An Ode to Dilli… attempt # 1
The faint humming of the heating system begins and I can smell the changes in the air – it smells warmer… not as crisp… not as fresh… slightly dusty and then I accept the change and let the warmth comfort me. Razai and heaters smelled almost the same… nicer :)Sutta and tea in the balcony. Tobacco and chai. Lipton Chai Blend – cloves, pepper, cinnamon, ginger… mmmmmm… halfway through the chai I close my eyes and smile to myself – I can smell wet earth and feel the rain on my face. I think of Delhi Monsoons – dust storms and the heat followed by the thundering rain! The damp earth, the heady warm aroma of quenched thirst followed by the smell of Maa’s cooking… pakodas fried till just right with spicey coriander and mint chutney! Served with piping hot overcooked overbrewed exceptionally awesome and sweet chai!I take in a deep breath of the rain drenched air and turn towards my room – my sutta over. She walks towards me with a bowl of rendang chicken curry and forces me to eat – I snap back to reality – my small room, a kitchen that smells of different countries every night and people – lots of them – Hugo, Elizabeth Arden, not worth mentioning, too disgusting to mention – Delhi far far away… a faint whiff of coconut oil and we are back in business! Maa massaging my hair with coconut oil and calming me down before important exams! My brother clicking pictures of me with oily hair to embarrass me!Friends – Dressing up – borrowed gloss and deos, just ironed fab India cotton… a spray of Davidoff………. an amazing blend of Kings and navy cut! Kingfisher and Smirnoff! Chicken Malai Tikka Roll from Rajinder! And Hot chocolate fudge from Nirulas! Mint and the smell of leaves (from rubbing our hands with them to get rid of the smell of smoke).Partying on the terrace – SMOG in winters! Pretty Delhi in Autumn… dry and cool and beautiful… smelling of tiny bonfires lit by watchmen and dew on dried leaves…The smell of a freshly showered boy (Fa) and a lazy girl smelling of sleep (all the above mentioned smells and more!)…And then just as suddenly as it had started – my reminiscing – me losing myself in this nebulous reverie – just as abruptly I stop. I snuggle in my blanket that now smells of lavender and doze off… no thoughts of Delhi… Delhi is far far away…
Varun Cheemra said,
29 May 2006 at 12:02 pm
Only as far as you feel it is. Really nice and descriptive writing, and about one of my fav cities too.
Keep it up, but for a ‘pundit’ of the language you use a lot of “…”s no?
Constructive criticism. Sheesh, I hate these cliches and I hate the retards who use these cliches even more. Sometimes I wonder if I would have been this obsessive nit-picking fool had I not gone to a convent.
Keep writing P.
Rest assured, Ill keep coming back.
Varun Cheemra said,
4 June 2006 at 1:23 pm
Coming through, encouragement to write more often
Anonymous said,
11 November 2006 at 4:37 pm
‘…a lazy girl smelling of sleep…’
i lag behind when i sleep with you…
ani
reeta said,
8 February 2008 at 10:57 am
Lovely ode!
:D
Here’s mine: http://reetaskeeter.blogspot.com/2008/01/dilli-ki-sardi-ode.html
siropdevanille said,
8 February 2008 at 12:41 pm
@reeta: thank you! Will go check out your ode too!
Purely_Narcotic said,
22 September 2008 at 6:17 am
Got here from Crowley’s blog.
What beautiful writing! I have been digging through the archives, savoring pieces that I have read before anew and yes, have even put aside the book I was reading to dig in some more :)
siropdevanille said,
22 September 2008 at 8:00 am
@Purely_Narcotic: Thank you so much! You put aside a book for my blog! Huge huge compliment! :) Thanks! I would be visiting your blog very soon..
Indyeah said,
1 May 2009 at 1:51 pm
Liked this a lot..coz Dilli is close to my heart too :)
have written about delhi before and plan to write even more :D
Sirop said,
1 May 2009 at 2:44 pm
Thank you Indyeah! Dilli is lovely :) :) deserves to be written about…