We all know the famous Delhi summer heat, having either tried to live through it, or heard someone whining about it.. the ferocious sun, hot winds, electricity problems etc etc, ofcourse some of us are lucky to get away from it all during most of the week by sitting in air-conditioned offices and using A/Cs at home and in our cars..
I am one such spoilt brat.. I always use the A/C in my car no matter even if it is not really that hot! So it means that I usually drive immune to heat, sound, pollution and smell..
Then it rained.
Some 3 days back. And it was like a breath of fresh air (its another story that the whole city literally flooded, there were potholes filled with water, fallen trees and heavy traffic to deal with).. and I decided that I should stop being so bourgeoisie and pull my windows down...
I did that and was graced with the various fragrances of India - the smell of earth after rain, the smell of car fumes, the smell of fresh cow dung (or bull dung.. remember my parking lot houses many bulls), smell of hot pakoras on the corner of the street.. and the sounds.. wow! the bulldozers working away on the NH8 flyovers, the honks, the men shouting and giving gaalis (esp on seeing a woman driver?!), and the sound of Radio Mirchi playing in my car which was magnified by the neighbouring car...
Quite the contrary to Paris, where the only distinguishing smell came from the Sephora showroom thanks to the 1000-odd perfumes on display! But here there is variety to tickle your olfactory senses! ... And the fact that in Paris everyone talks in low volumes even in their own homes, no one honks on the roads and if ur'e playing loud music/tv in your apartment, u'll have your neighbours complaining about u!
I realised what I had missed (not that I like it, but such sounds are a part of any Indian's life) as soon as I arrived at the IGI airport, and it was good to have some free flowing human expression around me!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Couldn't agree with you more. It is refreshing to here the expressive and argumentative Indian (apologize for plagiarizing the title of Amartya Sen's book).
Most noteworthy to me, (since I'm used to landing in Delhi post 10 pm) is when driving toward Vasant Vihar from IGI. Watching the yellow street lights pilfer through the green-ish smog, thereby rendering the light themselves to have a green-ish tint. And the noisy trucks. Can't help put keep the windows down so one can take in the sights, sounds and smells of home (as dirty and rancid as some may describe them to be). I love it. yeargh!... I can't wait to have it again.
Aman, seems like u've been gone too long! Yeah, I know what you mean...
Post a Comment