Dilli Ki Sardi!

Ye Shehar nahi Mehfil hai. I think this line aptly describes Delhi. Delhi is a perfect blend of modernity and historical importance in this part of the world. Delhi is one of those rare cities which help you in time travelling. There are few areas in Delhi which take you hundreds of years back in time. And then there are few areas which may resemble the Manhattan! But my favorites will always be Chandni Chowk and India Gate.

Chandni Chowk. My first ever outing with my IMT friends was a day long Delhi trip. Everyone agreed when I suggested that we go to Chandni Chowk first and then to anywhere else, if time permits. Thanks to E. Sreedharan, a metro takes you to the by lanes of Chandni Chowk and then, in turn, 400-500 years back. Those narrow lanes welcome you with an aura which is unmatchable. On a 15 feet wide road, you will find parking, hawkers, Cycle-rickshaws, Cars, and Buses. Everything moving simultaneously on that 2 Km road from Lal Quila to Chandni Chowk. But not even once you feel discomfort. You look around and you feel that you always belonged here. Every building eager to tell you a story and welcomes you with open arms. Some of them even have their construction date inscribed (I remember reading in one of them: 1784!). And then you have the most famous address of Delhi..sorry..Dilli. “Parathe Waali Gali, Dilli-6”. That "Gali" is not even 5 feet wide and they really make the most delicious Parathas in the world. Its there only that you understand the meaning of that old saying: “Paet bhar gaya par dil nahi”. And there only Harsh and I kept ordering Parathas when everybody else succumbed! But its not only about Parathas. Moong/Gaajar ka Halwa, Dahi Bhalle, Gulaab Jamun…oye I already have water in my mouth! That trip ensured my return trips there many more times in coming days. I can now really understand the couplet by Zauq: "Kaun Jaaye 'Zauq' par, Dilli ki galiyaan chhodkar..."

India Gate. Well, this seems to be a bland choice for a favorite place in Delhi. But there are reasons. We never planned for our India gate trip and never went for it in daylight. It has always been a spontaneous decision and there can be any reason for that- even a long queue in mess! We normally used to start at around 9 PM and then would have our Dinner in one of the Dhabas on the highway where Pandeyji always had that extra butter Naan;) And the earliest we would reach India Gate was 12:00, midnight. First thing that we would do was to have “Chuski” in “Kaala-Khatta” flavor. And mind you, you will have to wait for at least 10 minutes before your order gets served. And yes, I’m talking about midnight only. That’s the kind of rush there at that hour! And it used to be more fun if the temperature was anything less than five degrees☺ That generally was followed by photo sessions (and especially the RDB pose on Kakke’s demand). We would roam around for next few hours having our coffee and doing all the bakar possible until someone shouts: “Oye, subah 8:30 baje presentation hai!” But by that time it was already 2 AM and we had not done anything at all on our presentation;) But that was the time when we were allowed to be careless and even if we were not: We didn’t care.

Ah! Those were the days. Anyway, I don’t want to start again on how much I’m missing those days but I’m definitely missing “Dilli ki sardi” here in Bangalore.