Mush

I've spent close to eight years in Delhi. And the last two years in Vasant Kunj, an ant colony of DDA flats in the backyard of Delhi's most recognised and majestic monument - the Qutab Minar (apologies to the Lal Qila/Jama Masjid, CP, et al.) Not surprisingly I, the king of procrastination, kept postponing a visit to this phallic marvel. Until this Saturday. Somehow I willed myself into not spending the evening with the remote. And before I knew it, the wheels of my car were crunching the gravel in the Qutab's parking lot. I was surprised to see two policemen hanging around wearing luminous yellow life-jackets emblazoned with the words 'Tourist Police'. God knows how knowledgeable/helpful they are to tourists but hey, they lend an air of security to the establishment!
The shadows had lengthened when I walked in through the arched gateway. Something stopped me in my tracks - the sight of a sickle moon silhouetted against the evening sky, right beside the Qutab. The dusk heady with the fragrance of champa flowers in full bloom made the moment all the more magical.
Thankfully, there weren't many rubber-neckers around. There was only one busload of tourists. And a solitary Japanese lady who was clicking away with a high-end digicam. A walk around the complex brought back blurry childhood memories. Of parents egging you on to try and encircle the iron pillar with your hands - now forbidden of course. What I did admire this time was the sheer magnitude, the scale of the minar - something that one doesn't fully appreciate from the confines of a car or the terrace of one's house (which was how I had caught a glimpse of the Qutab so far.)
As I left, people were queuing up for a 'night view' of the monument. And I promised myself another trip to see the Qutab in a different light. Soon.

<written by killerbunty>

PS: I dont know how people can compare Delhi and Mumbai. The Delhi vs. Mumbai debate gets on my nerve sometimes. You live there, you like that place, i live here, i like this place. Lets just keep it to that.