I close my eyes and see...
By the gurgling brook we lie...
Hands holding, fingers entwined..
Two bodies as one enshrined...
White buterflies hover over us..
Rabbits playing in the grass.
Birds singing in the spring..
The whole world seems to sing..
I smell the lavender in you..
The world attains a colourful hue..
Then suddenly I wake..
To find that it all was a dream..
A dream, I wish it was true.. and
this life is just a fake.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Friday, February 03, 2006
Calcutta through the eyes of Vir Sanghvi
Now do not ask me who Mr Vir Sanghvi is! So naturally his writing style will be superb. I am not posting this because I am a Bengali, which I am, but because he is right about the ethos that flows in the city during Durga puja. Even a Bengali would not have been able to put this better like he did. So I hope he does not mind my putting his article on my blog. In any case this has been circulating in emails all over. And mind it I am a Bengalig who knows all the faults of Calcutta now called Kolkata. And I do know the faults of Delhi and Mumbai too as these are the cities I frequent or stay. I have another article by some other writer which will be next blog today. I post this article only because of its literary excellence and the way it has brought out the true picture of Calcutta.
I once sent this to my colleagues at office by email to test the reaction and the reaction I got is an eye opener of sorts. It told me why we are still a country full of regionalism and casteism and why our minds are still shallow and full of narrow regional mindedness. One Bengali Friend of mine who has never stayed in Bengal thought he had to say something against this article to prove his alleigance to his adopted state and said this :-"Shantanu,
Vir Sanghvi might say anything but it is a matter of debate - has lot of pros and cons - whatever may be the size of a journalist, pl. don't go by his statements about such things."- Alas!! Who is going by what Vir Sanghvi saus? Do I not know myself what he is saying is true!! Or do I not know that of all the states in India barring Bihar, Bengal has got left behind because of its ways and faults? But one cannot deny the strengths of a city can one? Just like one cannot deny the strengths of Delhi just because it is full of rude people! (More on this later in another Blog).
Another chap who is not a Bengali reacted even more strongly "I agreed with Mr....And if Pandal competition echos emotion, relegion,togeatherness than visit Mumbai during Dahi handi or Ganeshotsav, Visit Jaipur during Diwali week, Visit Mysore during Vijyadashmi. I think each region of India echos similar sentiments during different festival..."
Now who denies this? Not even Vir Sanghvi, I think! But all these shows that we as Indians are not ready to work as a Team or Feel as one YET. YES. Whoever says whatever we Indians are much Behind most countries when when it needs to team up as a nation. We do team up when we play cricket against Pakistan or we team up when we fight wars. No doubt about that. But when it comes to living in India we are groups and so we have trouble. Instead of just reading a good article from Mr Vir Sanghvi, who has probably written equally moving articles about Delhi or Mumbai or Bangalore or other cities, people feel they have to object. Why?
Since everybody has opinions I do too since I am one of the everybody. Here were my thoughts when I sent the article to my colleagues at office.
"I got this from a Bengali. I asked myself - Why send this to Bengalis only? BENGAL is not for Bengalis nor is Calcutta. So why not send this to others who have never stayed there? Or have stayed there? Or have the impression that Calcutta has only dirty roads or that it has a second class car in the tram which means it is so poor that people cannot even afford to pay for first class fare in the trams[exact words of someone to me] or that Calcutta is the only city where still you see 25 paisa coins??
When I went to Calcutta on leave recently, I said to my friend at our office at Calcutta / Kolkata that in Delhi there is something that drives people to do better for themselves, and that is what is probably needed by this country. That all people should WANT to better for themselves. For if they want to do that, they do it and in the process of achieving a better living automatically the country's economy grows. One should not wait for the govt to do something for them but rather do it themselves. But in Calcutta nobody seems to want to do better for themselves and are somehow content as they are and so has got left behind. And look at Delhi how people are better off and how they have progressed through hard work and grit. And today the highest country per capita income is in Delhi. The quality of life is so better here in Delhi. [I am not an economist but I have a feeling that I may have probably made an observation which forms the basis of Economic Growth of a Country]
When I said the above to my friend at Calutta, he said Shantanu Calcutta has a different quality of life ........ I, being a Bengali, understood what he meant. But at the same time having stayed outside of Bengal for more than 14 years, I can compare and find good in other cities and other people too.. ... when I go home I love it, the ways of Calcutta.. and when I come back here I love this too..... each city is different... and so are the people.
