Chaat in Chandani Chowk

10.1.08
7:30am

Alex, one of my trekking mates for Nepal, arrived in Delhi yesterday. We stayed at the Eurastar hotel overnight and are heading to Nepal in another few hours.

Delhi has 7 gurudwaras (sikh temples) and most of them are historic gurudwaras. Last evening, I took Alex to Bangla Sahib, one of 7 historical sikh gurudwaras (temple) in Delhi - we caught an auto rickshaw (auto) straight to Cannaught Place (CP).

One of the things I've enjoyed is conversing the the people that live here about their life, where they are from, the state of India, and listening to their perspective on culture and politics.
However, as a single woman, I was careful not to talk so freely to the men I met, mostly auto and taxi drivers. Since I was with Alex, I was much more open to talking to strangers.
This is primarily because having grown up in India, somewhere in the back of your mind you know that as a single woman if you talk freely with men you don't know, they might misconstrue your openness for something else. If I meet someone with a similar background (ie armed forces background or educated) then of course I feel immediately safer and the dynamics is different and much more open as it is in the west. This fear is mostly conditioning and maybe a little excessive. But a little caution and awareness isn't a bad thing given the numerous stories my friends who live in the Delhi area and UP have told me.

I was chatting with the auto driver and discovered he is a third year student, working on his BA. At present he owns three autos, thanks to his mum + dad's investment and along with his two brothers, they do this business. I discussed a little politics with him, and as with most people in India, he has little faith in politicians, thinks they are all goondas (crooks). As with many young people, he said he'd like to go to the US. Since most people get their exposure to the states from hollywood or news, just as most people in the west get their exposure to India from the news or bollywood, their perspective is formed by a rather limited view. I wish there was some way to have intercultural exchanges, especially for young people, so they could go live and work in other countries and expand their skewed vision formed mostly from TV. Travellers do this by coming to India, but even that experience, though more expansive than TV is limited since the country is very diverse and depending on how you chose to travel (ie budget travel, backpack, vacation etc), it exposes you to only a segment of society. Of the available travel options, short of living in a place, I feel backpacking is the best way to learn about a society.

Next we headed off to Chandni Chowk for the evening. Chandni Chowk is one of the oldest Bazaars in Delhi dating back to the Mughal period - it is full of shops and shoppers, crammed into every nook and cranny. Space is at a premium, and the smaller, more hidden shops in the small pathways have probably been in a family for generations. The real connoisseurs of fine clothing generally come here to places they know. As we were wandering aimlessly, yapping away, a young kid came and started asking for money.

kid: Didi (sister), give me one rupee please.
me: sorry bache (kid), I'm not going to give you any money.
kid: Didi please, just one rupee - bhai marayga (brother will hit me).
me: sorry but no. But do you want to eat something, we'll get you some food.

The kid kept walking alongside us, holding on to my arm persistently asking for money, and I politely almost with good humour kept saying no. Then I heard this older gentlemen yell at this kid for harassing us and I automatically said, `bacha hai, koi baat nahin bhaisab' (it's a kid, don't worry about it brother). Then I heard the older gentleman behind, `Madam, aapne hindi to bahot achee bole' (you spoke very good hindi). So I had to go back and thank him and tell him I did infact grow up in India, hence the good Hindi. As I came back, I think he thought I was offended or something, because he said, `Please don't be offended madam, I said what I felt'. Course, I wasn't - on the contrary I said I was flattered. He was an older gentleman and I chatted with him for awhile before Alex and I left.

The kid was still with us, but his patience ran out before mine did (hahaha), and as we walked by a chat stand, he pulled my arm and said, `ok, I'll have some of that'. As he was eating, two other boys came by so they ate as well. I was looking at all the good stuff but not daring to eat - didn't want to get sick at the start of the big trek plus I'd only been in town a week. I was also asking the guy what everything was, and there was one thing I wasn't familiar with so he said, `Madam, aap khakey to dekhiye' (Try a little and see). I said, `nooo, I'm going to get sick'. At this point he poured me some and said,`nothing will happen, you shouldn't be so superstitious' (vaham in Hindi, I'm not sure superstitious is the correct word but it's the best I can come up with). His mannerism was very casual and hospitable, as if I was a guest in his shop - I tried it, it was good.

So I figured what the heck, now that I've tried some I might as well enjoy a plate of chaat. I love the street food and the snacks. As I was eating, I said out aloud, I hope I don't get sick. Another elderly gentleman standing nearby said,`aapko to waisay bhi kuch nahin hoga' (nothing will happen, especially to you madam). It felt good, he was kindly appreciating our actions in feeding the kids.

It was a good day :-).