The Festival Season!

This month saw many communities celebrating the triumph of good over evil in many different ways. It also finally dawned on me that living in C.R. Park meant that Durga Puja is the new Diwali! It was a visual treat every evening with six beautifully decorated pandals, insane crowds pouring into the locality, beautiful women dressed in the best Bengali saris with big bindis, prayer, and oh-my-God so much food.. chuskis and aloo tikki and chaat and pav bhaji and chowmein!

The festivities culminated on Dusshera day with visit to the Red Fort grounds, to experience the triumph of good versus evil first hand! The Ramlila grounds were packed to capacity. I could feel the tension emanating from the crowd, as if one mishap would trigger panic and a stampede. Nobody was pushing, but people were breathing down each other's necks (literally!), talking excitedly, intermittently yelling "Jai Shree Ram!" and crowding around food stalls.

After perfunctory speeches from the chief guests, the process of lighting up the huge statues of Raavan and his two aides kicked off. First, there were pretty firecrackers lighting up the sky, followed by the eyes of the statutes lighting up - a deep dark red. The crackers then went off right before the statutes, pulling another "Jai Shree Ram!" from the crowd, at which point, one by one, each statue exploded. The sound, the flames and the cloud of fire, made it look remarkably similar to a nuclear explosion. With the first explosion, the crowd was momentarily stunned and collectively took two steps back, as if nobody was sure if this was according to plan or had the crackers gone out of control... But then the second explosion went off and the third and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It was safe... "Jai Shree Ram!"

The fire died down too soon though...   merely in a few minutes and the crowd pushed on, to the second Ram Lila ground to enjoy another spectacle. We lost a wallet, lost each other for a while; then found everyone and finally, after much drama, reached the metro station. Despite the crowds, the stolen-wallet and the mass hysteria, this was one Delhi experience that I'm glad I did not miss!

Food Coma!

Today I went for a food-walk organized by 1100 Walks. It was in Old Delhi for 4 hours starting at 4 pm. As I was leaving for Chandni Chowk at 3 pm, it seemed like a terrible idea thanks to the sun, humidity and heat. But as I sit exhausted on my bed, trying to get out of a food coma, I'm thinking that the walk was worth it despite the weather.

The greeaaatt things about the walk were

1. The food. Oh my, how I love Delhi street food! It's rich. Not too sweet or spicy, but with uhmazing flavour. It's full of desi ghee (no shady Dalda). In the 4 hours we ate kulchas, kulfi, paratha, lassi, kheer, chai... you get the picture :)

2. Old Delhi. It's a charming part of town. Full of history but still so alive in the present. I loved walking in Old Delhi and soaking in the sights and sounds

3. The route. We went pretty deep into old Delhi, basically walking around the Fatehpuri Masjid and all the way to Chawdi Bazaar. The lanes and markets were more mundane (think kites, metal parts, spices) and lesser tourist attractions.

4. Himanshu of 1100 Walks. He is charming and oh-so-cute! Doesn't give shady-guide-type speeches and genuinely enjoys the walk and the food with you.

5. The photo-opps. The light is good enough to click pictures in narrow alley-ways. Even a novice like me could take pretty pictures here!

Next time, must beware of:

1. The weather. I can only imagine how doing this in winter would be so so much better!

2. Footwear. Chappals were a bad idea. Next time I'm going with sneakers.

3. Water and my kidney. Too much water. Oh the last half hour was difficult!

Chugging along...

Days are whizzing by. Work is taking over and the City seems more familiar and by extension, more welcoming. I'm getting used to the crazy drivers on the road and friends are commenting on how I now dress like "one of the Delhi girls", whatever that be.

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I'm feeling old with my new glasses and the floor moves in a funny way when I walk. I guess one doesn't realize how fast time is passng until some shit like this goes down. Age has a way of sneaking up on people and it's suddenly a very uncomfortable feeling!

