I arrived in Delhi for the second time this year. The metro was unusually free of congestion, perhaps because it is a Sunday. But I wasted quite a lot of time waiting for the buses. I then decided to walk to the school.
More than being frustrated with no bus coming my way, I needed to repair my sandal and so thought I'd find atleast a hardware shop or a cobbler.
Walking along the stretch from the metro to the school, all I found was dry-cleaners, ice-cream parlours and pharmacies. I was almost certain that finding a cobbler in such a locale would be practically impossible.
Lo and behold, I actually did find one. In my brief conversation with him, as he bent over and mended my sandal, I came to know that he has been working as a cobbler at the same spot for the last 40 years! Looking at his tools and work style I could gather he was honest about the duration.
Although there were quite a few restaurants and eateries along the way, I choose to sit by a father and son duo preparing parathas and bought lunch from them. Hot parathas made right then and there.
It struck me then that the population living in that particular stretch was a very posh one. Nonetheless, it was so posh that the people working for them were mostly from outside the state and really poor. So naturally, there were the posh spots and the down-to-earth spots catering to the two different sets of people around.
I certainly do not claim to authoritatively speak about Delhi, but unlike Mumbai or for that matter, Hyderabad, in Delhi the dividing lines are clear and sharp.
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