Tragedy brought me to Delhi. Eyes swollen with unshed tears, long dark hours filled with misery at the loss of a loved one and the refusal to believe that he was no more… these were my companions even as our car rolled into the maze and confusion of Delhi. Terrified at the prospect of a new school with new kids, a new society filled with new families, a new city with a new soul, I found solace only in my family’s warm presence.
I have never been the type to share my sorrows, never been the one to cry openly; so I took it all, bundled it into a box of try-to-forget memories and shoved it in the deepest corner of the never-to-be-opened trunk. Shuddering at the word ‘new’, I took baby steps into my new world.
Little did I know then that these baby steps will transform into confident strides in no time. And this is what I love about Delhi; from someone who was crazy scared of even talking to boys, I’ve been transformed into an independent and fearless individual. From a compulsive detester of anything ‘new’, I’ve grown up to embrace both the new and the different.
First day at school, I had my first brush with the Delhi style of being. Meeting my classmates, I felt a sense of belonging. The smiles came easily, the laughter soon followed. Even the kids of this amazing city know all the tricks of winning over people. The city has an un-describable charm… it makes you feel like you’re home. With its friendly but often misinterpreted people, Delhi welcomed me with open arms, offering me unconditional love.
Ironically, I’m miles away from my city as my fingers fly over the keyboard. Maybe this is why I’m missing her all the more. During lunch-time discussions about Dilli with my new-found Hyderabadi friends, the differences emerge stark and clear. While Delhi has a dude-like chalta hai attitude, I find people elsewhere perpetually worried about one thing or the other. Over the years, Delhi has taught me to take each day as it comes, relishing the candy grains of time. As my school sweatshirt puts it; we have a ‘pause-itive’ attitude.
Each moment, my city pulsates with the energy of a million cricket crazy fans glued in to an India-Pakistan match. As contagious as it is, this energy makes Delhi the city that never sleeps, the city that never sighs, the city that parties each night yet wakes up for office on time. It is this perpetual flow of adrenaline that makes me who I am… When I breathe, I breathe Delhi...
To be continued… :)
