Voted for Identity

It is not very normal for me to get up early on a holiday. Still, I decided to get up early to cast my vote before its too hot and crowded outside. It looked like a normal morning in Zakir Nagar with minimal traffic. It was after reaching Batla House Chowk, I observed something different. There were more than a dozen Policemen, two of them on Horses. Road was blocked for vehicles from one side to allow only pedestrians. Few people were sitting on a chair-table in a corner and were browsing through sheets of paper. I moved on towards Jamia School, my polling booth.

The whole School campus was full of security personnel. The buildings, walkways and atmosphere inside the School felt very familiar. Within seconds I went down the memory lane and imagined younger version of myself looking at me from one of the classrooms on the top floor. "It is my school", I thought and smiled. The Good old days. I spent four most memorable years of my life in that campus.

My Electoral Stain / Voter mark

Although I am yet to receive my Voter's Id card, my name was there in the list. After several levels of verification, I was inked and allowed to vote. I pressed a button, a red LED blinked with a sound. And the woman, who inked me, confirmed that my vote was successful. I thanked her, smiled and left with a sense of achievement.

The place was't very crowded. I found more women than men at the polling booth. Even while returning I observed women coming in groups or with their husbands. They all looked more excited than men. When I came out one man, while starting his scooter, said to another man sitting on his bike, "Umeed hai is baar kuch to Gandgi kam hogi", and smiled. The other person nodded. It was clear that he voted for a clean system.

I voted for identity and self respect. I hope well deserving and responsible people come to power. And I am so glad that this election season is over.

I live in Jamia Nagar and I am not a terrorist

Its not very often that you read about your locality in a national newspaper unless you live near 10 Janpath. It wasn't about a minister's well publicized visit or an advertisement about a new Mughlai restaurant. Not even just any negative news about petty crimes. What attracted me today was a statement from a veteran leader belonging to a national party, claiming our locality is a terrorist's hub. "Jamia Nagar is a safe house for terrorists", he claimed.

This election season all politicians in India have made all sort of allegations against each other. But Mr Malhotra went a step ahead and blamed a whole community for terrorist activities. Such irresponsible and baseless statement in order to polarize voters on communal lines will only harm his party.

I was shocked to read that such a senior leader thinks like that. Claiming someone to be a terrorist is not a small allegation. This is complete "Identity Crisis" for us, in our own country. Such inflammatory remarks can create social unrest. A criminal case should be registered against him.

This Election season, for most people, it is so simple to choose anybody considering the issues like Development. It is we who also have to face and prove many other things.

Now, you can imagine what made me write this sher in my Ghazal:

Naujavaan hun mujhko behka do, ya dehshatgard keh ke phansa do.
Ilzaam koi sangeen lagao, be-gunaahi ke saboot bhi mita do.

Meri kamzooriyan maloom karo, aur unhi pe mujhko aazma lo.
Sitam se sar na jhukega mera, Zillat se mujhko hara do.

References:

• http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Jamia-Nagar-Batla-House-terrorist-hub-V-K-Malhotra/articleshow/32685459.cms
• http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/congress-aap-slam-malhotra-remarks/

Are They Really Beggars?

On hearing "Beggar". The first few images that form in my mind are of a sick differently-abled adult wearing filthy, old and torn clothes. A helpless widow with a child crying in her arms. A hungry and thin teenage boy or girl. All of them asking for food or money in the name of Allah and give you Dua in return.

However, you cannot relate these images to beggars in Zakir Nagar(My locality) during Ramzaan. During this holy month you come across a new breed of beggars. By simply looking you cannot differentiate between a beggar and a common man. There is exponential rise in their number as if someone have outsourced them to my locality for this month. Zakir Nagar and adjacent Batla House are muslim localities and as prescribed all the people here indulge into good deeds like charity in holy month of Ramzaan. This is what attracts beggars from all across Delhi and Allah better knows from what other places they arrive.

These new outsourced beggars are well trained for begging. They use very different and new tactics for attracting attention. I faced some of them:

1. The other day I was returning from office a women in burqa called me "Beta suno". I thought she knows me or she is lost and she is asking for some address.
I stopped, "hmm. Bataiye".
She replied "Beta bhook lagi hai, kuch khilva do". And pointed to the Nihari shop in the corner.
I was surprised. She didn't look like a beggar from any angle.

I started moving and she followed me for about a minute shouting "Beta suno. Beta suno". I was embarrassed.

