Delhi!

“God willing we shall see the metro on Saturday”, exclaimed Kamal Sekhon.

Sekhon is one helluva character…..Punjab da puttar, he’s the most jovial bloke I’ve ever met in my life. His dad is an army colonel serving in Pune. Sekhon had the option of joining the NDA but he chose to do the engineering-work-MBA jig instead and today he is my partner in crime while palming off expensive software to gullible enterprise customers.

Tired with our daily routine in Gurgaon, we hatched a plan to explore new territories and beyond….we dared to seek the alluring and magnificient Delhi!!

The Delhi metro miracle!!

Sekhon’s cool-retro-classic-macho Enfield Bullet transported us from Gurgaon to Dwaraka (15 km) in under 30 mins. Dwaraka is the closest metro station to Gurgaon. If the spacious parking lot beside the metro station was a pleasant surprise, what we saw inside the station blew our mind. The Delhi metro is truly world-class. I’ve travelled by the tube all over Europe and I must say the Delhi metro is right up there with the best in terms of efficiency, cleanliness and safety. Trains run every five minutes and GPS systems that track train movement announce train arrivals on giant LCD boards on the platform. The metro experience makes one feel proud, but it also makes one wonder what kept the metro so long? Why didn’t the town planners of the 70s include metros in their blueprints?

Long-time Delhi resident friends of mine say that the Delhi metro has altered Delhi for the better. It has removed loads of traffic of the roads. Wherever the Delhi metro passed, land was acquired to make the roads wider and more beautiful. The average Delhiite swears by the metro and so do I.


Connaught Place

Our first haunt of the day was Connaught Place. We hoped off at the metro at the Rajiv Chowk station. "CP", as Connaught Place is commonly referred to, is bang in the center of Delhi and houses a sprawling up-market shopping district. CP is made up of three concentric roads that are lined with old-fashioned white-washed buildings, that give the area a European feel. Housed within these quaint buildings are flashy modern shops, filled with the latest designer brands. The charming mix of old architecture and new shops, makes CP an ideal destination for relaxed holiday shopping. In any case, it is a welcome break from the garish malls of Gurgaon.

We hit CP at noon and we were hungry. While sauntering aimlessly along the promenade in the inner-most circle, Khon spotted a kulcha-channa man on the pavement. Khon had vowed to introduce me to Delhi cuisine, and pavement ka kulcha, he said, was a good place to start. And so we stood beneath the Anti-Malaria Operations wing of the Delhi Muncipal Corporataion and munched delicious kulcha-channa off the pavement! Delhi's baked kulcha deserves a whole blog for itself. Amazing stuff - tasty, light and filling, don't miss it if you are in these parts of the country.


Beer Hunt

After the kulcha, Khon and me were thirsty. Hot sultry afternoon, spicy meal, parched throats, the best possible remedy is fermented ambrosia that goes by the name - cold beer! But, the cheap skates that we are, we decided to skip the pubs in the locality and instead buy ourselves beer cans at the ubiquitous "Theka" aka liquor shops that you would find everywhere in the NCR region.

Like determined boy scouts on a trail, we scurried along every nook and conner of CP in search for the promised "Theka". And just as awe were getting tired of the hunt, Sekhon gave a yelp! To my bewilderment he stood transfixed in front of a crockery and cutlery store! Now what on earth did Khon spot in the crockery store!

"I want to buy a wallet from here", announced Sekhon. I stared at the shop in disbelief, crockery store and leather wallet didn't sound right...But then as I followed Sekhon into the store, I couldn't help smiling. Here was a store that was different from everything else in CP. It was not a new flashy designer store like the rest. Instead, it was an old ramshackle place run by an old ramshackle shopkeeper housing a curious mix of antiquated items of all kinds. It was a survivor from a bygone era and Sekhon wanted to buy his wallet from this very shop!

While buying the wallet from the old shopkeeper, Sekhon knew he was stepping into connoisseur zone. Khon put his best manners and best language skills on display. He spoke chaste Hindi and threw in a few Urdu phrases for effect. Instead of haggling over price, he admired the features and the fine craftsmanship that went
into the wallet. He inquired about its lineage and was satisfied when he heard that it came straight from Agra - the land of the Taj! After all that, there was no scope for negotiating, Khon compensated the shopkeeper generously and took possession of his fine wallet.

After that small distraction of the wallet purchase, we refocused our energies on the quest for the liquor shop. After circumambulating the three circles three more times we finally discovered a line of liquor shops embedded deep in the second circle of the CP maze. However, beer wasn't going to come easy. Now we had a fresh problem on hand. None of these guys sold cans! They were all wholesalers who doled out crates of beer; a request for two cans brought us scorn and a frown and the occasional gali, which Khon returned with glee.

But then, there was light at the end of the tunnel, the last shop didn't have cans but agreed to sell us a bottle. Aah....redemption at last. Khon bought the bottle and the two of us sipped some chilled Bauer by the road-side while admiring the latest Sx4 car on display at the Maruti show room across the road. Thoroughly refreshed, we were now ready to conquer Delhi.

Palika Bazaar

One of the sections of CP, houses Palika Bazaar, a favourite haunt for those looking for pirated CDs, cheap computer accessories and electronic knick knacks. Every city has one of these shady areas, Bangalore has its SP Road and Mumbai its Lamington road. For gaming enthusiasts, movie addicts and gizmo freaks, this is the place to be. I recently picked up an 8 GB Transcend thumb drive from Palika Bazaar for a thousand ruppes....pretty cool, huh?

After the alcoholic refreshments Sekhon and me sauntered into Palika Bazaar. There we bumped into Vaishnav, a colleague at work and my roomie at home. He's another character. He's getting married this November, and ever since his wedding date has been fixed he's been on a ladki gumane ki spree. Not surprisingly, he was in Palika Bazaar helping a female friend with her weekend shopping!













Sarvana Bhavan - yoohoo!
Now, fellow South Indians would understand my excitement. For a southie foodie stranded in Delhi, Sarvana Bhavan is the equivalent of El Dorado. The exertions of the afternoon had left us famished and both of us agreed to raid the legendary Sarvana Bhavan. Finding Sarvana Bhavan was not half as difficult as procuring beer. A few questions for directions led us to the revered spot. Savor the sight.


Well, we glided into the restaurant like awestruck teenagers. We plonked ourselves into a cozy corner on the mezzanine floor and started drooling at the culinary sights in the vicinity. While chatting up with the floor manager we learnt that he had started his career as superstar Rajnikanth's cook! We were in esteemed company!


The evening-tiffin-combo on the menu card sounded perfect and we ordered. It's one helluva of a preparation, it has a miniature masala dosa, kutti idlis, accompanied by scoops of khara bath and kesari bath, served with generous doses of chutney and sambhar...wow....the best of south indian cooking in a plate!!...have a look..

We washed down the combo with classic filter coffee and couldn't help sporting a goofy grin of supreme satisfaction on a job well done :)

Having seen the best of New Delhi, next on the agenda was Old Delhi. Lal Quila beckoned!

Shahjahanabad - home of the Mughals

to be continued..