The original 'Dilli Meri Jaan' girl

She insisted that the best dosas in town were in Karol Bagh! She insisted all good things were in Karol Bagh and I spent many evenings walking through Ajmal Khan market with her, grumbling through the chaos. She showed me how the place was not just full of Punjabis who came in post-partition but also south Indians and Bengalis.

One of her friends worked in the LIC building so I also often went with them to Depaul’s and sipped a rather insipid ( of course she didn’t agree) cold coffee, while her friend and she walked up and down the Janpath flea market, buying nothing. We were such regulars that the Depaul’s man simply hands over a hazelnut coffee without asking, even today, whenever I go. As a result, I never get to try any other – but wouldn’t dream of hurting him – she would have been appalled if I did.

We also went to lots of dargahs. She was deeply interested in Mughal India and that was her thesis topic during her Masters in Delhi University. I was literally dragged through the dingy lanes of Nizamuddin dargah and made to pay homage, tie a string and appreciate the calligraphy on the walls. As a kid, trust me, I didn’t.

As the car turned left, from the Oberois hotel, towards Delhi Golf Course, you could see her expression change. Lutyen’s Delhi and beyond was where her heart belonged. One of her trips that I went willingly along for, was the annual autumn trip to Prithviraj, Aurangzeb Roads. The side walks got covered with fallen leaves and you could jump on them. I still can’t cross these grand roads without getting goose bumps looking at the tall trees, which get laden with jamun during summers.

Autowallahs regularly charged her less than the meter and shop keepers gave things at ludicrously low prices. I grew up watching her engaging in conversations with anyone on the street and exchanging witty repartees with absolute strangers. I stare with incredulity when I hear people talking about the ‘rude’ Delhi-ite. I didn’t meet any while growing up.

The years of reluctant ‘string’ tying at dargahs did pay. I had prayed that she never suffer any pain and she didn’t. And even today, when I look at my Dilli and it’s people, I see them through the permanent rose-tinted glasses, that she planted on my nose.