Tag: Delhi

Dilli Diary

The Kites

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September 2018
Birds in our backyard · Kite. Ghaar in marathi. A bird of prey. But many times I see smaller birds like crows and pigeons chasing it.
There is a pair that has used the stadium light in the garden in front of us for nesting. So I have a clear view as their life unfolds. They also see them perched on the Tatasky dish on top of our building.

Baby’s visit, 16 January, 2019
The baby birds are used to our terrace and visit often. It is fascinating to see them changing so fast.

I can Fly, September 25, 2019
Yesterday, I was amazed to see the kite baby fly out of its nest for the first time. There is a very tall pole with floodlights on four sides in the garden in front of us. A pair of Black Kites seems to like it. This is the second year they built the nest there. I was staring out the door, while talking with my mother. And suddenly I saw a smaller bird coming out and standing on the edge as if contemplating. Then taking flight. I thought the breeding begins in winter and Kites were grown and ready to fly in summer. So may be it wasnt the first flight. Whatever it was, it was mesmerizing.

Nesting, September 30, 2020
The Kite is gathering long sticks for a few days now. Somewhere a nest is coming up. The place on the light pole seems to be abandoned. Proably because the construction right across from it is now taller than the stadium light.
It picked up a stick from our terrace from the bundle I have been saving to use in the veggie patch. Then quickly dropped it. May be because of the thorns or because I suddenly stepped out on the terrace exactly at that moment. It took a wide flight around the marsh/patch of grass in the forest behind us and then swooped in and picked up a stick. This one seems to have worked better. Balancing the stick in its beak, it flew around the pole and behind the building. I so wish I can go wandering, looking for the nest.

Dilli Diary · Musings

Delhi Diary

devayanitirthaliLeave a comment

We are one month old in Delhi. 🙂
After living outside India for 12 years when we decided to be back in India, friends and family cautioned us that it is going to be a huge adjustment. A good friend in Delhi pointed out that there is getting reacquainted to India and there is getting used to Delhi. I wholeheartedly agree. Delhi is a different animal altogether.

Here are some good, bad, ugly, and just plain different:
1. Delhi Metro: The best thing so far. Second day in Delhi we got ourselves a metro card and it has been smooth sailing since then. First day it reminded me of NYC subway. Something familiar and so liberating. Since then I have realized that it is much better – it is clean, easy to navigate, and has pretty good signage.

2. No restaurants in sight: This one is specific to the area we live in. First day we wandered around trying to find something for breakfast. We still have tough time finding something decent. There are chaat corners, winter chaat vendors, chaaiwalas but just 1 restaurant in our area (10-15 mins walk) and another walking distance of half an hour that we found closed for renovation the day we decided to eat out. *sigh*
North Delhi I am told is the old culture while South Delhi is cosmopolitan. It sure shows in the food scene.

3. Expectation of man to man talk: It is extremely difficult to get anything done from anybody. The electrician, the plumber, the Bosch installation person look at Parag every time they answer a question, even when I ask the question. For the last 20 years I have done all these things myself so it is quite frustrating, infuriating. I have to keep pushing Parag to ask questions, negotiate or give ultimatums (which is part of a normal conversation here. More on the conversation/negotiation dance later). If you know Parag, it is the most difficult thing for him to do. This is, I am sure, very specific to Delhi or may be North Delhi (or North India?). I have never had this problem in Pune.

4. Security check in Metro and Malls: Every time you enter a metro station you have to go through a metal detector, get patted down, and put your bags through a scanner. Same with malls or big commercial buildings. There are separate lines for women with lady police officers and a ‘private’ space for the pat down. It may sound appalling to my friends in US but surprisingly I got used to it in a day (might be because of similar experience in Pune during the 2011 visit). Now it is part of the everyday rhythm. A family member of mine in Delhi who takes this as a given is appalled at the thought that NYC or for that matter any of the US or European city public transport systems do not have ‘security’. ‘How can you be safe without it?’ is his bewildered question.