The Delhi Diary - Part I

Contents:

Part I -

1.  Dream to visit
2.  Let's give it a try
3.  Yes! I got a call letter
4.  Pre-departure Drama
      4.1. The domestic tussle
      4.2. The collegiate contention

Part II -

5.  The Travel Tale
6.  Hustle for address
7.  At the MP's residence house
8.  Search for shelter

9.  The Fighting Father

10. Inside NITI

     10.1. Work

     10.2. Life with colleagues

Part III-

11. Bruhan Maharashtra Bhawan
      11.1. Life at BMB
      11.2. New Friends
12. Exploring Delhi
      12.1. "New" Delhi
      12.2. The other side of Delhi
13. Time to Leave
14. Life after Internship

PART I

Dil walo ka sheher, as we call it.
Yes, the capital city of India - Dilli (New Delhi)
No matter wherever you travel, if you haven't been to Delhi, then you are yet to explore the Heart of India. You know nothing about a person if you didn't touch his/her soul, the heart, the true person. 

Same is valid here in this case.

The vibe, the essence, the feeling you get in Delhi is nowhere comparable with the other cities in India. The air of the city definitely has something mixed in it, other than the pollution ofcourse. 

The city is like- The more you get to know about it, the more you want to know about it.

1. Dream to visit:

Being a small-town boy, who won't like to see the big city? and what could even be better than the capital city of India?

As a child, we observe things with minute details, or we can say, we observe things with a wholly different perspective. 

Even small things attracted the sight of my wobbly mind, like I used to see the 26^th of January parade being eager and ever desirous, like how I observe Namaz of Jama Masjid (one of the Biggest Mosque in India), and many more like this. The movies, news and articles about it acted as a pure catalyst to make the bond between us even stronger in no time. 

Though Delhi was not as cosmopolitan as our Mumbai (Aamchi Mumbai), I was well prepared to indulge myself in the solitary culture of this dynamic city.

I desperately wanted to see this city, whatsoever, and when this Delhiite superstar Shah Rukh Khan said in Om Shanti Om movie - "कहते है की अगर किसी चीज़ को दिल से चाहो तो पूरी कायनात उसे तुमसे मिलाने की कोशिश में लग जाती है" (When you wish for something from the bottom of your heart, the whole world unites to fulfil your wish), I FELT IT.

2.  Let's give it a try:

Back in 2017, it was early May. People call it the period of vacations, but we the university students call it as an Exam Season. 

The region of Vidarbha(in Maharashtra, India) has a very dear relation with the Sun. It seems like the sun stays over Vidarbha & not around the globe as a whole.

Those days, parents being out of town and air cooler doing the rest of needful for me to keep my books aside and laze around, I did so. 

Also, some days were still spare for the preparation, so I went a step further, I opted for a nap. 

Procrastination at its best, that time. (or even now, maybe!)

Like every child, I was checking my mobile before I doze off. I saw a few text notifications, a couple of News bars and a Low Battery Warning.

I took a sneak peek at the news which was having "Ministry of Home Affairs decided to..." kind of something in its headline. Whatever it was, I went through it and there was a link below, which pointed me to NITI Aayog website. 

NITI Aayog, New Delhi

Back then I was not known about it, but then I searched and did whole research, thus got to know that it was a Government body working under the Ministry of Home Affairs of Government of India. It is called as the "Think-Tank of India", as it structures policies and provides technical support and advice to centre and state governments. 

It was also called the Planning Commission of India, for that sake.

Going back, I saw an option on that website citing "Apply for Internship".  Without even thinking twice I clicked on it & filled a lengthy application form asking for academic background, personal background and an unusual question asking, "What are your reforming ideas for new and Transforming India?" I fill in with whatever little I could think of and submitted it in a go.

Now that I've to wait for a few days for the reply mail, I kept the mobile and sacked off with dreams of Delhi.