2. I was buying pakodis today just before a few minutes to iftaar. Someone poked me from behind. I turned and found a girl standing behind. She didn't say anything just spread her hand for begging. Being already late and irritated with sudden poke. I said "Maaf karo yaar".
And I turned back expecting the girl to have gone seeing my irritation and angry look.
To my surprise she poked me again. Controlling my anger I again said, "Maaf karo", and turned back.
She again poked me and also poked the guy standing next to me at that crowded shop. He also turned and gave an angry look. Then she again poked me the fourth time. I got my stuff packed and left the very next moment. I cannot describe how irritated and helpless I felt at that time. I really hate poking.

3. One of my friend offered Biryani when a beggar came while he was eating at a shop. 

Biryaniwala asked "Bhai bade ki(Beef) biryani dun ise ya Chicken".
My friend replied, "20 Rs. ki beef biryani de de".
To this the beggar added, "Chicken dilva do bhai".
And my friend was shocked. He was himself eating Beef biryani and the beggar asked for Chicken. For your information Chicken biryani is costlier than Beef biryani.

There are many other ways they attract attention and ask for money as if you have borrowed it from them.

They are so professional I even found two beggars sitting in sun with umbrella at mosque's gate. They don't want to miss any opportunity even if they have to sit in shining sun during summer.

The most important thing to note here, Allah is no more involved in any of these transactions. They have stopped asking in the name of Allah. Don't expect Dua in return.

Turning into James Bond

My every morning begins with a chase. I chase a 15 seater Tempo Traveller, picking up corporate slaves across South Delhi. This vehicle reaches Batla House Bus Stop at exact 7:55 AM. Even I reach the place at the same time. And sometimes a few seconds late. I am supposed to board that Tempo along with few others at the Bus Stop to reach office.

I leave my apartment at exact 7:50 AM. Five minutes is just enough time to reach Batla House Bus Stop from Zakir Nagar by a rickshaw. The time is so idealistic that if rickshaw-wala is lazy(or Old) or there is traffic its sure that I will miss the tempo by a few seconds. Then I have to hire an auto-rickshaw or board a Red DTC bus if its there in the vicinity at that point in time. And the chase begins. I have to reach Kalindi Kunj before the Tempo via another short route. This way I have my share of morning adventure. Nothing is more refreshing than reaching that point and catching the Tempo. This becomes my first achievement everyday.

I run like Bond but I don't look like him. He is too old.

My list of similarities with James Bond:

• Like all Bond movies my day begins with a chase.
• I am dressed in complete formals.
• Like Bond, I have to answer my Lady Boss if I fail.
• I am working for a big organization which operates across the globe.
• I am connected with others who tell me the location(of Tempo) via my Sony phone. :)
• I use multiple transports while chasing. (Rickshaw, Auto-Rickshaw, Bus and sometimes I run too)

Although I can rephrase it in many ways but being late is a bad habit. And I am doing this since college days. Many times I missed attendance and good grades coz of being late(there is always something to blame for bad grades). However, college is not just about attendance and grades. Vaise bhi "Old habits and bad habits die hard".

No Place to Die Peacefully

Death sounds like the end of everything. All thoughts, aspirations, feelings everything. But there is one thing you should not expect even after death. Peace. Especially if you have spent all your life in the middle of chaos in a modern Indian city and you die there.

You must have struggled whole life to find a decent place to live. But you will also need a place to get buried. Some space in a nearby graveyard. And if you think you will get that space easily and will sleep there till the Day of Judgement, you are wrong. Even after death you are not supposed to sleep.

If you live in one of many overpopulated localities in Delhi like Jamia Nagar. Let me tell you that there is just one graveyard which is already full. Whenever a new grave is dug now a days, its found to be already occupied by someone else's bones. So people try at some other place and even there they find bones. Then after repeating several times they find a place with no bones or maybe a place with only few bones which they hide in a corner.

Modern expectations after death:

• So even if you find a place near the boundary of the graveyard. Please expect children, from the locality next to the boundary, playing on your grave. And don't think you can scare them by making strange sounds and pretending to be a ghost from inside your grave. Now a days nobody is scared of ghosts. 

• Please expect loud music because humans are also living nearby. And if you want you can go and dance in their functions too. You can easily mix up with ladies with excessive makeup. Just make sure to take a deep bath in mud(to look similar) if you are lying in grave for more than a decade.

• Please do not mind if people dig your grave every few months and hit your old decaying bones with a hoe or shovel. Actually they are just trying to adjust one more person in the graveyard.

• And please do not get annoyed if people slowly acquire the graveyard land illegally and build their house on the top of your grave. And even I expect you to repair their sewer pipes if they pass through your grave or they are nearby. Come on! You were human once.