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EVERYONE must watch Barfi!. I promise that it will leave you feeling good and mushy for the rest of the day. The critics who argue that Barfi! doesn't capture the real emotions between lovers are completely missing the point. The film is about the emotions of the characters in those unique circumstances: the fear of being alone and everyone leaving you; friendship that allays this fear; possessiveness and longing. But above all it is the  innocent treatment of all these emotions that makes the film so lovely and must-watch. The film has also rekindled my Darjeeling-love. Must. Visit. 

Oh, such a noob!

My gas cylinder went empty on me last night as I was boiling potatoes. Of course, my brain had started assuming that I had a gas pipeline with never-ending supply and the gas cylinder had become a blind-spot - so this was a huge surprise!

Since then, I have tried many many things to get some gas, to no avail. Friends with extra gas cylinders have either already given them on loan or can't because they are the official booked connections. The black market guys are notorious for being untraceable. "Agar aagayaa toh mei cylinder le loonga..." says the guard. "Kab aayegaa?" I ask patiently, to which he says "..... mei toh abhi aayaa hoon (like from home or have you just joined this duty?!).... jabbhi aajaaye mei le loonga... aaj, kal, parso..."

Oh well, I'm praying to get my morning tea soon.. kal, parso, narso...

Deflated /Delhi bitching - 2

As I made my way towards the car on Sunday morning, I had no idea that the next few hours were going to squash my Sunday spirit and give me plenty of reasons to add to my "Delhi bitching" series. I was groggy, just waking up after a long night spent in high spirits and as I reached  where my car was parked I heard a woman sternly ask me, "is this your car?"

I turned, looked at her angry face, nodded and the woman launched into a moralistic lecture on how literate people like me couldn't pay attention to little red and white sign boards saying "No Parking, Tyres will be deflated", how she had to "urgently" go somewhere at 6:30 in the morning (later I found out that this urgent trip was to the fucking gym) and how ashamed I should be. I sheepishly admitted to my mistake and said I was sorry, feeling terrible that the lady probably had somewhere urgent to go and was stuck because of my car. Angry at myself I got in and reversed the car when my friend shouted for me to stop and pointed to my car's deflated tyre.

I jumped out of the car, yelled for the woman and like a petulant child ranted, "If you've already punished me by deflating the tyres of my car, I don't think I should be listening to your lecture or saying sorry to you. In fact, I'm not sorry at all. **SQ!#D" In the same petulant-child-mode, I stormed away, driving my car in 1st gear to nearest repair shop.

2 hours, much sweat and 1 soiled jacket later I was back home with a replacement tyre that made my car wobble and a temper that refused to settle down. My problem isn't with admitting that I made a mistake.

My problem is that the people of  Delhi are unforgiving bullies. In other cities (read: Mumbai), there is ONLY ONE authority that can put up no-parking signs, and it is the traffic police. Even the traffic police doesn't deflate the tyres of your car and potentially damage your property. They calmly tow away your car and wait for you to pay the fine.

In Delhi, every resident is a police man. Each house has a default no-parking sign posted and every single person has the "right" to damage my property, yell at me and be terrorist-like in their behaviour. An eye for an eye. There is nothing I can do about it, but leave. And be paranoid about it the next time I park my car.

In the last two days, I've added as many reasons for not settling down in Delhi. People deflating my car tyres and friends moving out for better education and better cities.

The list is only getting longer.

Things to Do in Delhi.Version_Weekends

When I looked at them from afar, weekends in Delhi held immense promise. However, after taking a closer look, the weekend scene in Delhi is a bit of mixed-bag really. One is required to take a lot of initiative to do something interesting on Saturdays and Sundays... it's not as easy-going and flow-ey as my home-town. Anyhoo, based on personal experience, here is an account of things to do in Delhi. Version: weekends!

1.  Invite people to your house, buy lots of beer/ any alcohol of your choice and food and chill with the television. Low on stress, high on fun and easy on the wallet.. these "scenes" work out especially if you have 4-5 friends who are equally jobless and socially unambitious on those particular days!

