Delhi Times — Dirt and beyond

Ishan Rakshit
Jul 10, 2017 · 2 min read

I used to have a very negative opinion about Delhi and its people. I've got a huge chunk of my family and a lot of friends staying there but nothing they said in the city's defence could change my opinion that it's quite a dead city from the inside. My dislike used to resonate with the common consensus about Delhi. Every new street you enter could turn your life upside down and no one would even spare a glance. No helping hand when needed. No consolation when it's required.

Everyone who stays there is ultimately an immigrant from UP, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and elsewhere. True Delhi people are a rare breed. And even if they exist, their identity has been blurred by the people who make it to the common sight. With such a borrowed identity, everything that's wrong with Delhi has been credited to these immigrants; these are the people who are simply there striving to make a good life for them and their families. Of course, they are bound to be selfish.

People in Mumbai are selfish too, but they are compassionate. They breathe in synchronization with the city's breath. Not in Delhi. No one really cares.


However hilarious the expressions may look at the first glance, this picture depicts a lot about the Delhi I witnessed
Red Fort, as seen from Chandni Chowk (I don’t know, just had to put it here)

This short trip I took this weekend slightly stirred my stance.

In the steam riding from the chimneys in Chandni Chowk and the smoke rising from the chimneys in the outskirts of it, I realized there’s something common. The city has always been the cradle to foster children from all over the country. For centuries! There’s nothing 'Delhi' about it, perhaps because there’s nothing to be so 'Delhi' about it in the first place! Everything is just India. No one could kick you out from the city because you belong to the city less than he or she does. The city is brimming with cultural inflow from everywhere. No one owns it. No one can claim to be running it. The fact that Delhi isn’t owned by someone more is beautiful. It’s like a human social experiment where different cultures have been put into a mixing bowl without a priority order, not knowing what will happen. And that makes Delhi so good! All I’m saying is that the very fact no one expects you to be anyone or do anything is beautiful.

And that’s what makes it so different from Mumbai: the place I’m so close to calling home.

Aamchi Mumbai - is my Mumbai. But am I really hers?

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