Oblivious to the ground realities of life, lived a girl in the capital of Punjab . The beautiful and wide lanes with greenery all around and everything put perfectly in its place, Chandigarh
Brimming with hopes , I packed my bags for Delhi Chandigarh Chandigarh ,the city I dwelt in for my graduation days, was serene and dreamlike and Delhi
Expressing oblivion with regard to the national capital sounds dumb. Yes, everybody knows about the national capital. It’s the city which gets maximum coverage in all the mediums of mass communication. But I wanted to have my own experiences, so I went ahead with a clear mind , holding no prior notions about Dilli.
Two weeks down my stay , here is what I have to say!
Speak the five letter word “WATER” and everybody says water war is the next thing on the conflict list of the world. On a micro level , I saw water’s significance in a quaint way. The moment Shatabdi pulled inside the Delhi
Picture this: An ape entering inside the compartment , climbing from the seats by the door side to the seats in the middle in flashes of seconds. It almost felt, he was made for the job. He picked up all the used and unused bisleri bottles served to the passengers and clutched them in his armpits and tucked a few under his shirt. He swooshed away without being noticed by the staff on the train. And as it all got over , in the dazed state , I carried my luggage and managed to move out with the incident being replayed in my mind over and over again. His dark skin and tattered clothes with the swift movement of his limbs gave me an impression that he was more of an ape by the first appearance ( no derogatory connotations implied). He sold them to the retailers or filled them to sell on his own or maybe something else , what exactly he did with the bottles , I still cant figure out.
The next event in the row goes like this: Standing opposite to Escorts hospital while waiting for the bus to Saket, I saw another side of human beings which I had never experienced in person. An autorickshaw loaded with seemingly a lower middle class family pulled in from one end of the road. At the same time , a car came in from the other side and veered off its track which could possibly lead to a collision with the autorickshaw. The moment passed and the mishap didn’t occur. Watching them from a distance , I heaved a sigh. I saw the man in the car stepping out , he looked like somebody in his mid 60’s , with grey hair and back little hunched. He went over to call the autorichshaw driver names!! That was the limit for me to witness. I still cant believe that people can avoid their share of responsibility by putting the badge of guilt on others and walk out of it , without any remorse.
The last of the ‘chosen three’ incidents on my list was the bus ride experience. Riding in buses is fun. With the choice of three buses(the blueline,green and red one) to chose from , you certainly feel lucky. I have not dared to take a blueline till now. It seems a daunting challenge everytime I think of taking it as it is always filled from one end to another and stops by my stand to cram in more people than it can possibly accommodate. The other one’s seem agreeably accommodating. But the scenario turns upside down , when it rains , the buses flood up with the crowd of humanity boarding in , one after another and one on another as well. The limits of decency and even casual human respect get lost in its midst.
By the time , you move out , it seems you should have better stayed home as you find yourself greasy , with crumpled clothes and an experience of being hit for a count of times which you forget in the distress.
I still hold an amorphous opinion of Delhi