3.  Yes! I got a call letter:

About a fortnight later, when I was out of the examination hall in college, I got a mail from Deputy-Adviser of Science and Technology (S&T) Department of NITI Aayog saying, "Congratulation! You are selected for the Internship Programme".

There were 2 theory and 3 practical exams remaining and they called me in 10 days.

I was on cloud nine or even higher, after reading the mail.

My friends and I used to gather after the exam, at the cafeteria to discuss about the paper, but that day, I was like, "Not today man!"

I make a hasty run towards home to inform my parents about the same, as they were not even known about my application. They got to know that I have to go to New Delhi for one month, I explained to them what all it is, and also that Shri Narendra Modi is the Chairman of NITI Aayog and everything else that was needed to be told.

I saw a proud expression on their faces, which I didn't get to see often.

Nevertheless, Dad was a bit bewildered.

4. Pre-departure Drama:

    4.1. The domestic tussle:

So, what was the issue?

As I mentioned earlier that I'm a small-town boy, belonging to a lower-middle-class family. The sudden demand for money, like this, is not less than an avalanche for us. 

Yes, my father was definitely happy for me, infact more than me, just like my mother and sisters. They were more pleased to know that I was among the only 3 students, who were selected from all over India for this once in a lifetime opportunity. 

They didn't have enough money at that time, to bear my expenses. 

I was told by the NITI officials that I have to have my personal laptop with me, which I wasn't having at that time. Though my sister was having one, that too was on a ventilator, which needed a lot of service from the service centre. 

It would probably take a week-long time and I was not supposed to risk this much time. 

My college friends tried their best to provide me with whatever help they could. One of them even asked her father to give his office laptop for a month, and the other tried to seek help from a faculty member in college, but it gets us landed nowhere.

So, with no option left, my sister got it fixed in a local store at Pune and also sent a travelling bag with it, again for the fact that we didn't even have had a travelling bag at home(funny but true). 

The time was not appropriate neither the situation was in my hand. 

At times I was so depressed and worried about the financial situation, that I thought to drop a reply mail saying, 'I won't be able to join', but then my sister and father were there by my side, saying, "We are here for you, but you just make the best out of it!" 

    4.2. The collegiate contention:

Reporting date was on the 1st of June but I was having my practical exam till June 2nd. The first year HOD Sir was persuaded off eventually after a lot of efforts. He then permitted me to give 2 practical exams in one day. 

I managed it and get it done from my side.

My region was not that developed. 

My college didn't witness a single case prior to mine, that a first-year student was opting for an internship. They were not easily convinced to consider my leave. 

One fine day, I visited my 'going to be' 2nd year Head of Department and told him the scenario and then he permitted me for the same. This was all just to get the No Objection Certificate which was needed in NITI from college officials.

Even Principal Sir questioned my application at that time, saying "Kya karne wale ho waha jaakar?" (What are you going to do there?) & trust me, with that tone of sir, it doesn't seem like a concerned question.

Okay so, now it's time for pocket-friendly shopping. 

Wohoo! Dad got me 2 shirts and a trouser.

He was moreover worried about my residence though, as we were not supposed to get residence from their side. He visited the home of a local politician who knew the then Member of Parliament from our region. 

MP's residence (our home at Delhi for 5 days)

After several hits, he managed to get me a letter allowing a week-long residence at MP's place. But still, my dad accompanied me, as I was the small kid who could find it difficult to settle himself in that big city.

Thus, he managed the train tickets and we were ready to depart with a lot tensed mind & bubbly heart.

.

.

.

What happened next?

Wanna know?
The Delhi Diary - Part II

The Delhi Diary - Part III

Hey there, thanks for following my blog all up to here at the end.

I hope y'all like it.

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The seat next to me...

Hey there,

Yes you, the lone wolf! I appreciate your survival.

I know, Life is the most erratic of all. But no, not the bombshells every time. Life isn't that harsh to roast you every fckin time macha. 

