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FRENZY


‘Actions speak louder than words’ -goes an old saying. Quite literally that is where it belongs- the old times. Today, only those are paid heed who are loud enough to be heard. Barking dogs might seldom bite but they bark hard enough to knock you off the hook!

 This is yet again borne out of my personal experience. Travelling in Delhi has sort of acquainted me with the local flavour and the local tevar! Hooligans and lafanders of all shapes and sizes (no pun intended) and in all hues and colours. From the cycle-rickshaw walas to the auto walas to the phatphat seva drivers (oh yes! If you’re in Delhi and you haven’t had a taste of this seva, you are missing out on a lot!). There is a very popular saying- Do not walk like you are the king; walk like you don’t care who is the king. These people take it a little too seriously. There isn’t a soul on this (union) territory who isn’t cursing these men. Riders here don’t negotiate, they literally plead before them. “Bhaiya pleeeease bees le lo!! Chutte nahi hai…” In fact I have even gone so far as to showing my empty batwa just to justify my broke state at times.

Step into the University campus and the next moment you are greeted with the annoying fleet of rickshaw walas, streaming in from all possible directions you can imagine. There is just no escaping these men baby! If you’re even under the slightest impression that you can fool them and get away with a low fare, well then do drop in here and have a look at the early morning frenzy; it is bound to leave you breathless, if anything. In my early days, my dad used to send me loaded with instructions that whenever there comes across a nagging auto or rickshaw wala, answer him back with a quick retort “Hum to bhaiya roz ate hain yahan… hume rate pata hai yahan ka!” To my utter dismay, with time even this statement lost its impact and I realised that by saying this, I was being anything but smart.  One thing was clear. It was hard to fool these men, because they very well knew who travels regularly via which route and who doesn’t.

 The adventure doesn’t end here.  Have you ever been to Pallika Bazar? Well if no, do pay a visit for you might just end up finding your estranged relatives there.  Oh yes. The bonds, the connections and the emotions just ooze out of every nook and corner. The shopkeepers talk like they have known you from the last 15 years. Just a rapid scan of your body and they know which size fits your body type best. Embarrassing and creepy at the same time.

That just reminds me of a stranger who crossed my way once in the metro station. I was climbing up the stairs, quite lost in my own world and didn’t realise that this guy had been constantly watching me for the past few minutes…well not exactly me but my birth mark!! Unable to contain his patience anymore, he asked me at once what was that mark on my face. I said it’s my birth mark, and he came up with this enlightening and profound remark-- “People with such marks are verrry lucky!” So here we go. Soothsayers and Fortune tellers on the go, for free! I must add, nothing comes for free today. I was indeed lucky.

There is no end to the creepiness and the ‘heartfelt’ concern people show one here. Seriously. Take for example, if you are a girl and in a dilemma as to what should be the appropriate length of your skirt or the depth of your neckline, people are more than eager to help; and that is just the tip of the iceberg I say.

Quite frankly, this frenzy engulfs you, like it or not. You don’t make it a part of your being. You become a part of it rather.    

Image courtesy: http://www.demotix.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/a_scale_large/1000-7/photos/1328937169-in-pictures:-the-poverty-and-chaos-of-old-delhi_1045127.jpg

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