DilliMeriJaan

Heavily inspired by the movie ‘Lunchbox’, as most of my wisdom comes from Bollywood, I set out for Bhutan- The land of Happiness. I do not like mountains.   And it doesn’t get more mountainous than Bhutan. So I started my 10 day trip with violently throwing up all over – thanks to the gorgeous, but highly bendy road to our Thimpu Homestay. But all the while, my mental notebook was busily scribbling two kinds of evidence - 1. On gross national happiness 2. On being carbon negative.  Here are the initial notes from those scribbles- 1.        On gross national happiness. The people seemed very happy and constantly chewing fermented betel nut pan, Doma. I was beginning to look for a causal relationship between the two. I realised there was unemployment and everyone went to India for college. But they all came back. All men wore the ‘gho’ and women, ‘kira’. All houses followed the Bhutanese architectural style. There were photos of t...

If you are planning to visit Sundar Nursery, and you must, you will need a strategy. Till October, the place is only open from 9am to 4pm. And is closed on Sundays. That leaves a few burning hot hours on working days and a precious Saturday, for you to explore this new beauty. Reach there by 850 am and keep smiling at the guards till they allow you to get in through a tiny crack at the gate. Be very nice to them and promise that you will not step on the grass and what a splendid job they were doing to keep the place looking spiffy – which is true. They will allow you to begin your tour a little before 9 and trust me, every minute counts when you are racing against the sun. sundar burj Walk straight towards the first monument, appreciating the gorgeous flower beds on either side. This is the Sundar Burj, which has beautiful engravings of Quranic verses. You can see the long stretch of the waterway all the way down to the bridge from the north exit, Sundar Mahal from the ...

As we hurtled into middle age, most of us started doing very physical and adventurous things, in defiance. Some of my friends started biking over mountains and across continents, many started playing multiple instruments while others started running marathons. I am lazy so I took up birding! Oriental White-eye But birding is not a lazy person’s hobby. Immediately on taking it up, people do the following: 1.        Buy a DSLR .  Forearms are strengthened to be able to carry these heavy weights and most importantly, keep them focussed on one spot for hours (ok minutes) to capture a bird. 2.        Buy camouflage clothes . Browns and greens are bought, to merge with the birds’ habitat. 3.        Go on birding trips . Most rush to the hills (Sattal being a hot favourite) while many others to bird sanctuaries. Common Tailorbird But here is what I did. 1.   ...

“Where should we meet after work? I am carrying my walking shoes so it’s ok”, my screen blinks. Walking shoes are an important part of meetings with my friends. We don’t meet in cafes. Other than widening our waistlines and thinning our wallet lines, it does little else.  So we meet inside a forest/park. Sometimes, we catch a lovely sunset on top of a rock or a bird singing on a branch. Conversations flow easily and deeply in such places. Some of my favourite forest meeting points are- ·          Sanjay van - I must have been a deer or nilgai in this forest, in my last birth. The moment I enter, I feel I am home. You can enter from the Qutub institutional area side and walk straight. On your left there is a rock formation – an easy climb and a great spot to just sit and catch up with your friend. You will invariably see a variety of babblers, a kingfisher and loads of peacocks from your perch. You can then walk on and climb the...

This year, the walks matured as we focussed on the truly wise citizens of our city – the below 15 year olds. While adults are welcome, as our target group needs chaperons (just joking, we love adults too), #DelhibyMetro tried to get more and more young children to come out and observe. Here are some things I learnt, from our young walkers, as they truly explored the city they call home. 1.        Safdarjung Tomb walk- There is always a tree to climb. Whichever historic monument we ever went to, the young walkers found a tree and made their way to the top of it. There is only so much about old kings and queens that you can listen to. 2.        Chor Minar walk- Macabre stories of gore and graves, are very welcome. All kids were thrilled with the idea of gutted heads on spikes. We were also able to partially hold their attention when graves- male vs female, were discussed. 3.      ...

August is a super busy month. In honour of Independence Day [and my birthday, I think], the month is full of Sales. People run all over, buying things. And then they gift them and that starts another bout of running around – to return/ re gift things. A lot of fuel/internet time is spent and great fun is had by all. In August, I also run around. Stealing saplings from Delhi’s many parks, that start sprouting just after rains, taking cuttings from friends/relatives- all of who are avid gardeners, and picking up free plants from Government Nurseries. Then I get to see them grow, flower, fruit and give me lots of oxygen and happiness.  Also for free, I get birds (check out my ‘birds’ album – all of those are clicked from my balcony), butterflies and very pretty bees. And I like to believe that the increased oxygen, fresh herbs are doing my skin wonders!! (HEY, I haven’t used a cosmetic product ever so hold back those comments…) A eureka moment happened very recently wh...

The romance began when I was working in an organisation in Qutub Institutional Area. And to put it mildly, the boss of the place, and my boss, is possibly the worst person [not just boss] in the world. So post one of those irrational screaming bouts, I simply ran out into this forest. And just ran and ran till I finally slowed down. Then I stopped. And sat. Sanjay van and I became friends for life.  I have seen different seasons in this forest. There is a lane where the amaltas falls down in a golden shower, every summer. In rains, the forest croaks and little peepal saplings sprout all over the place. In winters, many migratory birds come and flock around the water body. I have also gone there on a full-moon night. It is scary and fascinating. The water bodies glimmer and there is thick hatch of bamboo next to one of them, which casts the most gorgeous shadows. There are many mazhars inside and my favourite one is next to the 11 th centure Lal Kot walls. These...