Sometimes life is too busy to think of you, that it just fulfil the wish you have. The thing you've wanted from so long, desperately, could be all yours. You could end up getting the thing you wanted & not everyone knows about this mysterious hush-hush, which Rhonda Byrne quoted as "The Secret", so think wisely.

You should wish for a whirlwind, at least you would end up getting a "Hawa ka jhoka" (a mild gust), which is not bad either.

Okay, so keeping the book stuff apart, I personally feel that it's not always you, your mind & your thoughts in this chapter of life, a life more or less be yours. As I've already told you in the last blog that we are the puppets and the strings are with life. 

We wish for things or living, who ask for it like, I want it in this way & by this procedure only? No, we don't. 

We just want the chocolate, who cares for how it is made & how you get it? No one gives a damn.

Life will give you, definitely, but the way? that won't be of your choice. Expect the unexpected, my dear.

Life can be on your side
or the other, but for a reason, that's for sure.

Some meets with unknowns, some happenings on the go, some incidents and accidents are just a part of the path to whatever you desire for. Every tick of this journey has an eloquent lesson for you to shape & make you for the time you wished for.

On the path, everyone is temporary, except for the blood ones. Those temporary people are in your life for a purpose, to teach you or to learn from you. They're there to celebrate your birth or to cry on your funeral, else everywhere it's just YOU! alone, fighting, striving, hustling & living.

Known people are like an ocean for us, few parts are known as its visible, but you can't see the deep pools of dark mysteries. This is not the case with unknowns, the strangers. They open their heart out if they sense you as the right one. Ofcourse I'm not talking about the clingy uncle-aunty types, but a sensible and genuine person with a good amount of knowledge, who knows how to behave, how to be a bit savoir-faire.

Once when I was in Delhi for a couple of months, I used to commute from Paharganj to Sansad Marg by bus. On the very first week, I didn't find anyone worth talking to, but after a week or two, I found an aunt in the bus. She was sitting on my favourite seat, that's the window seat beside the door. I managed to sit on the seat next to it.

She was the age-old lady. The one with common Indian dressing, visibly happy with a grinning face, calm, composed and decent. She initiated the conversation on the first day. We met for almost a week continuously.

Every day, she used to share something which motivates me a little more than the previous day. Her stories don't seem to be scripted. More than the office, I was excited every morning to hear today's story. Those stories were not a fairytale kinda or some Raja-Rani (King-Queen) types. It was all her life, her struggle & the misery.

I got to know she was a sweeper at an office next to mine, and that day I ascertain the fact that poise and deportment are to be cultivated by choice, not by the profession.

The first day was so satisfying that the next day she herself booked a seat for me, this time the window seat, & the same goes on for the week. She was a true Gentlewoman.

One fine day when she thought we connected with our minds, her story was that- how she escaped from her son's house at Gaziabaad, who used to treat her as a household drudge. She left Gaziabaad with no hopes, alone in Delhi, making her life like a youngster hustling in his 20s.

Her story that day taught me, Everything & Everyone is temporary; this time, including the blood ones. They're there for a reason as I said.

The next day, I clasp the door of the No. 181A bus and what I saw was sad though. The seat next to me was empty. Even she was temporary I guessed, to teach me some life lessons worth listening for.

As I said, the path is not our choice, but it gives the best experience, whatsoever.

So think of your life to be the best, the best of your kind. Fight for it and cherish the path as much as the destination. Meet the people, learn, but don't be attached. Coz after all, it's the solitary life, you alone have to fight.

So, you my champ.

Yes you, the lone wolf! I appreciate your survival.

Hey there, thanks for following my blog all up to here at the end.

I hope y'all like it.

Please hit the FOLLOW button on the upper left corner to get in touch with the latest blogs and writings OR follow the page on Facebook - The DrunkKalam 😍

Craving for your love...

ABOUT ME  |  CONTACT ME

Happy Reading!