How's this for absolute randomness: In spite of wanting to do some writing, I just didn't feel inspired enough to come and post a proper entry here in days. Now, out of the blue (quite literally!), just as I made a conscious decision to return to my hermit crab ways for a bit, there's a volley of posts and I'm seized with an overwhelming urgency to write about all that I'm thinking of. Life, I tell you. :)
Anyway, it rained today - almost. Actually, it did...but it didn't last long enough for anything - not to offer any respite from the heat, not to permit at least one rain dance, not even for the earth to get thoroughly soaked and quenched. Instead, it has left everything in a limbo of sorts. The leaves are undecidedly wet and dewy; the sun is drying itself off before it returns to work; the air is still choosing between dragon breaths and minty freshness, droplets and vapour almost visibly suspended in the atmosphere. Somwhere, I'm sure, a paper-boat is lying half-folded, and a family of sparrows debating the wisdom of venturing out once again today.
But it was good, even if it lasted only ten minutes. The world does look freshly-laundered. :)
Walking back from the department this evening, I couldn't take my eyes off the riot of colours that the trees always become at this time of year. Every conceivable shade of every imaginable colour. It was with a pang that I realised that I don't quite know when I'll set eyes on all this beauty again, after a few weeks. Yes, I'm glad I'm leaving Delhi, and hopeful that it will be a year or two, at least, before I return. But the fact is, I've spent six formative, very eventful, memorable years in this city...and I love it (which is why I'm looking forward to going away for a bit...but haven't I written enough about that already? :)...
...and now, in no particular order, here are the things I will miss about Delhi, and the University in particular. I know I'll never manage an exhaustive list on this one...but here's an attempt:
1. The greenery. There's no two ways about it...there could be trees and vegetation galore in other cities, but it won't be the same. It's lush, soothing...and very, very beautiful.
2. The history. The city breathes it. It's grand and old and hoary and proud...and in many ways, it deserves to be. And this isn't just about the Jama Masjid or the Red Fort...it's also about all the little alleys and broad avenues, old localities and older names.
3. The freedom. It's the Capital. There are all kinds of people here, from every place imaginable. And they're all welcome to stay, explore the place, study, make a living...just be, because no one owns the place, really. Delhi will embrace you, no questions asked. And that is its biggest beauty.
4. Haanji. The all-purpose magic word.
5. The food! While I will have to admit that my experiences here are solely responsible for what now seems to be a lifetime's worth of aversion to rajma and dal makhani, I will miss all the other food. Period. Delhi loves its food, both the street and the exotic variety...and there's "planty of it, ji". :)
6. The bookstores - and Daryaganj. The bibliophiles' paradise. Enough said.
7. The Delhi Metro. I was thrilled when it began running from Vishwa Vidyalaya to Kashmere Gate (yes, I was here that long ago :), have consistently counted it amongst my biggest blessings in this city, and appreciated it even more fell even more thoroughly in love with it after a two-week brush with the Calcutta Metro. The crowds may have seen an exponential increase, and the legendary precision of timing may have taken a small beating...but my gratefulness and affection will remain an incontrovertible truth.
8. Summers and winters. Six of each, and I know I'll handle any kind of weather, anywhere. But I doubt I'll find as feisty and authentic a summer, and as poetic and picture-perfect a winter in another part of the world.
9. This strange mix of laid-back luxury and total chaos that this city is capable of. It's a living, breathing mass of contradictions, in this way, and in many others. I'll probably go into that later.
There's more to come. This list is incomplete. It feels incomplete to me. Next, the University.
9 comments:
awww now I WANT to miss Delhi too ! ;)
Haha...well yes, it has its positives and negatives...but I'm currently in one of those phases where the smallest thing makes me go Aww, so... :)
getting ready to leave for mumbai ?
I agree completely -these are just the things I'll miss. Gol gappas, kababs, the narrow lanes and tightly packed market place houses in Kamla Nagar or Batla House, the lush green trees interspersed in summer with gulmohur sprays, the way flowers of every description jump right off the ground every February, the JNU bougainvillea- as rebellious as the students, the staid old Viceregal Lodge and the couples sneaking kisses in every dark patch... Oh Delhi!
Sharanya: Yes...and no. I'm ready alright, but my employers seem a curiously confused lot when it comes to dates and locations! :)
Ruch: You've put it all so perfectly - and poetically. 'Oh Delhi!' just about sums it up! Yeah, there have been times I've wished myself anywhere but here...but I am going to miss it all. No two ways about that.
from your decriptions, delhi to me, is like a lover - hard to let go off, both enticing and mystical in his own ways, and each one of his acquaintances remembers him for different reasons.. he just has so much to offer ! ;)
Wow...now that you put it that way, maybe that's how it is! :) But it's a fact...I'm in a relationship with the city...and It's Complicated. :P
ha ha have you see Its complicated ? i love meryl streep ;)
I like her too...but no, haven't seen the movie. My life's one right now, though, so there's plenty of entertainment.
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