Friday, September 4, 2009

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Exhausting journey

While I am writing this blog along with a cup of tea, let me tell you that ....Delhi.... is having it’s best weather at the moment. It’s 4 in the evening and the sky is covered with dark clouds, breezy and drizzling.

What I want to share here is about the ....Delhi.... roads!

Call it a nightmare or a punishment but delhittes are suffering from it every single day – rushy roads, unplanned traffic, signals not working, uncovered potholes and manholes, metro construction, incomplete flyovers (which are hanging for nearly a decade), mud, bricks and all sorts of trash including human waste is what decorates the footpaths of 80% of the Delhi roads.

I was having exams since the last 2 months (today was he last one) and I am planning to write this blog since day 1. I use to travel 30 km from my home to the examination centre and back. Even though I use to take the critical path (shortest distance), it use to take me nearly 60 minutes to travel 15 km by an autorikshaw.

Now it’s my traveling experience that I want to talk about.

The moment you hit the road and get along with all sorts of other vehicles- 2 wheeler, 3 wheeler, rishaw, thellewalla, trucks, tempos, cows, dogs, etc etc, u’ll get stuck in a traffic jam after every half a mile because of some damaged car or fights because of minor road accident and during this time you won’t spot a single traffic policemen(all are hiding and taking a puff behind the bush). Then when you stop at a traffic signal almost 90% of the vehicles have their A/C’s on. No offense to them since ....Delhi....’s summer is actually intolerable (I do the same while driving my car) but it emits so much of heat that it becomes impossible to stand near it(if you happen to be in an open vehicle). Then you also have people spitting all sorts of colored liquids on the roads. while you are still waiting and bearing the honking at the traffic signal you’ll definitely be addressed by the beggars (eunuchs are a big hit on Delhi roads ) giving you all sorts of blessing(paper main acche numbero se paas hogi, raja saa dulha milega, etc) and if you don’t give them any money they’ll straight away insult you (saara time kharaab kr diya…kanjooos kahi ke!!!). One day I was standing at a signal waiting for it to turn green , suddenly an old man wearing a coat and a cap walked upto me and said in fluent English, ‘Good morning madam, how are you? Please give me 10 rupees to have 2 chapaatis’.

If you happen to be a girl traveling in an auto, all uncles and bhaiyas driving their 2 and 4 wheeler will definitely peek-a-boo, no matter on what speed their vehicle is flying, as if they’ll spot a new miss universe. Those walking along the road or stand byres will jerk their neck but won’t miss to take a glimpse of your face and pass comments (kahan jaa rhi ho baby, oye hoye…masakkali, etc.)

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One more thing that I have noticed in the past 2 months is the increasing number of vehicles on the road per day. There is hardly any space to drive. Thanks to TATA’s NANO, it hasn’t hit the roads yet but I start having goose bumps when I imagine 2nd hand NANO put up for resale!

shocking revealation

We live our life for others, we strive for some moment of solitude. where we can do what we want without being noticed by ................