If you want to know about Calcutta then here is what Vir Sanghvi, a much more widely travelled man says about it.
** Begin Vir Saghvi's Article***
Subject: Pujo By Vir Sanghvi
What 'Pujo' means to a Bengali
u>
Most modern Indian cities strive to rise above ethnicity.
Tell anybody who lives in Bombay that he lives in a Maharashtrian city and (unless of course, you are speaking to Bal Thackeray) he will take immediate offence. We are cosmopolitan, he will say indigenously. Tell a Delhiwalla that his is a Punjabi city (which, in many ways, it is) and he will respond with much self-righteous nonsense about being the nation's capital, about the international composition of the city's elite etc. And tell a Bangalorean that he lives in a Kannadiga city and you'll get lots of techno-gaff about the internet revolution and about how Bangalore is even more cosmopolitan than Bombay.
But, the only way to understand what Calcutta is about is recognize that the city is essentially Bengali. What's more, no Bengali minds you saying that. Rather, he is proud of the fact. Calcutta's strengths and weaknesses mirror those of the Bengali character. It has the drawbacks: the sudden passions, the cheerful chaos, the utter contempt for mere commerce, the fiery response to the smallest provocation.
And it has the strengths (actually, I think of the drawbacks as strengths in their own way). Calcutta embodies the Bengali love of culture; the triumph of intellectualism over greed; the complete transparency of all emotions, the disdain with which hypocrisy and insincerity are treated; the warmth of genuine humanity; and the supremacy of emotion over all other aspects of human existence.
That's why Calcutta is not for everyone. You want your cities clean and green; stick to Delhi. You want your cities, rich and impersonal; go to Bombay. You want them high-tech and full of draught beer; Bangalore's your place. But if you want a city with a soul: come to Calcutta.
When I look back on the years I've spent in Calcutta - and I come back so many times each year that I often feel I've never been away - I don't remember the things that people remember about cities. When I think of London, I think of the vast open spaces of Hyde Park. When I think of New York, I think of the frenzy of Times Square. When I think of Tokyo, I think of the bright lights of Shinjiku. And when I think of Paris, I think of the Champs Elysee. But when I think of Calcutta, I never think of any one place. I don't focus on the greenery of the maidan, the beauty of the Victoria Memorial, the bustle of Burra Bazar or the splendour of the new Howrah 'Bridge'. I think of people.
Because, finally, a city is more than bricks and mortars, street lights and tarred roads. A city is the sum of its people. And who can ever forget - or replicate - the people of Calcutta?
When I first came to live here, I was told that the city would grow on me. What nobody told me was that the city would change my life. It was in Calcutta that I learnt about true warmth; about simple human decency; about love and friendship; about emotions and caring; about truth and honesty. I learnt other things too. Coming from Bombay as I did, it was a revelation to live in a city where people judged each other on the things that really mattered; where they recognized that being rich did not make you a better person - in fact, it might have the opposite effect. I learnt also that if life is about more than just money, it is about the things that other cities ignore; about culture, about ideas, about art, and about passion. In Bombay, a man with a relatively low income will salt some of it away for the day when he gets a stock market tip. In Calcutta, a man with exactly the same income will not know the difference between a debenture and a dividend. But he will spend his money on the things that matter. Each morning, he will read at least two newspapers and develop sharply etched views on the state of the world.
Each evening, there will be fresh (ideally, fresh-water or river) fish on his table. His children will be encouraged to learn to dance or sing. His family will appreciate the power of poetry. And for him, religion and culture will be in inextricably bound together.