2. Tap the pseudo scene and catch events that extol the virtues of NGOs working in education, child rights and other cool sectors. Note to all who venture: Though these events are designed for individuals like you and me to speak with  people who have emerged victorious despite difficult circumstances and experts who work in the space, they are often a combination of the aforesaid inspiring conversation and other annual-gala type events with amateur dances and songs. Go for the conversation, tolerate the singing-and-dancing.

3. Walk around in Hauz Khas Village. Yes, everybody talks about the lal dora village and how cool it is, but this is one street that lives up to its hype. You can trust to find tons of information online about where to go, and also know that you will find a new store/ eatery every time you visit!

4. Go to Khan Market, buy a book from the Full Circle store and trudge up the stairs to Cafe Turtle... to drink their iced tea, stare at the weird concoction of people dropping in (firangs, fully decked out Dally-girls, occasional hippies) and read a few pages. 
It's perfect for the blistering days in Delhi when there is no electricity at home and you don't want to make conversation or go to the movies.  

5. Take the Indigo flight back to Bombay on Friday evening. Party the weekend away and fly back to office on Monday morning. I have vowed that the two days spent taking in the blissful Bombay weather are going to last me until Delhi can become more bearable. 

Ice Ice Baby

A friend suggested that I should sit in a tub full of water like a hippo the whole day to get over this stifling heat in the city. The many implications of that suggestion aside, it is SOOO hotttt!!!

Yes, it is dumb to crib about the weather when many in the world are dying of hunger and I sit in an air-conditioned environment 15 hours a day. But by God, I feel like a droopy dried-up flower :-(

I hear it's raining in Bomz. Please please send some this way soon!

Deja Vu

When I was in Malawi, late last year, one of the most frequently discussed topics was about the political crisis ravaging Malawi. They were ruled by an authoritarian, divisive and slightly crazy President who  insisted that all was well with his world. In the meanwhile, he succeeded in alienating many of the large donor countries (read: UK, USA) that resulted in a for-ex shortage, a severe fuel crisis and a breakdown of production throughout the small country.

Most of the discussion centred around how protests had failed to shake the President and his government out of a stupor and that the population would patiently wait for the 2014 elections to voice their opinion and vote for change. The real question was whether the country would survive to see the 2014 election.

Then in a sudden development, the President died of a heart attack and Malawi ushered in its first woman President. While the jury is still out on her performance, everyone in Malawi breathed a collective sigh of relief when the country didn't collapse into civil war, but continued to have a stable government.

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Reading about India's latest GDP growth figures and the repeated criticism of the Congress-led government for it lackadaisical response to every crisis in the last 2 years, I am struck by a sense of deja vu.

The media is crying itself hoarse about a home-made recession, fewer jobs, more inflation and a confusing cumbersome government. Political parties aren't able to find any alternative leaders for the next general election in 2014 and with a whopping 10 States set for assembly elections in 2012-13, the government is sitting tight on all the difficult, rabble rousing reforms.

And what are we doing to change this? Waiting for 2014. Or a heart attack.

Things to Do in Delhi. Version Mundane.

Talk to shop keepers while mimicking their own accent but confusing them with words like "bhaaji" for "sabzi" and "kaandaa" for "pyaaz".

Buy groceries, fruits and vegetables all by myself for the very first time and lug the bags home, almost breaking my arm.

Realize that I now have to make "grown-up choices and decisions" which are going to hurt like a bad burn.

Angst about that and whatever else comes my way (work, lack of a car, weather) to avoid thinking about the real issue at hand.

Give up on any pretense and cry in the auto, not caring that the auto driver is freaked.

Successfully push the issue under the carpet and plan a house party.

Buy a scarf and wrap it around myself to look like a terrorist every morning, while on my way to work.

Trade scary stories - who got mugged/ conned/ assaulted this week - over lunch.

All in a week's work. Making Delhi my own.

W00t!