A journey ends, a journey begins

i am not a traveller, but i travel
i am not a seer, but i see
i am not a teller, but i tell...

Having just come back from ten days of ball numbing cold, luscious green grass, scenes as picturesque as ones you only see in postcards, culture and a surprising fondness for our country's capital, i'm rather confused about my feelings towards the city of dreams, the Indian big apple, the peninsula inside the peninsula, the city of the seven islands, Mumbai.

As was said earlier, Delhi really surprised me.
once you get beyond the lecherous bastards, the blatant exhibition of wealth and the general attitude of the people you see the city for what it is in its truest form, a land richly connected with its earth.

It might sound like a large pile of sacred shit, but it's absolutely true. be it the language, the people or their inability to become the metropolitians of Mumbai, i'm glad they are the way they are.

Expanding greatly into three different states, Delhi has three primary things Mumbai will never have.

1. Awesome Infrastructure
2. The balance of culture
3. Scenic beauty.

Wide nearly perfect roads, uncongested traffic, an awesome metro line and now even a decent bus transportation system.

I, as a person who has lived his entire life in Mumbai couldn't get my head around the fact that time could also be a measure of actual distance as opposed to traffic.

E.g. MUMBAI: andheri to juhu; a distance of roughly 3 or 4 kms would normally take 20 - 30 mins. (peak hours could take even 45)

DELHI: Noida to CR park; roughly around 20 kms took us around 35 mins.
CR park to janpath; 20 kms again took us 25 mins.

imagine what bombay would be like if only the roads were planned better!

2. While bombay defines culture, delhi absorbs it. not just from bombay, but from everywhere around it. there's everything for everyone. the rich have their pseudo bullshit, the poor have their faith. there's more to see, more to do, more to eat, more to live, more to define, more to everything.

an amalgamation of all sorts of culture in such balance that nothing else is disturbed. if you're a painter, you could do everything you possibly dreamed of without disturbing the balance and provoking people that didn't want to be provoked. the same would apply if you were a political adventurist, traveller, shopkeeper, or the guy driving your rickshaw.

there is a building dedicated to every state in the city, where you not only can see everything the state stands for but also taste the yummy food.

then there's delhi haat. handicrafts and food from every part of the country all in one place. i don't need to say anymore...

3. parks, lakes, heritage structures from the mughal period, or even the cleanliness of the roads, your eyes take in everything with a smile. and if you're not from there you start wishing you were.

The weather of course was a major reason for my fondness for delhi this time round. it was cold as shit during the nights and not more than 10-12* during the day. had it been hot i probably wouldn't have liked it as much. but thanks to the weather i got to experience delhi like i have never before.

and ofcourse two of my favouritest people (poojesh and machu) are in delhi, so as of now the nations capital can do no wrong.