27-year old killed in 'Paratha' murder in Delhi

As cold Himalayan winds descend on Delhi, the testosterone levels of men keeping going up, fuelling anger and passions. I have seen a few ugly conversations on the metro over the past few days, of which the tone and the aggression were scary even for by-standers. So, I wasn't surprised to hear of a murder in Govindpuri. In a macho city like Delhi, everyone seems to be ready for a fight, especially when the temperatures plummet.

In the wee hours of Monday morning, a 27-year old lost his life in Southeast Delhi after a brawl in a paratha shop. Ajay Chaudhary, Additional Commissioner of Police, South East district told The Pioneer, “Preliminary investigations have revealed that Sailaj (the deceased) and Siddharth had gone to buy paratha from the eatery in a black Hyundai Santro car. Chetan and Vijay were already inside the eatery. An argument ensued between two groups after Chetan curtly asked Sailaj why he was staring at him like that. After a heated argument, Chetan and Vijay left the eatery to return after some time.”

“The argument initiated for the second time. This time it turned violent. Chetan and Vijay picked up bamboo sticks lying near the eatery and began to thrash Sailaj and Siddharth. They attacked their heads and other parts of their bodies. After both of them collapsed, Chetan and Vijay escaped from the spot.”

Read more here:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/city/23984-spat-outside-govindpuri-eatery-leads-to-engineers-death-two-arrested.html/

Other versions of the story indicate that the 2 pairs were fighting over who had the right to buy parathas first.

Graveyard of the British Empire

Certain places reinforce in me the Buddhist belief in impermanence. The Coronation Park in the northern fringes of Delhi is one such place. A hundred years ago King George V, Emperor of India, invited the royalty from Indian princely states to this ground in Delhi to celebrate his coronation to the English throne. It must have been a grandiose ceremony, which also led to Delhi once again becoming the capital of India.

In 1911, England was a superpower and the British Empire ruled a big chunk of the world. A century later, Britain is a has-been and the coronation ground, which was neglected for 6 decades, is virtually unnoticed in the former Crown Colony. When I asked a policeman, where the entry to the ground is, he was shocked that someone would actually want to go there.

Large swathes of forest grew over some statues, but the Delhi Government woke up a few months ago and decided to revive this park. There's a lot of activity in the ground and labourers are busy landscaping the park, cutting off wild bushes and cleaning the statues, of which there are quite a few. None of the statues have any "name plaques" so only a historian or a fan of the British Empire would know who these people are.

King George V is the only statue that would be instantly recognisable. The gigantic statue, which reminded me of many a Lenin Statue in Russia, was moved to the ground from its original location, opposite the India Gate. Now the emperor faces a pretty impressive obelisk marking the Delhi Durbar of 1911.

Delhi will celebrate 100 years of being India's capital (well it was the capital several times over several centuries, but that's not the point) and a grand party will be staged at the ground in December to mark the anniversary. Since projects actually do get done in Delhi, I am sure the ground will be in good shape and British tourists will be able to walk with pride in this bizarre park.

An Austrian in Jhandelwalan

It was well past 2 am on a cold November night when Gunter from Gratz left New Delhi's Oberoi hotel. A night when winter had set in and the werewolves, djinns and other creatures of the Delhi night were particularly excited as the Karthik Full Moon was just around the corner.

The Austrian had been a veteran of many India trips and had a basic idea of Delhi's roads. All he needed to do was get to the Karol Bagh Metro station and he could find his way to the hotel.

A semi-drunk auto-rickshaw driver took him to what seemed like the Karol Bagh station. It was 3 am and not a creature was stirring in the dark lanes of west Delhi. As Gunter walked the streets he thought he knew well, he realised that the hotel was nowhere in the vicinity. But who on earth would be able to help Gunter? The only souls visible to him were a few homeless and packs of stray dogs. Would Delhi's Djinns provide a path out for the now-weary traveller?

Finally some recourse arrived with a "semi-decent" looking young man in a car who told Gunter that he was near the Jhandelwalan Station and not Karol Bagh. After all those beers, it all began to make sense. The Austrian was betrayed by that fiend of a rickshaw driver. The young man offered to drop a frustrated Gunter to Karol Bagh. But how could he get into the car of a drunk, who could possibly be some sort of psycho from Dwarka?

Braving the cold, the muttering of some homeless men and angry stray dogs who resented the sight of a blond European in their territory, Gunter walked ever so slowly and on guard till he reached the Promised Land of Karol Bagh. The words of Sting must have run through his mind.

Oh Oh, I'm an alien
I'm a legal alien
I'm an Austrian in Jhandelwalan
Be yourself, no matter what they say!

Finally after a painfully long walk in the bitter cold, Gunter was within sight of the much-desired metro station.  One aggressive obstacle lay in his path. This was the king dog of Jhandelwallan. His eyes glowed in the dark and his growls and barks were of the menacing kind. Gunter's familiarity with Asian stray dogs came to his aide at that one precarious moment when rabies was imminent and the hotel seemed a hospital trip away. He picked up a stone in quick haste but the mutt was undeterred. The barking got louder and more aggressive and the mutt decided to make a charge. A charge that was successfully thwarted by a direct hit. Gunter threw the stone hard enough to have an impact but not with enough force to hurt the mutt, who retreated in anger, insulted more than hurt.

There lay Karol Bagh and the hotel and as Gunter moved into the lane, he witnessed the sight of 200 Chinese monks ready to embark on a pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya. He truly had seen it all from the Oberoi to Karol Bagh but he was happy to get back unscathed by the wild Delhi winter night.

Final thoughts on Delhi

It's wonderful to be back home. The first thing I noticed when I got back here from Delhi is the cleaner quality of air and the "lightness" in the air. Bombay doesn't have anything close to a violent and cruel history the way the national capital does.

Delhi is a rough and tough city and can easily wear anyone down. I guess there's a price to pay to admire the gardens and parks and the stately and radiant beauties. Yes the metro has improved life in the city, but is even crowded at 6 am on a Sunday! Yes you can travel to any area with ease but what's the use of getting to within 3 kilometres of a place and finding it impossible to get a three-wheeler to get to the final destination?

At times, the city feels more crowded than Bombay and it's more of an energy-sapping, tired and worried crowd. Life is awesome for a VIP or someone with the right amount of $$$ and connections but the rest of the city basically falls into the peasant category. I really understand why Bombay is the ville-préférée of India. There's so much freedom here, safety and despite the rush, a mental calmness.

Delhi, no doubt, has its good points but it's more of a city for 40-somethings with a house in a nice locality and a chauffeur-driven car. It's conservative and traditional and too much of an adjustment for a fun-loving Bombayite liberal