Tuesday, June 13, 2006

notes from delhi

1) Went and saw MI-3 a few days ago. The movie was only 2 hours long (mercifully not longer) but still had an interval. During the interval there was an ad of Delhi Police. To contact them you can email them at dcpsouth2004@yahoo.com. A huge IT revolution has happened in the country but Delhi Police, inspite of having a website hasn't managed to get its own email address.

2) There's been a big buildup to the world cup on all the news channels. Tonight is Brazil's first match and being everyone's favourite team, CNN-IBN decided to send one of its sports reporters live to cover the match and decided to ask him questions about the Brazillian fans' expectations of the match. For a brief second, I felt envious of the lucky reporter who might have been in Germany or maybe even Rio. A second later I felt sorry for him. He was standing (live) outside the Brazillian embassy in Delhi.

After some stupid questions they decided to make things worse. They chose to go to a second reporter who was in (where else but) Bombay. He was draped in a Brazillian flag sitting on a horse drawn chariot on Marine Drive in Bombay with 2 old, fat and balding (I know I'm getting there) Brazillians. With a huge smile, he asked them how it felt to watch the world cup in India. One of them replied "It feels odd because there's no passion for football in this country." The reporter's smile vanished and he turned to the second Brazillian who seemed more interested in the experience of sitting on a horse drawn chariot in one of the most crowded cities in the world, on a road notorious for traffic. Not getting a response, our happy reporter returned us back to the studios with the message that India is all set for the big game tonight.

3) The last time I was in Delhi was almost a year and a half ago. Since then, the prices of everything have almost doubled. Gas prices, of course, have also risen. The last 2-3 times that I had visited Delhi, it cost me about 50 Rs (after lengthy negotiations with the driver) to take an autorickshaw from my brother's flat to my parents' house. That was a reasonable fare considering the distance. Autorickshaw drivers in Delhi are also notorious for overcharging and when I was a student in Delhi taking an auto was a bigger luxury than taking a taxi in Boston. When I got inside the auto today, I expected a price almost double but with the temperature hovering above 100F I wasn't in a mood to negotiate and was ready to pay 100 Rs as long as I got home fast without a heatstroke. Either he was very honest or hadn't realised how expensive gas is now. But he charged me only 40 Rs (without any negotiating). Left him a 10 Rs tip and he smiled so widely that I felt like a millionaire getting off a strech limo who had just tipped the driver about 100$.

4 comments:

meghant said...

that is so ridiculous! hope they just show old clips of pele-dont-call-me-pele from now on instead!!

every once in a while your faith in all of humanity is reinstated thanks to some old auto guy - in my exp, almost each time it was a dignified maulvi dude.. i'd say a Rs.10/$100 contribution to humanity as such is totally worth it - good job doc pee.

bandafbab said...

i remember that time in hyderabad. the minimum fare was 5 rs and he still took us and didn't ask for extra money.

Kochukandhari said...

LOL...the poor reporters:)

meghant said...

anshuman - you ask questions only a maulvi would know the answers to..
no, seriously, it could have been a doctor saahib like our own pondy or maha maha sree sree somebody for all i care, i don't know - just meant to bring up the stereotypical image of dhaadhi with hint of mehandi, topi, old old retaped glasses etc..
chances are - this description fits your hyderabad rick guy too!