To Wonder & Wander

Its been 3 months in Delhi for me now.Weekends are free and its impossible to not get out of the house and roam around Delhi, trying to explore some popular tourist places.I find Delhi very colorful.It is probably so because it has such an old history.Khiljis and Lodhis,Mughals and Rajputs,Sufis and Poets,Punjabis and Bangladeshis,its been home to so many cultures.Delhi is rich and poor,drab and stylish,all at the same time.That could be true about most Indian metros,but then I have not lived in others as of now!

Winters are an ideal season to come and explore this city.I love the cold,the fog.It renders a mysterious tone to everything around.There’s the sweet fragrance of the blooms of Saptaparni trees wafting through the air,when one goes jogging in the still rising Sun.The brick colored structures that have stood on this land since last 800 years look even more charming in such a setting.

The medieval architecture here is remarkable and a photographer’s paradise.The grand highways and flyovers really tempt one to drive on them.

On one Sunday night,I  was frolicking in a lively pub.On the next one,I was  trying to find my way through the labyrinthine lanes of Chandni Chowk.I felt as if I had been transported into an entirely different time-space.There’s Metro and there’s cycle rickshaw,all making very good business at the same time.

At one point,i was taken by a friend to the National Gallery of Modern Art.Even a lay person like me could appreciate the artistry I saw there.I did not understand any of it.But its so nice to have such places around.They give another dimension to what you see.

From Amrita Shergill and Tagore’s complex paintings,I wandered on to the Cannaught Place.A youth festival was being celebrated in the central park.People on and off the stage looked jazzy in the laser lights and the rock music boomed out from the speakers.Towards the end of the show,a rowdy group of boys took offense at the vocalist and stormed on the stage along with a lot of verbal abuse.This is delhi-Juxtaposing good and bad simultaneously.

On one hand,there are constant stories of North Indian aggression that one keeps hearing about;on the other,I meet new friends who make those suspicions about North Indian chalugiri evaporate in the air.

I still don’t know if this is a good place to live in,on a long term basis.After all its costly,has extreme weather and has a very high crime rate(but then,which city doesn’t!All sorts of things have happened in a supposedly safe city like Pune too.) But I surely  like it so far as its connections to art,history and modernity are concerned.

This,  is a Megacity.

So here, lets end the post  with pictures of Old Delhi.

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