Dilliwalahs – Not easy to read them!

The cacophony of the Delhi municipal elections was driving everyone crazy. Thus, it was best for this blogger to shut up and let Dilliwalahs soak in all the fun. With Bollywood failing to attract eyeballs – the political mudslinging during these elections seems to have provided alternative entertainment, however, cheap though. 2014 onward we Dilliwalahs seem to be having excessive doses of such thrills as every election plays up big here. Then post-elections are these over-the-top celebrations at some parties HQs at Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg. That this road is named after the Hinduvta ideologue seems just a rational coincidence.

The Delhi Municipal elections came on expected lines with Aam Aadmi Party, AAP, bagging 134 of 250 wards.  Days after BJP’s defeat their Delhi unit president Adesh Gupta tendered his resignation taking moral responsibility. However, some Dilliwalahs believe that such a moral stand should have been taken by the LG.  His flawed strategy for taking on AAP single-handedly impacted the results. Inadvertently, he played in to the hands of AAP. His actions added credence to our man AK’s pleas that the LG is not letting his government work. AK and his brigade kept howling that the LG’s agenda is to corner AAP.  Little did the LG realise that when it comes to being a bechara (helpless) – there is no one better at playing that card than our man AK.

It can now be said with some degree of confidence that the national parties do not seem to read the mood here. Dilliwalahs – not easy to read them anymore. BJP may keep winning Gujarat and elsewhere but Delhi keeps pushing it away in all local polls. It has failed to project a local leader of stature of Madanlal Khurana, Sahib Singh Verma, Sushma Swaraj to appeal to Dilliwalahs.  Bhojpuri actors and sufi singers apparently make no music here but then who will tell this to the master poll strategist. Even INC that gave Delhi its best CM in Late Sheila Dikshit is clueless on how to harness her legacy.  By the way INC’s strategy in Gujarat was flawed too. The party’s much touted walk (yatra) avoided that state. Or is it that the strategy is inspired by Johnnie Walker’s tagline and thus could not have entered a dry state?

The G-20 leadership summit has given the local authorities here a spring in their feet. Selected portions of Lutyens Delhi are being spruced up along with some other prominent places too. Sadly whenever the Babus want to beautify the city there is this unanticipated discovery of pavement-dwellers as if they have suddenly appeared through a SFX effect – a la James Cameron movie. Coincidentally the pushing and tormenting of these poor souls invariably happens in winters.

Wonder how the authorities consistently fail to notice the drain which once used to be a river and flows through the city. Visualise a wine-and-cheese party for the G-20 delegates on a raft floating on Yamuna one 396-AQI-evening? Imagine the G-20 delegates gorging gol-gappas or bedmi-poori in the alleys of the walled city? How about getting the delegates to sample balushahi at Shahdhra? If something needs sprucing up then it’s here where the Babus need to look to. Oh! But then one doesn’t become gutsy by simply adopting the title of a Sherpa!

This period of a couple of months of silence allowed this blogger to observe and absorb a lot. It was feedback gathering time too. Of the tiny, loyal readership of StateOfDelhi.in there is a section that is happy when this blogger takes on AAP or INC but gets upset when one lampoons the supreme leader or his cronies. Plus a sub-section from the same set of readers believes that this blogger will soon get an offer from one Gautam (no Buddha this one!) for a buy-out. It prompted this poor blogger to download Truecaller…just in case!

As of now it appears that everyone is not as lucky as Mr & Mrs Roy!

StateOfDelhi Suggests: Dilliwalahs, you have been confined to your home for two long years. It’s time to move out and treat your taste-buds to some amazing street food that the city offers. This is the best time to get to Bazaar Sita Ram to sample finger-licking and authentic bedmi poori at Ram Swarup Halwai on a laid-back winter morning. And don’t forget to do what Purani Dilliwalahs do – top up the bedmi poori with nagori halwa! And if you are too lazy to venture out on your own – this blogger proposes a food-cum-folklore walk in and around the walled city in February’23. Drop in a mail to be informed of the date and time of this walk to stateofdelhi@gmail.com. The G-20 delegates will not get such a privilege!