Monday, March 2, 2015

Dilli Waale

I have always wondered what is so peculiar about us Delhiites that makes us so different from others. Our accent, for one, is different. But that is definitely not the defining criteria. Any place we go in India, one question keeps on popping at us time and again - "Bhaiya, delhi se ho?" And that is not even a question. It is more of a statement. Earlier I used to be astonished on the recognition since to me most north Indians would look like us only. But then I realized its not the accent or the looks, but the way we carry ourselves.

Delhiites have this, referred to as in local lingo, Chaud, that keeps oozing out of us at all times. We do not settle for anything that even meekly tarnishes our respect for ourselselves. As proud as we are, we take almost everything offensively. Most of the things boil down to our izzat, and 'tera bhai kisi se kam nai' is our way of life.

But then this is true for only the true Delhiites, which now we hardly see. Most of the people living are are from neighboring states and have culminated their fashion into ours. Should you care to separate the few that have their roots lying deep in Delhi, you'll realize they are all the same.

And so the following are some of the qualities you will find only in us:

1. We have to win. Baat izzat pe aajati hai.  So if you are playing Dumb charades with a mixed group and even if the other team consists of your elders or bosses, you would not hesitate in mocking them.

2. We cannot let anyone else overtake us on road. Baat izzat pe aajati hai. So what if you are driving a Swift and the car that just flew by was a BMW, you just have to beat him and then sport that curly lip smile.

3. We will seldom take the initiative to correct a fight. It was not my fault. Why should I talk first? He should realize he was wrong. Bhaad me jaaye sala.

4. We create an arrogant first impression. Why? Because we think we are superior to all others. Why? We don't know. But we are.

5. We have this intolerable urge to show off. Well, it may be less than a few neighboring states, but then we don't sit back either. We are cool, you know.

6. We may hate hard rock and death metal, but if there is a gig in town you will find us there headbanging.

Only if you have stayed away from Delhi for a while will you realize what people all over India think of us. We may be good at heart, make the best of friends or have the maximum amount of fun, but all this counts for nothing if we do not create a good first impression. Because that is usually the last impression.

Mostly true. Isn't it?




3 comments:

  1. This post instantaneously reminded me of the Delhi gang I was friends with some years back.

    Quite innocently had asked "yaar you guys are very nice , not chalu like what they say about Delhi people"

    And the reply was quite innocent too , "yaar , wo hum main Delhi se nahi hai na .. jitne andar jate ho utna attitude badhta hai"

    Also , a Dilli-wala blogger will write about Dilli-ness at least once in his lifetime :)

    I had quite forgotten this blog was written by you :) Write more.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Haha. One lifetime is too big to miss out on anything. Also, a dilli wala blogger who has seen the rest of india would know more about what people think about us ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. err .. that group was you .. in case you didnt know :P
    and you dont know where I've been ;)

    ReplyDelete