Ah religion! Tell outsiders about the importance of Puja in Calcutta and they'll scoff. Don't be silly, they'll say. Puja is a religious festival. And Bengal has voted for the CPM since 1977. How can godless Bengal be so hung up on a religions festival? I never know how to explain them that to a Bengali, religion consists of much more than shouting Jai Shri Ram or pulling down somebody's mosque. It has little to do with meaningless ritual or sinister political activity.
The essence of Puja is that all the passions of Bengal converge: emotion, culture, the love of life, the warmth of being together, the joy of celebration, the pride in artistic expression and yes, the cult of the goddess.
It may be about religion. But is about much more than just worship. In which other part of India would small, not particularly well-off localities, vie with each other to produce the best pandals? Where else could puja pandals go beyond religion to draw inspiration from everything else? In the years I lived in Calcutta, the pandals featured Amitabh Bachchan, Princes Diana and even Saddam Hussain! Where else would children cry with the sheer emotional power of Dashami, upset that the Goddess had left their homes? Where else would the whole city gooseflesh when the dhakis first begin to beat their drums? Which other Indian festival - in any part of the country - is so much about food, about going from one roadside stall to another, following your nose as it trails the smells of cooking?
To understand Puja, you must understand Calcutta. And to understand Calcutta, you must understand the Bengali. It's not easy.
Certainly, you can't do it till you come and live here, till you let Calcutta suffuse your being, invade your bloodstream and steal your soul. But once you have, you'll love Calcutta forever. Wherever you go, a bit of Calcutta will go with you. I know, because it's happened to me. And every Puja, I am overcome by the magic of Bengal. It's a feeling that'll never go away.
**** End Of Vir Sanghvi's Article ***
I once sent this to my colleagues at office by email to test the reaction and the reaction I got is an eye opener of sorts. It told me why we are still a country full of regionalism and casteism and why our minds are still shallow and full of narrow regional mindedness. One Bengali Friend of mine who has never stayed in Bengal thought he had to say something against this article to prove his alleigance to his adopted state and said this :-"Shantanu,
Vir Sanghvi might say anything but it is a matter of debate - has lot of pros and cons - whatever may be the size of a journalist, pl. don't go by his statements about such things."- Alas!! Who is going by what Vir Sanghvi saus? Do I not know myself what he is saying is true!! Or do I not know that of all the states in India barring Bihar, Bengal has got left behind because of its ways and faults? But one cannot deny the strengths of a city can one? Just like one cannot deny the strengths of Delhi just because it is full of rude people! (More on this later in another Blog).
Another chap who is not a Bengali reacted even more strongly "I agreed with Mr.
Now who denies this? Not even Vir Sanghvi, I think! But all these shows that we as Indians are not ready to work as a Team or Feel as one YET. YES. Whoever says whatever we Indians are much Behind most countries when when it needs to team up as a nation. We do team up when we play cricket against Pakistan or we team up when we fight wars. No doubt about that. But when it comes to living in India we are groups and so we have trouble. Instead of just reading a good article from Mr Vir Sanghvi, who has probably written equally moving articles about Delhi or Mumbai or Bangalore or other cities, people feel they have to object. Why?
Since everybody has opinions I do too since I am one of the everybody. Here were my thoughts when I sent the article to my colleagues at office.
"I got this from a Bengali. I asked myself - Why send this to Bengalis only? BENGAL is not for Bengalis nor is Calcutta. So why not send this to others who have never stayed there? Or have stayed there? Or have the impression that Calcutta has only dirty roads or that it has a second class car in the tram which means it is so poor that people cannot even afford to pay for first class fare in the trams[exact words of someone to me] or that Calcutta is the only city where still you see 25 paisa coins??
