Special thanks : Mr. Darymple, whose literary genius i unashamedly take inspiration from.
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Its been an uninterrupted year in the city I had loved to hate and now, hate to love.A pet activity is ghosthunting and sure enough, ive found a few in the national capital. 9 lives,baby :
1. Ghost of Central Delhi
Power defines this one. The folks haunted by this ghost either have it, or are chasing it with a fair degree of success, or are sitting on the sidelines, pulling the strings of the semi-puppets . The King & his court , The challenger and his force, the kingmakers and their pawns are given a jolt every morning and scutter about the rest of the day fulfilling what the ghost commands.The money is either with those who've had it forever or those who pretend to.Pedigreed finess and class in language, persuits and interests prevails and the blood is blue, royal blue
2. Ghost of Delhi Old
Like its name , this ghost is obsessed with the glory it once had. The old hag is full of tales of the past, but not much of plans of the future. Despite everything, it serves its purpose as the time capsule, wrapping in its curves the wars fought, the honours saved, the brutal punishments and bloody retaliations.The Economy is mostly old world, open bazaar style. The blood is black from stillness.
3. Ghost of Delhi South
This ghost is of the age between the brash teens and the content middle age when one has got the fruits of struggle , and can either decide to start a biger struggle, or to plateau at this comfortable height.The language, persuits and indulgances are a notch below real class and are the top of the wannabe league. The blood is deep,satisfied red.
4. Ghost of Delhi West
This ghost is the upstart, the fighter, the firestarter. This one's ultimate trip is to make itself the ghost of Delhi south and it will work hard, work smart and kick ass to get there. The language is pure wannabe, persuits opporunistic and indulgances pretentious. The color of the blood is shallow, quick running, fierce orange.
5. Ghost of Delhi East
A ghost who hasnt yet identified what's it made of, and is too lazy to introspect. It just sits around,wandering its way through time. language is uncared for, persuits by default and indulgances,if any, depend upon lack of effort in acquisition.The blood is a dull, murky brown.
6. Ghost of Delhi North
This is the academic ghost with horn rimmed glasses and a joint of hashish. It haunts its way about classrooms, hostels, rent ,libraries, student politics and that great discovery - that of the self. Of the ones affected by it, some persue learning while others learn persuing.
language is a dish of mashed potatoes, persuits dictated by the black hole of future and indulgances defined by impression and affordability. The blood is the hot red of directionless energy.
7. Ghost of Gurgaon
This is the most confused ghost of the lot. It obviously missed the original party, so decided to throw its own a little south of the venue. problem was, it invited all those who were not invited elsewhere,either.A certain lawyer said that direction is more important than speed.The ghost's tearing hurry to move forward has led it down the wrong side once too often. The ghost is a split personality and it shows in the language, what it runs after and what it splurges on.Arbitrary and heterogenous. The blood is ultra thin translucent red, at strain with all the pushing and pulling.
8. Ghost of Noida
The ghost of Noida is the ringmaster of those animals who once had a chance at striking it big. The ones who've shook hands with fate and accepted the reality of mediocrity.Home-office-home is the rhythm of this hopelessly middle-class mass. The language is mild, the persuits predictable and indulgances budgeted tightly. the blood is a defeatist,slow maroon.
9. Ghost of Faridabad
This ghost has a dual personality. One is the entrepreneur taking the convetional, manufacturing route up, the other is the sort who can neither move up, nor slip down from the lower middle class stickiness in the social ladder.The language is rustic, the persuits conventional and indulgances irrelevant. The color of the blood is a confused burgundy.
11 comments:
very accurate discription of the the NCR....decidedly one of the most rare relevant observation,I have ever read.
In two word-Bulls eye.
lacking some credits j-c.Descriptions are biased and limited lekin mehengai ke zamane mein zyada ummeed nahi rakhni chahiye.All in all, a good post without reason or discernible value...
gawd uv really badnaam-ed a few odd places!! but all-in-all prettyu accurate i must admit.. *thumbs up*
Hey, you missed your favourite- Ghaziabad! :p
I don't remember hearing all this before, so some of it comes as a surprise. West Delhi, along with Old, has to its credit of being one of the earliest settlements of post-partition Delhi. These were people who came with bare minimum, started from scratch and worked their way up, giving the city its character. True, the younger lot there have earned the wannabe tag but the term 'upstarts' would apply better to South Delhi since it was hardly in existence till two decades ago and now is brimming with people who've moved in from anywhere and everywhere.
As for Noida, the description doesn't include a large majority who've lived in Delhi long enough, tasted the good, know its shortcomings and so, have chosen a place which meets their short and long term needs more effectively (my personal preferences can't overpower facts, as they stand!). Don't know much about Gurgaon, but I imagine the same would hold for it too.
Though restricted to a certain age bracket, I think your mapping of the nine ghosts is quite credible.
Dalrymple would be impressed :)
and you! SHOOK ME all night long *brrr* :) Thats what I call catching spook with a hook
@ mahima : ghaziabad is my 'jigri' .would merit a post all its own.. shanksta's 'ode to the shitty ..er..city of tins'
@ rich : uh..was that too advanced or too obscure? dint get the head or tail of what you said!
funnily accurate!! lol lol
@ crayzee : gracias!
gaziabad is missing..buta a good post!
@ Vandana : Gracias.Im honoured ;)
Love it! Plus, it is as sombre as 9 Lives. HOW did you get through it? :-)
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