(Published in First City magazine, August 2013) There was a time I was no darn Dilliwali. I was just another girl-in-the-city and Dilli was just Delhi to me, appearing like a Qutub Minar silhouette in the mind every time its name was called. If I ever had to explain Delhi to someone in a garish-coloured, hard-outlined chart like the 25-paise ones I bought for holiday homework projects as a kid, I’d draw India Gate, Lal Quila, Nehru Planetarium, Palika Bazaar, Hanuman Mandir. When adolescence hit, I replaced these with Priya cinema, golguppe, packed Blueline buses, groping hands, and toilet-like bus stops.
City of Chai
City of Chai
City of Chai
(Published in First City magazine, August 2013) There was a time I was no darn Dilliwali. I was just another girl-in-the-city and Dilli was just Delhi to me, appearing like a Qutub Minar silhouette in the mind every time its name was called. If I ever had to explain Delhi to someone in a garish-coloured, hard-outlined chart like the 25-paise ones I bought for holiday homework projects as a kid, I’d draw India Gate, Lal Quila, Nehru Planetarium, Palika Bazaar, Hanuman Mandir. When adolescence hit, I replaced these with Priya cinema, golguppe, packed Blueline buses, groping hands, and toilet-like bus stops.