When I went to Calcutta on leave recently, I said to my friend at our office at Calcutta / Kolkata that in Delhi there is something that drives people to do better for themselves, and that is what is probably needed by this country. That all people should WANT to better for themselves. For if they want to do that, they do it and in the process of achieving a better living automatically the country's economy grows. One should not wait for the govt to do something for them but rather do it themselves. But in Calcutta nobody seems to want to do better for themselves and are somehow content as they are and so has got left behind. And look at Delhi how people are better off and how they have progressed through hard work and grit. And today the highest country per capita income is in Delhi. The quality of life is so better here in Delhi. [I am not an economist but I have a feeling that I may have probably made an observation which forms the basis of Economic Growth of a Country]
When I said the above to my friend at Calutta, he said Shantanu Calcutta has a different quality of life ........ I, being a Bengali, understood what he meant. But at the same time having stayed outside of Bengal for more than 14 years, I can compare and find good in other cities and other people too.. ... when I go home I love it, the ways of Calcutta.. and when I come back here I love this too..... each city is different... and so are the people.
If you want to know about Calcutta then here is what Vir Sanghvi, a much more widely travelled man says about it.
** Begin Vir Saghvi's Article***
Subject: Pujo By Vir Sanghvi
What 'Pujo' means to a Bengali
u>
Most modern Indian cities strive to rise above ethnicity.
Tell anybody who lives in Bombay that he lives in a Maharashtrian city and (unless of course, you are speaking to Bal Thackeray) he will take immediate offence. We are cosmopolitan, he will say indigenously. Tell a Delhiwalla that his is a Punjabi city (which, in many ways, it is) and he will respond with much self-righteous nonsense about being the nation's capital, about the international composition of the city's elite etc. And tell a Bangalorean that he lives in a Kannadiga city and you'll get lots of techno-gaff about the internet revolution and about how Bangalore is even more cosmopolitan than Bombay.
But, the only way to understand what Calcutta is about is recognize that the city is essentially Bengali. What's more, no Bengali minds you saying that. Rather, he is proud of the fact. Calcutta's strengths and weaknesses mirror those of the Bengali character. It has the drawbacks: the sudden passions, the cheerful chaos, the utter contempt for mere commerce, the fiery response to the smallest provocation.
And it has the strengths (actually, I think of the drawbacks as strengths in their own way). Calcutta embodies the Bengali love of culture; the triumph of intellectualism over greed; the complete transparency of all emotions, the disdain with which hypocrisy and insincerity are treated; the warmth of genuine humanity; and the supremacy of emotion over all other aspects of human existence.
That's why Calcutta is not for everyone. You want your cities clean and green; stick to Delhi. You want your cities, rich and impersonal; go to Bombay. You want them high-tech and full of draught beer; Bangalore's your place. But if you want a city with a soul: come to Calcutta.
When I look back on the years I've spent in Calcutta - and I come back so many times each year that I often feel I've never been away - I don't remember the things that people remember about cities. When I think of London, I think of the vast open spaces of Hyde Park. When I think of New York, I think of the frenzy of Times Square. When I think of Tokyo, I think of the bright lights of Shinjiku. And when I think of Paris, I think of the Champs Elysee. But when I think of Calcutta, I never think of any one place. I don't focus on the greenery of the maidan, the beauty of the Victoria Memorial, the bustle of Burra Bazar or the splendour of the new Howrah 'Bridge'. I think of people.
Because, finally, a city is more than bricks and mortars, street lights and tarred roads. A city is the sum of its people. And who can ever forget - or replicate - the people of Calcutta?
When I first came to live here, I was told that the city would grow on me. What nobody told me was that the city would change my life. It was in Calcutta that I learnt about true warmth; about simple human decency; about love and friendship; about emotions and caring; about truth and honesty. I learnt other things too. Coming from Bombay as I did, it was a revelation to live in a city where people judged each other on the things that really mattered; where they recognized that being rich did not make you a better person - in fact, it might have the opposite effect. I learnt also that if life is about more than just money, it is about the things that other cities ignore; about culture, about ideas, about art, and about passion. In Bombay, a man with a relatively low income will salt some of it away for the day when he gets a stock market tip. In Calcutta, a man with exactly the same income will not know the difference between a debenture and a dividend. But he will spend his money on the things that matter. Each morning, he will read at least two newspapers and develop sharply etched views on the state of the world.
