Delhi revisited
Finally back from a 3 day visit to Delhi. Delhi. Motherland. The only city which I love as much as I hate. Much has been said about Delhi and Mumbai, and I will not add anything to it.
This was my second trip to Delhi in less than a month, and an air-trip at that, which is still a big deal for a lot of Indians. As is obvious from this template of a conversation I had with lots of people before I left for Delhi:
Me: I am leaving for Delhi on Thursday.
Friend: Kya kaam hai ?
Me: Delhi Marathon
Friend: Oh, tu 42 kms bhaagega ?
Me: Kya meri shakal par likha hai ki meri 42 km ki aukaat hai?
Friend: Then the half marathon ?
Me: Nahin, 7km.
Friend: Sirf saat kilometre. Sahi sahi bata kis kaam se ja raha hai ?
Me: Sirf bhaagne
Friend: Ladkiyaan dekhne jaa raha hai kya (as in arranged marriage) ?
Me: Nahin
Friend (with a "your are definitely not among one of us" look) : Bada paisa hai yaar tere pass!!
Any attempts at proving that my Air Dhakkan ticket costs less than a Rajdhani ticket was met with a "nahin nahin, theek hai yaar, bahut paisa hai tere pass" type of answer. Damn my friends!
Khair, I did reach Delhi and much to my disappointment found that the stupid organizers could not procure proper road permits and stuff, and so the 7km was trimmed to 5kms.
Swallowing my pride and my month long practice, I still showed up at the stipulated time (after looking around for car-parking for 30 minutes). With the typical "nothing-can-go-right" attitude, the race was postponed by further 30 minutes and then started 15 minutes before time without any announcement. Since we (me and my 7-8 friends) were too enthused to run, we didnt give a damn and ran away to glory. After around 17 minutes, I saw the "finish" sign and was very proud of myself for a full 2 seconds before reason kicked in. Realised that the dumbass organizers had further trimmed down 5 to 3.5 kms or so. I guess no other buffon flew 800 miles to and fro so that he could run 3.5 kilometers in 17 minutes.
A pathetically organized event , when one compares with the awesome Mumbai marathon in January.
Ofcourse, with a nadir like that, everything else was ten times better - be it getting drunk after a long time (and being able to enjoy it too), playing on my PS2 after a long time, checking my official email after 3 weeks, driving on 3+3 lane roads, watching India win against Pakistan, eating matar paneer and kadhai paneer together, or listening to Rang De Basanti's musical score again and again on the car stereo.
"Thodi si dhool meri..dharti ki mere watan ki...." .. how can one not help liking the movie. Hell, I am in des, and I felt like I was missing India (kinda weird feeling only expatriates can feel, I guess).
Well Monday came, and I am back in Bombay now. Bombay. Motherland.
6 comments:
Month long practice? ;)
Ah - Paneer.
Bombay -> motherland. I am scared of your Dilli fanaticism now.
I still couldnt get what got you to delhi. Was it the thot of hanging out with friends and family or the marathon.
Anyway one things for sure, bahut paisa hai tere pass.
Hi Asterix,
I just bumped into your blog by chance... and I love it.. :-) You have an awesome sense of humor.. I loved the Mithun-da blog.. real gem :-) Still only midway thru your posts.. must say.. I know where to get my laughs.. :-))
Keep up the great work..
-Tara
@solzaire: Its the inherent laziness in me. Whenever I go to a place, I don't feel like coming back and hence my mind starts thinking of it as the 'motherland' :) . Don't worry, I have passed through the same phase with many places ranging from desolate mountains to the Silicon Valley.
@shan: It was a bit of both. Marathon to sirf ek bahana tha..junta se milkar jo aana tha
Ek baat though - bilkul paisa nahin hai yaar mere pass :(
@tara: Thanks and welcome to the blog. As promised in the title, it is a blog about nothing. So be prepared to kill your precious time and productivity here :) .
And yes, there is something about Mithun-da that makes an ordinary mortal like me stand up and write prose and poetry :)
I went to Delhi and B'bay only once . each. Both worth the trip. Backed by the fact that I'm going back for more. More of what? I dunno. But just more. I've posted a mini recounting of my experience in both. Granted you have to see it through my eyes, which could suck. For you. Mais, c'est la vie. :)
Welcome to the blog Toni. Just saw your blog entries for your India trip... pretty interesting and hilarious at times :)
Good to know that you enjoyed your stay in Delhi and Bombay.
Asterix
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