Delhicious

Well, after Bhopal, Delhi was pretty sweet. I don’t have any strong opinions either way about the city’s character though; it just feels kind of…faceless…to me. It doesn’t have a strong “flavour” like Mumbai, or Chennai. But perhaps I didn’t stay long enough. Perhaps Delhi takes more time to sink in. I spent a lot of time relaxing, eating amazing street food in Old Delhi with my host, Ravi, walking around some of the sights, and briefly meeting up with my piercing sister, Ali, again. I even met one couchsurfer who might have been able to get me a Bollywood gig, had I stuck around longer :P 

 

I was in a hurry to leave though, and although there was so much left to see in Delhi (and I could have spent more time with Ali, or maybe even landed that Bollywood gig!), the North keeps calling :). I like monuments and history and food, don’t get me wrong, but it is impossible to see and do everything. With approximately one month and a half left in India, if I ask myself what I want most, the answer is…not so clear…but mountains are one of those things that’s pretty high up there on my list.

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While I was in Delhi, I remember having a pretty cool speculative conversation with one of Ravi's flatmates, who was also somewhat of dreamer struck with wanderlust. We deliberated about an alternative universe where nomadic lifestyles are conventional while settling down is taboo. The majority of the world would be constantly moving, people would not stick around in one place for too long, enduring structures would not be built. And occasionally, a revolutionary, a rebel, would decide to stick out of society. One night, he would show his best friend a drawing he'd made - a marble palace perhaps, or a skyscraper, or something reminescent of the Eiffel tower, even - and he would quietly whisper "I'm going to build this". His friend would look at him, incredulous. "But...how? Your father will kill you if you miss the next migration". "I've already found the perfect piece of land. Anna will come with me. We can live there happily for years. We can grow our own food. Here, I'll show you..."

Photos: Delhi