Delhi da Culture

2 weeks back I was heading for Delhi to do an event from Bangalore.

At Bangalore:
I called the city taxi at 6am in the morning. The call was taken in 2 rings. The cab was there at 5.45 am, the driver called me from my flat’s security desk and waited patiently for 20 minutes, wished me when I was there. Through out the 20 mts drive, he was a smiling happy person – who in general makes a passenger or an unknown person comfortable. When we reached the airport he offered to carry my luggage, I refused. He insisted that I take the bill and gave me one. I pleasantly checked in and got cocooned in my music.

In Delhi:
I wanted to reach South Ex by 10 am, so I called the Taxi Stand and you are welcomed by the typical “Kahaan jaana hain….No Good Morning etc, he kept me on hold shouted at 2-3 drivers asking who wants to go. Then he said, the cab will reach. I asked how much – he said 250, I said OK (I had done a background check with my folks on the cost of cab and it was around 250 – 275…so I didn’t bargain otherwise I was all geared up with the information, and ready to argue). When I said give me a bill, I was told “We don’t waste money for small bills, we make bills only for 500/- and above” I decided, no point of arguing and let go.

The cab came half an hr late, once stopped – it didn’t start for 20 minutes, when we reached South Ex, he parked the car in a NO Parking Zone and refused to give 10 bucks change because the Police guy was ready to challan him 600 bucks. His argument was “For your 10 bucks I will loss 600 bucks.”

Same service but 2 experiences, which are poles apart. Questions is

Was I shocked? The answer is straight “No” without blinking. I have stayed in Delhi for 5 years and I know this is the fabric of Delhi. Argue, negotiate, bargain, look smart, party hard. When I step out in the morning I know I am stepping into a war zone.

In all my training sessions in Delhi
– the worse scenarios always came in Delhi. Even if I debug my software for few weeks, I know this is the place I have to watch out there because they will have some via media to achieve their objective. (Jugaad is the word)
– The team in delhi would be always more aggressive, more enthusiastic and which is extremely positive for the program owner because it spreads positive energy around

Although I have stayed in Delhi for 5 years I always hated the place and wanted to get out of there as fast as I could.

But having stepped out – I miss the energy, the aggression, that Punjabi dosti yaari, daaru shaaru wala culture. There was some kind of vitality, everyone was driven by a personal agenda and they showed it upfront giving a damn about anything else.

Although I used to hate the 2 hr drive from Gurgaon to Kalkaji, I will never forget the beer bottle(s) & egg bhuji, which my co-passenger will pick up from the Gurgaon check post.

Is the grass always green on the other side or am I just being nostalgic? Ki farak painda, blog hi to hain?

(Above pic of RDB – probably the best tribute to the delhi culture in recent times)