Each evening, there will be fresh (ideally, fresh-water or river) fish on his table. His children will be encouraged to learn to dance or sing. His family will appreciate the power of poetry. And for him, religion and culture will be in inextricably bound together.
Ah religion! Tell outsiders about the importance of Puja in Calcutta and they'll scoff. Don't be silly, they'll say. Puja is a religious festival. And Bengal has voted for the CPM since 1977. How can godless Bengal be so hung up on a religions festival? I never know how to explain them that to a Bengali, religion consists of much more than shouting Jai Shri Ram or pulling down somebody's mosque. It has little to do with meaningless ritual or sinister political activity.
The essence of Puja is that all the passions of Bengal converge: emotion, culture, the love of life, the warmth of being together, the joy of celebration, the pride in artistic expression and yes, the cult of the goddess.
It may be about religion. But is about much more than just worship. In which other part of India would small, not particularly well-off localities, vie with each other to produce the best pandals? Where else could puja pandals go beyond religion to draw inspiration from everything else? In the years I lived in Calcutta, the pandals featured Amitabh Bachchan, Princes Diana and even Saddam Hussain! Where else would children cry with the sheer emotional power of Dashami, upset that the Goddess had left their homes? Where else would the whole city gooseflesh when the dhakis first begin to beat their drums? Which other Indian festival - in any part of the country - is so much about food, about going from one roadside stall to another, following your nose as it trails the smells of cooking?
To understand Puja, you must understand Calcutta. And to understand Calcutta, you must understand the Bengali. It's not easy.
Certainly, you can't do it till you come and live here, till you let Calcutta suffuse your being, invade your bloodstream and steal your soul. But once you have, you'll love Calcutta forever. Wherever you go, a bit of Calcutta will go with you. I know, because it's happened to me. And every Puja, I am overcome by the magic of Bengal. It's a feeling that'll never go away.
**** End Of Vir Sanghvi's Article ***
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Times of India and TV programs
Times of India Delhi Edition most of the times do not correct their TV program information. This is happening for Star One program for last one month. You keep awake till the previously announced time (in the news paper) and then you see a different program being beamed!! Keep it up TOI. After all why not? You people are busy proving yourself over HT all the time.
Saturday, December 31, 2005
AMITABH BACCHAN- Big B or a Big F armer?
How our so-called supermen and women fool the country!! This country is full of illiterate people who have not even got a full meal to eat a day and so are happy to take that Rs. 50/- and a cloth piece to vote for the Politician who rules the nation. Add to that the businessmen who put in all their money to make the politicians work for them. And add to them the educated gentry like us who sit back and do nothing. And add to that the heros, and heroines and the mafia and you-name-them-you-have-it of the whos and whos also jumping into the wagon of power and politics. So what have you?
Well you have a nation where a FILM HERO, a widely proclaimed personality whose ill health makes the other side of the nation to go to temples and offer 'Puja' (homage to God) for his better health, a Rich man in an other sense, a person who has several business interests TRYING TO PROVE that he is A FARMER!!
And he will prove it too. Such is the law of the land. Those who are middle class and working class and poor class and MERE MORTALS will always live in fear of law, obey rules pay TAXES.. and these people will always find escape routes and flout their contacts with who's who of politics and law.
GREAT NATION INDIA !!JAI HIND!!
Well you have a nation where a FILM HERO, a widely proclaimed personality whose ill health makes the other side of the nation to go to temples and offer 'Puja' (homage to God) for his better health, a Rich man in an other sense, a person who has several business interests TRYING TO PROVE that he is A FARMER!!
And he will prove it too. Such is the law of the land. Those who are middle class and working class and poor class and MERE MORTALS will always live in fear of law, obey rules pay TAXES.. and these people will always find escape routes and flout their contacts with who's who of politics and law.
