My Delhi, My Take….

 

Ever since I relocated from Delhi, I have had faced a certain flak. Be it the city of dreams Mumbai or the IT capital Bangalore, people had been giving me weird looks since day one. Not just weird looks but excruciating comments as well, for not being an outsider, but for being a Delhiite. Yes, that’s right. I have been looked upon as if I were a murderer, or a rapist, or a goon or a political ass.

But, my dear friends, let me tell you that a certain set of people don’t represent a place, or a community, or a country for that matter. I won’t differ from a fact that crime rate in Delhi is high, I won’t condemn the fact that Delhi remains in news every day for one or other reason. But that doesn’t mean that everyone residing in Delhi is a criminal. Do you mean to say that India is entirely crime free minus Delhi?

You might talk about the horrifying Nirbhaya incident which shook the entire nation. You might talk about Jessica Lal murder case or you may want to talk about Nithari case. I completely agree that these incidents were so dreadful & unhuman that one can’t even think about.

But….But…. But…. Let me take to you some other incidents. Aruna Shanbaug case, Neeraj Grover case or the case of Knanaya Roman Catholic nun. None of these incidents happened in Delhi. There are myriad other incidents one could recall which happened in different parts of the country but let’s not go there.

The point I would like to mention here is it’s so unjust to make a perception for citizen of a city, or a state, or a Country because of certain incidents.

A female colleague of mine asked me a question few days back. She asked "What do Delhiites think of themselves? Amitabh Bachchan?"

Well the answer is "NO".

The point she wanted to raise was that Delhiites have a certain EGO, ATTITUDE or ARROGANCE. Well I completely differ with this argument. There might be certain people who might have these traits of ego or arrogance but that doesn’t mean that the entire Delhi is suffering from these traits.

As a matter of fact Delhi has produced certain renowned figures like SRK, Sehwag , Kohli, CB & many others. Well OK… lets drop CB from the list ;-). Here, you might say that I am trapped by my own example of Kohli. He is known for his attitude, flamboyant lifestyle & on field aggression (BC’s & MC’s included). So does he represent Delhi? Ok… then why don’t you talk about Sehwag? Everyone knows his down to earth outlook. Or you may want to talk about SRK, well known for his polite & humble & down to earth approach. To argue, you may quote his Wankhede wala incident but he is a human too & anyone might lose temper at certain times. I can quote incidents for other famous & renowned personalities too who lost their cool or who might have been involved in one or other case but I won’t.

I met a person few years back, a Bengali. He was in Delhi on a professional visit. He & I were in Chandni Chowk relishing the beautiful evening of Delhi & enjoying the awesome Chaats. We got into a discussion about Kolkata & Delhi. He told me about Kolkata & his native place in West Bengal. He told me about Park Street, local foods in Kolkata and Misti Doi among certain other things. And then he said something which took me by surprise, I hadn’t thought about Delhi that way. I could still recall his lines "This city is so beautiful. It has got History, Geography, Economics… this city has got everything. I love this city"

Yes, Delhi is indeed a beautiful place. The people of Delhi are nice, warm & welcoming. So are people of other part of our country.

From my viewpoint, it’s all about perception & we shouldn’t make a perception for someone out of nowhere. A person or group of people doesn’t represent a place or a community. Good & evil exist everywhere, in every society, every city or country.

There are bad eggs among all groups. I have known some amazing people who are positively receptive to other's culture and mannerisms, some I even adore and respect. It's not about a city or a state, as SRK has said in Chak De India, "Mujhe states k naam na dikhaai dete hai na sunaai dete hai, bas ek mulk ka naam sunaai deta hai, INDIA"...And point to be noted guys he is a Delhiite, as I have already mentioned.

And in the end, We all are INDIANS!