Delhi Talkies

Every time, I come back to Delhi, it is a nostalgic trip- whether it is the slight hint of mist on Delhi roads or the sight of the familiar animals- cows, dogs, squirrels etc. However, every time a Bollywood movie has been shot in Delhi, it has become a stubborn obsession to have at least one shot of either India Gate, Red Fort, Raj Path or Qutub Minar. For Bollywood, Delhi is restricted to just these four, with an occasional ‘Indian Habitat Centre’ in ‘Rang De Basanti’.

But what a typical ‘Delhite’ will tell you is that almost half of Delhi has never even seen Qutub Minar, or even Red Fort for that matter. They might have passed through Raj Path or had a family picnic at India Gate, but most importantly, Delhi for them means going for the occasional shopping trip to Sarojini Nagar Market, bargaining with a group of friends at Janpath to bring the price down to Rs 150, taking your relatives from Kolkatta, wearing their monkey-caps and mufflers to Akshardham Temple, fighting with the golgappawala that he has given you only six as opposed to seven. Delhi means covering all the basic emotions in a typical day- fighting with the Auto drivers because they insist on taking double the amount that comes on the meter, being scared about your newly cracked bones as the DTC speeds over breakers and bumpers, a pleasant smile as he dog stares at you as you eat Momos in Janpath, or catching the latest television gossip, on the bus, between the neighborhood aunties.

Those who live in Delhi, invariably end up falling in love with it. They may curse the government for not trying enough, they may shout at the rickshaws, cars in a bad traffic jam and they will say that Delhi has more things to crib about than to rejoice about. Yet you cannot help but love this Mughal city. I would know. That’s exactly what happened to me.