Aditi's Monologue

My
love-hate relationship with Delhi is now a part of me. I know that my
small town background helped me appreciate it more, and made me work
hard and try harder to make it work between Delhi and me. No matter how
political it gets, or how unsafe or downright cruel the city seems at
times – Delhi to me is a Can’t-Do-Without entity and I know I will miss
it every time I go away. And here are the top five things I miss the
most about Delhi every time I go away:

1. Independence.
   There is a certain amount of independence that comes to me with Delhi.
   Don’t get me wrong, I have always been a confident person – at times
   even foolishly so. But with Delhi, it’s different. Maybe it has to do
   with the fact that when I first came here from Kota – I experienced true
   independence for the first time. And I am not talking about the go-wild-and-party-hard
   part, no! I’m talking about the responsibility part. For the first time
   in my life, Delhi gave me a feeling of being responsible for myself. It
   wasn’t my safe and quiet home town where every third person knew my
   family somehow. I couldn’t count on dad to come pick me up every time I
   got half an hour late and it got dark outside. I was a kid, and Delhi
   was what started the process of my growing up in terms of feeling
   answerable to myself. Independence is not just about being a rebel,
   staying out late, partying with friends and not making your bed for 4
   days – it is knowing that you are responsible for yourself. And Delhi
   gave that to me.
2. Transportation.
   Back in my home town, all we had in the name of public transportation
   back then was – Autos. When I came to Delhi, I was bowled over by the
   phenomenon that is DTC. I was in awe of it, a little scared too and a
   lot disgusted because I never really got it. The few times I tried DTC,
   were complete disasters. But only because of my own fault. I would get
   on the wrong bus, or would get down two stops early and once I almost
   fell off a moving bus. But then I was introduced to the amazing cab service in New Delhi,
   and I was hooked! Kota, my home town, didn’t have a cab service, not
   that I knew of! It all sounded so fancy. And no, I obviously didn’t have
   too much money to afford it, but a few friends and I came up with the
   idea of Taxi-Pool and it worked well for us. I was amazed at how prompt
   and efficient the taxi service in Delhi
   was. Saved time, was comfortable and hey, it was the pre-Uber era so it
   even felt safe, especially because not less than five of us hostel
   girls would pile inside one cab for our Taxi-Pool, half of whom were
   always chattering away on their phones to their boyfriends or their
   parents. Cab services were such a blessing! And then came The Delhi
   Metro with all its glitz and glamour and after my first ride in it, I
   knew nothing will ever feel better than this, public transport wise.
3. Night Life.
   Okay, so Kota had zero night life. And also, Kota had my entire family
   and late night parties meant hanging out with cousins, eating chicken
   cooked by mom or some relative and going to bed by 10. It was super fun
   and I looked forward to it! But once in Delhi, I experienced the real
   night life they showed in the movies. I was in a hostel so we didn’t
   really go out much late, but hey, Delhi had Jam Sessions in clubs at 12
   noon where you danced and ate and it felt like the middle of the night!
   When I moved out of the hostel and started working, I fell in love with
   clubs that offered me huge Media Discounts. A bunch of us would then
   head to some famous late-night parantha wala and gossip the night away with hot tea and paranthas.
   Good music, glossy crowd, fancy food, dancing and gossip with friends –
   What’s not to love? I know that Mumbai has a ten times better night
   life, but Delhi was my first time, my first love.
4. Street Food.
   Do I even have to explain this? The Delhi street food scene is probably
   the best in the country. I remember one Sunday we hostel Taxi-Pool
   girls were cribbing about the mess food and suddenly we decided to head
   to our favorite joint in Lajpat Nagar and eat Tandoori Momos. We called
   a cab service in south Delhi
   and within 55 minutes, we were ordering 6 plates of delight that is
   known to mankind as Tandoori Chicken Momos. Bliss! We also washed down choley chaat and golgappas with Nimbu-Lemon
   a while later, making it a perfect day. My husband is also a big fan of
   Delhi Street Food so we hit the streets as often as we can and oh, I
   suddenly have a strong craving for Rajinder’s Kebabs now. Damn.
5. Possibilities.
   Isn’t this the best thing about Delhi? Or about any new place for that
   matter? Unlimited possibilities. And I say this not only from the view
   point of a small town girl, but also in a broad
   there-is-so-much-to-accomplish-and-so-much-to-experience way. In Kota,
   career options were simple – Doctor, Engineer, or Teacher. Kota is known
   for it’s over performing IIT-JEE / CPMT coaching institutes, with kids
   from all over the country coming and preparing for their good future.
   And for us – the kids from Kota, it becomes almost mandatory to follow
   the “trend’. When you go out, you gain exposure to so many possibilities
   that enable you to make an informed choice. And knowing all your
   options is what puts you in the right position to make a choice you feel
   good about, isn’t it?

And yes, I
have a lot of things I don’t like about Delhi too – women safety being
on top of the list, but that’s dope for a different post, at a different
time. Right now, as I type this, I miss Delhi – the clean an green
roads from Ashram to Chanakya Puri, the exciting buzz of Khan Market,
the adorable chaos of Old Delhi, the good times of Dilli Haat, the
finger licking food from Rajinder Da Dhabha and oh, Pandara Road, the
joy of finding a good bargain in Sarojini Nagar, the sheer fun of
walking around CP, and the thrill of driving past India Gate. 

Oh Delhi, you beautiful chaos, today there is so much that I miss about you!