DilliMeriJaan

The Shree Vinayak temple in Sarojini Nagar, is a bastion of Tamilians, in the middle of a busy Punjabi colony. You forget you are in Delhi, the moment you enter the camphor-filled corridors of the temple. The idols and architecture are typical and so are the chanting priests – with the uniquely tamilian hairstyle of a bun and half-shaved head.  The biggest attraction for me, is the evening arati. Because that’s when the mridangams and nadaswarams strike up a mean symphony. Like me, lots of ‘devotees’ shamelessly turn their backs to the idols and keep rhythm with the musicians. They are good and they know it. But the bigger rockstar here, is the hefty aunty whose off-beat clapping and ear to ear grin, shows an incredible joie – de-vivre – so lacking in the busy cities today. Her heartfelt “Oye” gives away her Delhi origins. As the music rises to a crescendo, she and her partner, another hefty delhi-ite, break into a dance. It could be called devotional swaying. Or we could just ...

In Delhi, we are very aware of how we look. Tight t-shirts showing off our biceps, are not offensive. We wear very tight jeans, which might make us impotent, but makes us feel very important. Females also have similar sensibilities. So one of the most lucrative business in Delhi, is running a gym.  Colonies are replete with gyms – from air-conditioned, glass – walled ones through which you can see people panting on treadmills and they can see you stranded in traffic, to simpler ‘mom&pop’ gyms, where friendly aunties do a ‘yoga-aerobic-zumba’ kind of mashups, conducted by other friendly aunties. But gymming, in some form, has to be done. But these are moderately to prohibitively expensive. Not counting the sportswear cost. And not counting the poor RoI because the gym instructors only focus on the shapely, young customers, who anyway need least focus. So the Delhi Government’s Gym in the Park initiative is a very welcome one. It is simple. Your neighbourhood DDA park, ...

IIT Delhi is located between the vast green campus of JNU and the sizeable green patch of Rose Garden in SDA ( Safdarjung Development Area). It, therefore, borrows birds and fauna from both these areas and has done a lot to preserve ecology, itself. Unlike it's greener neighbourhood campus, IIT Delhi is less chaotic. The streets are wide and the greenery is landscaped. Some argue, that this makes it less 'green'. That might be true of it’s jungle cover ( I do not have the statistics for it), but the campus has taken multiple steps to "Be the green change you want to see" - as their Environment Group's tagline says.  The streets are lined with solar lights. Some of the common buildings also have solar panels. The Eco group has carried out plantation drives and you will see some native trees on your walk through the campus. Jamuns are a favourite and if you park your car ( or preferably cycle) next to the main canteen, you will return to a windshield/cycle s...

Delhi has many parks, so you are never too far from a green spot, to walk and breathe in. The green cover in Delhi has been growing year on year and will hopefully reach the prescribed 33% soon. Also, Delhi has the second highest species of birds, among cities ( first being Nairobi) - who would have thought. There are 5 city forests in Delhi - each covering hundreds of acres (the ridge is 80 kms, check out it's uniqueness at http://toxicslink.org/delhiridge/about-delhi-ridge/importance-for-delhi ), filled with birds, deer, neelgai, and the omnipresent peacocks. But these are not what makes the Delhi evenings and winters, so vibrant. It is the parks. The 450 large parks - with an occasional historic ruin thrown in, like the Lodi Garden. Or the smaller parks dotting the city. But mostly, the tiny patch of fun, nor more than 200 mts from any Delhi house. Which start beckoning you like a mirage in a desert, as soon as the sun starts setting, on a summer evening. Little children star...

I did not go to North Campus as a student. And there was no fun to be had outside the fortress like South Campus college that I did go to. So I had to listen to stories of the canteen in Hindu College and the momos in Kamala Nagar and the general buzz around the campus, wistfully, all my life. There was little point in going to North Campus, if you were not studying there, just to pretend to be part of the excitement. That has to be experienced everyday- as a resident not a tourist. Then I started working in Qutub Institutional Area. The place has many post-graduate colleges and some organisations which seem to hire only students - the population in these organisations and the colleges merge seamlessly. Indeed, one of the organisation's canteen always seems full of the students from across the road and that particular college's dhaba is replete with the employees of this organisation - a case of "grass is greener on the other side" - literally - and the pun on ...

Feeling of being replaceable, is one of the hardest feeling to accept. When i joined my present organisation, i replaced a girl, who had been there for three years. She was loved. People told me how lovely she was and how they would miss her. Her supervisor disagreed and so she had to leave. I joined in her place. I entered her room, with a thumping heart. She knew she would have to hand over her work to me, her room, her laptop, her three years in the organisation. She would have to hand those over to me formally, in a neat file, all tied and secure. She would have to teach me things that she used to do and had learnt the hard way. Things about how to work effectively with others, how to get their respect and love. She would have to teach me tricks - what is the best time to approach this person and when should one avoid the other. She would have to help me understand how it works - and then leave it all and go. She smiled. Warmly. From eyes to her heart. She said "Welcome...

I love Delhi. Even in summers. When the sun burns you in the day. And the mosquitoes bite at night. That's when the different flowers of Delhi get active and start colouring the city. It starts with the red Gulmohars, which set the streets on fire with their unabashed redness. These gave way to the yellow Amaltas. Streets and streets of yellow trees - obscuring the green leaves and threatening to blind you with their brightness. Not as prevalent, but in the many parks and gardens of Delhi, white and pink Plumeria ( or Frangipani) bloom through most of summer. Other white and fragrant flowers, fill the night air and make your head dizzy with romance, despite the buzzing mosquitoes and trickling sweat. Bel or Stone Apple trees bear fruit in summer too. The ripe fruit smells sweet - to some - and nauseating to others. I can smell a ripe Bel fruit the whole day and be happy. Mulberries are common in Delhi, during summers. As our Jamuns ( Black Plums). The thought of buying Mulberri...