GREAT NATION INDIA !!JAI HIND!!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Meaningless
This world is full of injustice!! And we have only ourselves to blame!! In this cae I do not even know what to blame... I cannot say everything here can I? I cannot!! Bull!!Shit!!
Monday, December 26, 2005
Confused? Good or Bad?
I call this the diary of a confused man because I am a mixture of thoughts. I think in every direction when I do something. Is it good? Is it bad? Who knows!! But then perhaps because I do so I take time in starting anything I do. Like I am still not up-to-date with my blogs. It is true that I do not get time to sit in front of the PC to post some message here all the time but at least one message per day can be posted by me easily on the average for every seven day-week.
Why I am not doing it is because I am still trying to improve the site look- well not so much as the looks but the manoeuvarability of the site. Today I found some java code which I can use to collapse and expand my nested lists. I can now use this to build a list of my favourite posts so that a reader can just click through the menus to get the posts of his or her choice.
Wellllllll..... even if nobody does click to read my blogs (after all there are tens of thousands blogs all over.... at least I will feel good to make my site look neat and healthy.
Why I am not doing it is because I am still trying to improve the site look- well not so much as the looks but the manoeuvarability of the site. Today I found some java code which I can use to collapse and expand my nested lists. I can now use this to build a list of my favourite posts so that a reader can just click through the menus to get the posts of his or her choice.
Wellllllll..... even if nobody does click to read my blogs (after all there are tens of thousands blogs all over.... at least I will feel good to make my site look neat and healthy.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Delhi and Delhiites
This may start a riot as it is against Delhiwalas. Not all of them but some. Some who make this city bad, so much that even delhiites themselves who have the opportunity of staying at other cities in India will agree. Why do I want to start a war of cities or a war of languages or whatever? Not at all. I am just angry. I feel anger inside me that such a lovely city should be full of such bad people. Who may or may not be a majority as I do know lot of people who are not like the others who give this city a bad name.
First 'Road Rage'. I heard of this word first time I came to Delhi. So what do I say? I will certainly give this city a bad name if this city is the first city which makes me learn this word. And what road rage!! People shoot each other over minor accidents and even parking. People do not know the art & etiquette of driving. They even shoot each other over parking. All these are there in the news so I am not making these up at all. You tell the chap parking his car in front of your house to park it elsewhere as you want to park yours, he will tell you it is public land so anybody can use it. So it means if he is doing it now I do it too- park my car in front of somebody else's house. Then there have been incidents of [even] well heeled people driving over people in fits of rage (you read newspapers, I hope) and cars will not give way even when they are driving slowly and the moment you want to overtake them via the other lane these cars would accelerate. Why cars? Even two-wheelers do not give way. That is all about boldness in Delhi.
People are very bold here. Now that may be a good quality when it comes to joining the army but sometimes boldness comes with a carelessness of the consequences of our actions. Hence we find more number of people here just jumping into physical fights with fists and guns because they believe 'everything goes' or that 'do not worry aboiut future.. we shall see'. So better be safe than sorry. Never pick up a fight with a Delhiwala if you worry about your future. Because he does not. And after all why do you want to die or get bashed up for some right on the road or parking space? Not worth it. So next time you see someone parked in the middle of the road and creating a jam do not ask him to move his car or even gesture your hand to ask him which direction he wants to go, because your gesture of hand will surely make him come out the car and shout at you. And if you shout back well.. be ready for a fight. A delhiwala never believes in losing a battle. They are brave people.
I have never understood why no delhi house has a car garage, when Delhi has more cars than all the other 3- metros - mumbai, kolkata and Chennai combined! Most households have more than one cars and yet not a single garage. I had to form my own opinion why. Nobody has yet corrected me [because believe it or not I have been saying these to my Delhi Friends offline too.]
