgia and history. Not to forget Delhi is home to few of the most renowned universities in the world. I will certainly be biased about talking of the North Campus (the University of Delhi campus that boasts of some of the best colleges in the country) and the Jawaharlal Nehru University, so better not talk of it. And yes how can one forget the lifeline of Delhi, the blueline and the DTC ( Delhi Transport Corporation) who proudly sport ‘vishwa ki sabse badi CNG bus sewa’ (the world’s largest network of CNG buses). Every morning there is this undeclared war of buses happening at every traffic. Also, the bluelines can still be seen on the roads after repeated appeals from the public and n number of meetings to get rid of them. How does it make a difference anyways if few are mowed down by buses in world’s one of the most populous countries? That proves, that either the average memory of people in a democracy is very low or they must be having newer or more sensitive issues to keep themselves occupied or 21st century Indians are getting back to the age-old principles of ‘forgive and forget’. In addition we of course have the autowallahs (the auto rickshaw drivers), who are determined to spread harmony in the city with the ‘only for you rates’. Let me brush it up a bit more. They will have their own likings and dislikings for a place. You have to pick and choose amongst a place where they want to take you and remember. You are the one responsible for all traffic jams in the city so you need to bear it. The revised, government recognized meters are often never working, here comes the ‘only for you rates’. For a meter distance of 8Kms. they will say “madam 70 rupaye de dena, abb isse kam kya doge, jam bhi to itna hota hai.”( madam you pay me 70 bucks, what less than that would you give for such a distance, moreover there is so much of traffic on the way)…Well that’s how it works in saddi dilli. Blessed with hustle bustle of people from all over the country, saddi dilli boasts of the bittersweet communitarian clashes. The majority being north Indian communities like the Punjabis, Haryanvis and people from UP, there is a sizeable number of Bengalis, South Indians, Marwaris and Biharis. Having spent a major part of my life in Bihar I have seen people abusing each other by calling them Jatt (a Haryanvi community who are believed to blessed with only physical power and no brains). It goes like this, saala jatt buddhi (bloody jatt brains) No this is not the end of the story. In Delhi it’s just the opposite. If you are pissed with someone just call him a Bihari and the work is done. Punjabis at the same time are the flamboyant lot. With big houses and flashy cars, they are the friendliest and the one with biggest hearts when it comes to splurging, be it the best of parties or the best of brands. People say Delhi has quite a laidback attitude as compared to other metropolitan cities in the country. Once on my way to the office I met a man from Mumbai whose work had brought him to Delhi. He went on complaining about how laid back the city is and how Mumbai has a better attitude towards work. I wanted to give him one tight slap and tell him listen boss its not always about being on time, its also about having a bada dil (a big heart). To me…Delhi is so much home. This city has given me a whole lot. It has metamorphosed me from a volatile undergrad to seasoned individual. It has taught me how to tackle life, grab and embark upon every opportunity that knocks. From the timeless chats of Miranda House backgate, the paneer paranthas of PGW, the mutton dosas of the DSE canteen, the Kamla Nagar momos to the vehement argument sessions of the Ganga Dhaba, Delhi has given it to me all. I get up one fine morning to realize how would life be without haggling with the autowallahs , scaring them off for challan(fine), running behind a blueline, manage to sneak into office at 11, bearing those chilly winters and flaunting all the weird colors you have in the wardrobe. Frantically looking out for some Bengali food around, heading to CR park every other day, those awesum bhalla papris of Aggarwal Sweet House, has become inevitable to me. Not that I am not in love with my hometown Kolkata, but I am glad Delhi still has space left for a Bookfair. Quite unlike our cultural and intellectual capital Kolkata where the legendary Book fair had go for a toss because of some stupid vested interests.