DILWALON KI DILLI ????

I'm back home after spending 10 (short )days in Delhi,though Bangalore is much warmer at 23 degrees,the house seems cold. I (strangely) feel drowsy,lethargic, moody,and to top it all suffer from a severe bout of writer's block. I guess it is a hangover of all the excessive enjoyment, food ,tea and travel, that I indulged in. When you have 10 days to do a BANGALORE-DELHI-CHANDIGARH-SHIMLA-DELHI-BANGALORE route,a big(NRI) family wedding to attend,friends and relatives to catch up with in every corner of Delhi,then sleep is a luxury and a waste of time.

The positive thing about going on a short break is that you are not authorized to crib and complain,coz it is considered a severe waste, not even when you spend 5 hrs,hovering above Delhi airport(when it should normally take 3) in queue, like migrants in a ration line, waiting for permission to land ,a window seat then is a boon as Delhi looked breathtaking at night with a million lights sparkling like diamonds and add to that the sight of several other waiting(migrant)planes , flying like fireflies in the sky. One sight I shall never ever forget.

There's something very soothing about the bitter cold in Delhi,and that there are a few things you can’t resist doing…..peeling mattar and eating moongphali while basking in the sun,fighting over who polished off a whole box of Gajak,tucking tandoori aloo parathas at a road side dhaba, the wonderful feeling of slipping into a warmed bed,the weight and warmth of a heavy razai,and being tucked into bed,by your dad,when you are all of 33 yrs old ,mother’s logic that says...."kha lo gajar ka halwa,kuch nahin hoga",visiting old haunts like Nirulas and drolling over the dark and handsome 'Jamaican almond fudge',all over again.Feeling jealous as you see your husband reunite with his NDA course mates and friendships that have lasted 26 yrs...and hoping that one day, I too will boast ……meeting relatives who have seen you when you were knee high and now they see you with a son who is shoulder high…..dancing and singing all four nights before the wedding as if ones’ back and voice were insured for a million dollars.



There’s a small part of me (O.K…I lied.. a huge part of me that’s still in love with Delhi,and every year when I go back,I hope that the city would have changed for the worse, so that I could be happy and content,where I am. Beneath the spit and polish,it isn’t easy to live here. Gallis are common vocabulary and people lovingly call each other mother and sister abusers(and with such panache).so much so that the actual meaning of the sentence is completely lost,trying to keep track of the number of times the person has abused(god knows whom).Hypocrisy and corruption still run free on the huge network of flyovers and roads that adorn delhi,and that the common MAN'S motto clearly seems to be ‘aao lech karen’.But,It’s difficult not to fall for Delhi………for it’s humongous well marked roads ,for the steely metro that flashes and whizzes past you,for all the handrichshaws that will still carry you,when you feel lazy to walk that kilometer,for all the heavenly food right from the road side eatery,to the fine dining creme de la creme places,where when you speak Hindi,it’s good enough to prove that you are an Indian and that people clearly ignore,which side of the country you belong to.

Right now am just looking for remedies to get over a hangover of a different kind!!!!!!!