Delhi tops the cities for snobbery. You have a big car and a big designation then only you have made it or else you will be shunned like plague. The bigger the car, house or your designation the bigger you are. People will ask you to come to their houses to show that they press their underwears and children will tell you that style comes first. No harm I would say. But then in the next breath they will ridicule the south indian who wears only a slipper when they go out or the neighbour whose house is too small. Then my hackles go up. I mean no harm if you want to live a good life. Why not!! You are doing good. You have made it in your life. You think money is everything. Fine. But why be a snob? You become a snob when you show off and belittle others who may not have money but may be far better human beings than you are. I am not going through my personal examples but I do want to tell you that ladies have told my wife that if one does not have some good furniture in one's house, then one cannnot face people 'Daman nahin bachega' Means it would be shameful not to have good furniture as one would not be able to show one's face in the society/ neighbours!! LOL !! GAWD!! I NEVER DISAGREE that a good house is lovely to see and live in, but I do not have to get good furniture to show off to others!! But that is Delhi for you!!
The ten commandents told us "Do not covet thy neigbour's wife' It seems that one of the commandment of Delhi is to covet everything that is the neighbour's - from parking space to flower tubs. The only saving grace is that if the neighbour is a Delhiite then he too will reciprocate, and so many times in the process the fights happen.
I once heard an old man say to another old man in his morning walk, that when he was young, his dad taught him that 'A' is for 'AAO' (hindi word for come), 'K' for 'Kamao' (hindi for make money) and 'L' for 'laro' (hindi for fight). On the lighter side this perhaps tells in one sentence the psyche of this city. Here they only believe in making money, fighting over everything and wishing everything around them to come to them. So when a delhiite bulds a house in Delhi he uses maximum land space he has paid for his house to make it look good (so that he can save face with his neigbours) and for his cars? Why public land is there to use. So he in effect uses more than he pays for. That is Delhi in short for you.
And why are they like this? My Delhi-friends themselves tell me that Delhiites are aggressive by nature because of the History of this place. This is one city which has always been ravaged by invaders (even before the city was in its present form) and so people around here have always been fighting and resisting and so have becomne aggressive by nature. And my own feeling is that weather too makes a lot of differences. A place which rarely sees rain and does not have natural water (like rivers and seas) and nautural greenery (like forests) and are only brick and mortar created there cannot be softness in the mind. Softness in the mind comes from being closer to nature. That is why you will find people from villages better, people from the hills simpler, people from rain affected areas softer. Delhi alas does not have any of these.
My fellow Delhiwalas will come after me with their guns (maybe) but let me add that I am not blind to the good points they have, that they are hard working and tough and have ambition. I believe ambition is good for the nation, because if the people have ambition to improve their lots, then they will do so and in the process India will gain. This is why economically speaking Delhi has the maximumn per capita income in the country. This is good!! But with economic growth came social degeneration. THAT IS BAD.
Being the capital of India lots of funds are constantly pouring into this city. It is perhaps the loveliest city in India in terms of road space, developmental work speed. If only people were a bit more warm and more humane it would be the best city to live in. But maybe that is wishful thinking.
First 'Road Rage'. I heard of this word first time I came to Delhi. So what do I say? I will certainly give this city a bad name if this city is the first city which makes me learn this word. And what road rage!! People shoot each other over minor accidents and even parking. People do not know the art & etiquette of driving. They even shoot each other over parking. All these are there in the news so I am not making these up at all. You tell the chap parking his car in front of your house to park it elsewhere as you want to park yours, he will tell you it is public land so anybody can use it. So it means if he is doing it now I do it too- park my car in front of somebody else's house. Then there have been incidents of [even] well heeled people driving over people in fits of rage (you read newspapers, I hope) and cars will not give way even when they are driving slowly and the moment you want to overtake them via the other lane these cars would accelerate. Why cars? Even two-wheelers do not give way. That is all about boldness in Delhi.