Why Momos?

My first problem is with the name "momo". Can't you find a decent name for a snack? It sounds more like a relative than food item in India much like "Mama" or "Dada". The more I hate momos the more I  see them everyday. Few years ago no one had heard about this thing. Somehow it got introduced and Indians are so fond of street food that they can eat anything in the name of street food.

Momo is nothing but boiled dough(aata) filled with an uncooked piece of chicken or vegetables. Yes, boiled chicken is uncooked. When I can have a hundred varieties of chicken and chat in Delhi why on earth should I eat an uncooked momo? "U find it tasty when you are damn hungry" said a friend. Come on, you find everything tasty when you are hungry.

Why not Indians cook it themselves and modify? I could not believe my eyes when I saw someone selling momos in Old Delhi near Jama Masjid. Old Delhi is the heaven of Mughlai. You can find best non-vegetarian street food near Jama Masjid, still someone sells chicken momos next to kebabs there. Similarly in Batla House and Jamia Engineering Faculty canteen momos are now available. At least they should not sell it next to most delicious snacks.

Can Momos be really compared to Delhi's Aloo Chaat, Bhalla Papdi, Golgappa, Tikki, Jalebi, Shawarma, Kebabs, Pakoras or Samosa?

Best Food in Delhi

Jamia Nagar in South Delhi is a student's hub. Many students live in Batla House and Zakir Nagar as paying guests. There exist many food joints and restaurants which serve good quality inexpensive food. There are so many options that for weeks you can eat different dishes at different places everyday.

Undoubtedly, Jamia Nagar serves one of the best non-vegetarian food in Delhi. Every restaurant here have a specialty. This specialty is known to people who eat in Zakir Nagar/Batla House regularly. So, for best version of a specific dish you should go to a particular place. Here people like me doesn't go to a restaurant, look at menu and decide what to eat. Rather we first decide what to eat then accordingly go to a restaurant. Below is a list of some popular dishes and restaurants which specialize in them:

• Chicken Biryani-  Gulavati, Salman Bhai
• Beef Biryani-  Salman Bhai, Gulavati
• Nihari-  Javed Nihari, Madina Nihari
• Paya-   Madina Nihari
• Beef Kebabs-  Famous Restaurant ,Galavati Kebabs
• Kebab Paratha-  Bismillah, Galavati Kebabs
• Chicken Fry-  Gul Bahar Chicken point
• Chicken Roasted-  Al- Nawaz , Al-Umar
• Chicken Qorma-  Moonis Qada
• Chicken Changezi-  Saquib Chicken Point,Meher, Darbaar
• Mutton Qorma-  Moonis Qada, Al-Umar
• Butter Chicken-  Ahad
• Chicken Achari-  Meer
• Qeema-  Moonis Qada 
• Maghaz/Bheja-  Madina Nihari
• Dal Makhni-  Al-Umar
• Matar Paneer-  Moonis Qada
• Shahi Tukda- Zakir Nagar Masjid

P.S. : There are many more delicious dishes and restaurants in the locality. This is the list of stuff that are making me fat. Try at your own risk.

Batla House - Three days after Eid.

Three days have passed after Eid. The holy month of Ramadan is over. The atmosphere in Batla House in New Delhi is very different. Not just different form Ramadan but also from normal days. Batla house is home to a lot of students and people from nearby states, especially UP and Bihar, who visit their hometowns for celebrating Eid. I know people who visit their hometowns only once a year with whole family. And that time of year is now.

Even I am back so early first time. Like others, even I preferred to join college on the first Monday after Eid. But now I work and holidays in Corporate world are very limited. So, I had to return early this time.

The silence in Batla House and Zakir Nagar is really strange. The streets here are known to be crowded whole year. Even on chilly winter nights one can find people around. Today, I wanted to have my favourite Al-Umar's 'Dal Makhni' for dinner. But to my surprise Al-Umar(the restaurant) was closed. I couldn't find  any other good restaurant open. So, had to manage with Famous's "Qeema". But to my delight "Aggarwal Sweets" was open. I went there and fed myself few pieces of 'Qalaqand'.

Its hard to imagine Batla House free of traffic chaos in evening. I really miss:

• Bikers who perform stunts in the middle of traffic jam.
• Aunties, who shop whole year with complete family.
• Bearded uncles running for namaz.
• Aroma of frying chicken.
• Fights between car-walas and rickshaw-walas.
• Beggars, who occupy both sides of road and leave no room to walk.
• Students, carrying bags full of books on their shoulders and dreams in their eyes.