I was 10 when I came to know that my dad was being transferred to Delhi. My happiness knew no bounds. This time there was a different kind of an excitement because we had to move to a city which had the biggest amusement park in the country, "Appu Ghar". Yes that was the only thing I was looking forward to.
Thus began our never ending train journey from Vishakhapatnam to New Delhi . I had no idea that Delhi was this far, it took 2 full days. So long it took that I was tempted to ask my mom if dad had gotten tranferred into the train...!!!
All excited about setting my foot on Sarzameen-e-Dilli, I got down from the train only to find that it was some random place called Hazrat Nizamuddin. I was like lets board the train again before it leaves... This isnt the place!!! But when I was told that this is where we were supposed to get off, I was utterly disappointed. I mean who wants to live in a place called Hazrat Nizamuddin after you have spent the last couple of weeks dreaming of living in New Delhi???
All excited about setting my foot on Sarzameen-e-Dilli, I got down from the train only to find that it was some random place called Hazrat Nizamuddin. I was like lets board the train again before it leaves... This isnt the place!!! But when I was told that this is where we were supposed to get off, I was utterly disappointed. I mean who wants to live in a place called Hazrat Nizamuddin after you have spent the last couple of weeks dreaming of living in New Delhi???
Stepping out of the station I was taken aback by the sheer scale of the city. Everything I set my eyes on seemed to be moving in its own way. Such was the hustle bustle of this city that I instantly fell in love with it. And finally it sunk in that we had moved to the capital and not to a random place.
I spent the first year of my life in Delhi living in Vasant Kunj. The now posh and upmarket locality was just a budding colony then. Rather a mere collection of discreet localities between Vasant Vihar and Mehrauli. Vasant Kunj was the place where neighbours hardly spoke to each other, let alone celebrate community Holis and Diwalis. We seemed isolated in that place. Qutub Minar and a fleeting glimpse of peacocks dancing in rain visible from my room window were the only things good about that place. School was about 10 KM from home and it seemed to be at the other end of the city. Missing the school bus was biggest fear as I used to leave home at 06:30 AM and in winter it was more of a pain. Winter was too cold and summer was the hottest I had ever experienced. The charm of Delhi was slowly fading away.
As I was growing up, the city grew around me too. Second year on, it was new place, new friends, and a new feel about the city. I slowly started to understand the dynamics of the city. Travelling in crowded public transport, shopping in markets where people fall over each other in festival season and even otherwise, having the awesome food that is available in abundance that you can die eating and still keep eating in your after-life, going through the widest and best of the roads in South Delhi, enjoying the cool breeze against your face in the evenings in summer, feeling the warm sun basking in winters, striking a conversation with absolute strangers, watching innumerable kites flying (around Independence day) which seem like colourful confetti falling from the sky, being awestruck by the sheer brilliance of the architecture (Rashtrapati Bhawan and the surrounding areas), circling the Connaught Circus by foot hundreds of times and I can go on and on about the city. All the stuff that I had hated about Delhi in the beginning , seeing them in a different light, made me fall in love with Delhi and every passing day I loved the city more.
I believe the city you grow up in has a major role to play in your development as a person. So I owe a lot to my being in Delhi for being the person I am. The city that gave me friends, the city that gave me memories to cherish, the city that I feel I am a part of, is the city that I call my Home.
As I was growing up, the city grew around me too. Second year on, it was new place, new friends, and a new feel about the city. I slowly started to understand the dynamics of the city. Travelling in crowded public transport, shopping in markets where people fall over each other in festival season and even otherwise, having the awesome food that is available in abundance that you can die eating and still keep eating in your after-life, going through the widest and best of the roads in South Delhi, enjoying the cool breeze against your face in the evenings in summer, feeling the warm sun basking in winters, striking a conversation with absolute strangers, watching innumerable kites flying (around Independence day) which seem like colourful confetti falling from the sky, being awestruck by the sheer brilliance of the architecture (Rashtrapati Bhawan and the surrounding areas), circling the Connaught Circus by foot hundreds of times and I can go on and on about the city. All the stuff that I had hated about Delhi in the beginning , seeing them in a different light, made me fall in love with Delhi and every passing day I loved the city more.
I believe the city you grow up in has a major role to play in your development as a person. So I owe a lot to my being in Delhi for being the person I am. The city that gave me friends, the city that gave me memories to cherish, the city that I feel I am a part of, is the city that I call my Home.
Delhi turned out to be a lot more than just Appu Ghar. It became my home. It became a part of me as much as I am a part of it. I have been to and have lived in a lot of other cities but in the end I belong to where my heart belongs and that is Saddi Dilli.
Yeh Dilli hai mere yaar.. Bas Ishq Mohabbat Pyar...