People are very bold here. Now that may be a good quality when it comes to joining the army but sometimes boldness comes with a carelessness of the consequences of our actions. Hence we find more number of people here just jumping into physical fights with fists and guns because they believe 'everything goes' or that 'do not worry aboiut future.. we shall see'. So better be safe than sorry. Never pick up a fight with a Delhiwala if you worry about your future. Because he does not. And after all why do you want to die or get bashed up for some right on the road or parking space? Not worth it. So next time you see someone parked in the middle of the road and creating a jam do not ask him to move his car or even gesture your hand to ask him which direction he wants to go, because your gesture of hand will surely make him come out the car and shout at you. And if you shout back well.. be ready for a fight. A delhiwala never believes in losing a battle. They are brave people.
I have never understood why no delhi house has a car garage, when Delhi has more cars than all the other 3- metros - mumbai, kolkata and Chennai combined! Most households have more than one cars and yet not a single garage. I had to form my own opinion why. Nobody has yet corrected me [because believe it or not I have been saying these to my Delhi Friends offline too.]
Delhi tops the cities for snobbery. You have a big car and a big designation then only you have made it or else you will be shunned like plague. The bigger the car, house or your designation the bigger you are. People will ask you to come to their houses to show that they press their underwears and children will tell you that style comes first. No harm I would say. But then in the next breath they will ridicule the south indian who wears only a slipper when they go out or the neighbour whose house is too small. Then my hackles go up. I mean no harm if you want to live a good life. Why not!! You are doing good. You have made it in your life. You think money is everything. Fine. But why be a snob? You become a snob when you show off and belittle others who may not have money but may be far better human beings than you are. I am not going through my personal examples but I do want to tell you that ladies have told my wife that if one does not have some good furniture in one's house, then one cannnot face people 'Daman nahin bachega' Means it would be shameful not to have good furniture as one would not be able to show one's face in the society/ neighbours!! LOL !! GAWD!! I NEVER DISAGREE that a good house is lovely to see and live in, but I do not have to get good furniture to show off to others!! But that is Delhi for you!!
The ten commandents told us "Do not covet thy neigbour's wife' It seems that one of the commandment of Delhi is to covet everything that is the neighbour's - from parking space to flower tubs. The only saving grace is that if the neighbour is a Delhiite then he too will reciprocate, and so many times in the process the fights happen.
I once heard an old man say to another old man in his morning walk, that when he was young, his dad taught him that 'A' is for 'AAO' (hindi word for come), 'K' for 'Kamao' (hindi for make money) and 'L' for 'laro' (hindi for fight). On the lighter side this perhaps tells in one sentence the psyche of this city. Here they only believe in making money, fighting over everything and wishing everything around them to come to them. So when a delhiite bulds a house in Delhi he uses maximum land space he has paid for his house to make it look good (so that he can save face with his neigbours) and for his cars? Why public land is there to use. So he in effect uses more than he pays for. That is Delhi in short for you.
And why are they like this? My Delhi-friends themselves tell me that Delhiites are aggressive by nature because of the History of this place. This is one city which has always been ravaged by invaders (even before the city was in its present form) and so people around here have always been fighting and resisting and so have becomne aggressive by nature. And my own feeling is that weather too makes a lot of differences. A place which rarely sees rain and does not have natural water (like rivers and seas) and nautural greenery (like forests) and are only brick and mortar created there cannot be softness in the mind. Softness in the mind comes from being closer to nature. That is why you will find people from villages better, people from the hills simpler, people from rain affected areas softer. Delhi alas does not have any of these.
My fellow Delhiwalas will come after me with their guns (maybe) but let me add that I am not blind to the good points they have, that they are hard working and tough and have ambition. I believe ambition is good for the nation, because if the people have ambition to improve their lots, then they will do so and in the process India will gain. This is why economically speaking Delhi has the maximumn per capita income in the country. This is good!! But with economic growth came social degeneration. THAT IS BAD.
Being the capital of India lots of funds are constantly pouring into this city. It is perhaps the loveliest city in India in terms of road space, developmental work speed. If only people were a bit more warm and more humane it would be the best city to live in. But maybe that is wishful thinking.
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