Delhi Trip
Started to write on 19 Sep :
Delhi is a fantastic place and everyone must visit its beauty atleast once. There are a lot of bandis but even if we leave them out of picture, Delhi has a lot to offer.
Delhi is a fantastic place and everyone must visit its beauty atleast once. There are a lot of bandis but even if we leave them out of picture, Delhi has a lot to offer.
Still this trip is very special to me because I finally managed to go to Swetank's home - Swetank Cottage in Gurgaon. I actually went on the ticket of one of the Secys of Book Club who refused to go to the Book Fair. Two other second yearites also refused and they were subsequently replaced by Gupvar (4th year) and Sabyasachi Ghosh. Shefali also accompanied us as she wanted to find out about the IAS Coachings in Delhi. So the team comprised of me, Swetank, Gopi, Gupvar, Shefali, Sabyasachi and three juniors.
It started with two bachche missing the Institute Bus and later arriving on station. Train was on time and we got our seats comfortably. It was there I started talking to Gupvar, who was quite decent but impatient. There was an adult man sitting on our seats who constantly looked at Shefali but no one else seemed concerned and even Shefali did not stop her unnecessary talking and movements. Throughout our up journey I avoided (and succeded) saying something disagreeable to Shefali - even when she started reading 'Constitution of India' when everyone else was talking.
On Saturday morning we reached Swetank's home and were greeted heartly. I noticed that Swetank treated Devika(aka Chinki) in almost the same way as I treat Richa. We freshened up and had a round of very tasty food. Swetank showed us his room which, sadly(!) enough, was exactly like my room a few years back, though the only difference was that his was a bit smaller and had no Balcony. But it had a rocking chair and the Bathroom was a bit bigger and with a nice sliding door. Also the lights were a lot more decorative. But now it is owned by his sister and my room is owned by some other family :(. Anyways, I found myself swinging once more in a jhoola kursi after so many years.
After our stomachs were filled to their capacity and Shefali had acted in all strange manners possible, we left for the Book Fair - correction : to take Shefali to her friends. And they turned out as her true friends, because - 1) They acted like some secret agents on a mission and kept on changing their meeting place, 2) As soon as she saw them, Shefali and her friend were hugging each other which took even him by surprise. But I was quite a lot occupied in the natural beauty moving aound and neglected the acts going on. By the way, I must mention that I already had a 99% arguement with her on the way from Dwarka in metro. Did I say METRO?? Oh, it was a lovely experience - far better than Metro of Calcutta, though there it is mostly underground. Across many areas it served as the only means of mass transportation, and as usual there ws a lot of natural beauty.
Before Pragati Maidan, we visited a book shop in Khan Market and there again I had an experience of my life. Apart from us, the only Indians were either shopkeepers, security guards or servants and beggars. The place brimmed with foreigners who roamed around as comfortably as in their native places. And there was not even a single shop that I could rate as exceptionally good. Everything seemed normal except the foreigners.
I did not find Pragati Maidan as a maidan as I expected, but it was good. Book Fair comprised of books by 260 publishers spread in 5 halls. We left it only when it closed at 8pm. As there was no time left for sight seeing, we returned to Gurgaon where we had another round of excellent food with Anvit, Apporva and Nikhil.
Sunday morning saw us all tired and sleepy. We woke up late which meant such a long delay that all hopes of visiting even India Gate vanished. So we enjoyed our breakfast along with Swetank's Foofaji. It was then Sabyasachi accidently spoke out that he would have been happy if Abhinav Jain was here as he was the only one capable of making the environment light. Ouch! that really hurt. Still, we moved on with Aunty and Foofaji seeing us off after a trip to a Mall in Gurgon. Why Mall? Well Swetank and Gopi went frantic in a Book Shop which was actually good. But for me, I saw probably the most sexy girl in Gurgaon wearing a sexy red dress. I love that Mall !!
But we had to move on and our next destination was Dariyaganj - the place in Delhi to find books at their lowest rates. And what happened was not unexpected. Swetank went crazy and so did Aadhar and to add fuel to fire the shopkeeper invited them to his Godown. We bought more than 50 books there and guess what, even I ended up with 5 books of my own. So, we moved again and to cut the long story short, we finally arrived at SouthEx, went to a very good BookShop (I got my 7 Hindi books by Narendra Kohli), again were awed by more natural beauty and then to another bookshop ...
Not to mention our trip to McD, we headed to NDLS and boarded in the train. (Oh yes, we went to Pizza Hut also; that was fun except Shefali ringing the bell) So, once in the train again the story was repeated. I tried to refrain myself from saying anything to Shefali or Chachi, but once they started discussing Satanic Verses and something about Muslims in a busy train, I had to interrupt. I know I can be rude sometimes, but I am not good at being good all the times. So, train moved on and we reached Kanpur, in time for Dr Chhabra's class.
Today : I am still craving for another visit to Delhi with lot of time to spare and loads of masti to do. Hope to see that day while in IIT.
On Saturday morning we reached Swetank's home and were greeted heartly. I noticed that Swetank treated Devika(aka Chinki) in almost the same way as I treat Richa. We freshened up and had a round of very tasty food. Swetank showed us his room which, sadly(!) enough, was exactly like my room a few years back, though the only difference was that his was a bit smaller and had no Balcony. But it had a rocking chair and the Bathroom was a bit bigger and with a nice sliding door. Also the lights were a lot more decorative. But now it is owned by his sister and my room is owned by some other family :(. Anyways, I found myself swinging once more in a jhoola kursi after so many years.
After our stomachs were filled to their capacity and Shefali had acted in all strange manners possible, we left for the Book Fair - correction : to take Shefali to her friends. And they turned out as her true friends, because - 1) They acted like some secret agents on a mission and kept on changing their meeting place, 2) As soon as she saw them, Shefali and her friend were hugging each other which took even him by surprise. But I was quite a lot occupied in the natural beauty moving aound and neglected the acts going on. By the way, I must mention that I already had a 99% arguement with her on the way from Dwarka in metro. Did I say METRO?? Oh, it was a lovely experience - far better than Metro of Calcutta, though there it is mostly underground. Across many areas it served as the only means of mass transportation, and as usual there ws a lot of natural beauty.
Before Pragati Maidan, we visited a book shop in Khan Market and there again I had an experience of my life. Apart from us, the only Indians were either shopkeepers, security guards or servants and beggars. The place brimmed with foreigners who roamed around as comfortably as in their native places. And there was not even a single shop that I could rate as exceptionally good. Everything seemed normal except the foreigners.
I did not find Pragati Maidan as a maidan as I expected, but it was good. Book Fair comprised of books by 260 publishers spread in 5 halls. We left it only when it closed at 8pm. As there was no time left for sight seeing, we returned to Gurgaon where we had another round of excellent food with Anvit, Apporva and Nikhil.
Sunday morning saw us all tired and sleepy. We woke up late which meant such a long delay that all hopes of visiting even India Gate vanished. So we enjoyed our breakfast along with Swetank's Foofaji. It was then Sabyasachi accidently spoke out that he would have been happy if Abhinav Jain was here as he was the only one capable of making the environment light. Ouch! that really hurt. Still, we moved on with Aunty and Foofaji seeing us off after a trip to a Mall in Gurgon. Why Mall? Well Swetank and Gopi went frantic in a Book Shop which was actually good. But for me, I saw probably the most sexy girl in Gurgaon wearing a sexy red dress. I love that Mall !!
But we had to move on and our next destination was Dariyaganj - the place in Delhi to find books at their lowest rates. And what happened was not unexpected. Swetank went crazy and so did Aadhar and to add fuel to fire the shopkeeper invited them to his Godown. We bought more than 50 books there and guess what, even I ended up with 5 books of my own. So, we moved again and to cut the long story short, we finally arrived at SouthEx, went to a very good BookShop (I got my 7 Hindi books by Narendra Kohli), again were awed by more natural beauty and then to another bookshop ...
Not to mention our trip to McD, we headed to NDLS and boarded in the train. (Oh yes, we went to Pizza Hut also; that was fun except Shefali ringing the bell) So, once in the train again the story was repeated. I tried to refrain myself from saying anything to Shefali or Chachi, but once they started discussing Satanic Verses and something about Muslims in a busy train, I had to interrupt. I know I can be rude sometimes, but I am not good at being good all the times. So, train moved on and we reached Kanpur, in time for Dr Chhabra's class.
Today : I am still craving for another visit to Delhi with lot of time to spare and loads of masti to do. Hope to see that day while in IIT.
posted by Mayank M. Pandey | 10:48 AM
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