The Delhiites, Mumbaikars and Puneites

We all belong to a particular place, a place we love and protect with animalistic instincts. So when recently (it happens a lot) someone began the "Delhi sux" debate with me once again...i jumped open clawed at the soul, defending my love.my city.

There are always 2 kinds of people anywhere you go (you could categorise them in many more splits..i prefer 2) ,the ones like you and the ones not like you.
Its which ones you meet more often that determines your love/hate for the city.
We complain about the traffic, the city, the weather...when all we are actually complaining about are the people.
Delhi wouldn't be Delhi without its loud over dressed Delhiites. And no matter how much i hate them, i still would find the city incomplete without them. Or the kurta & jeans wearing DU students swarming CP and the cultural hot spots. Each one of them defines the Delhi we know today. From the LOUD Punjabi Baug and Rajouri Garden to the chic Greater Kailash, to the Non chalant North Campus. All of them make Delhi the city it is today. The Melting Pot of India. The capital city.

Same goes for the Mumbaikars and their mixed language which is quite a curry of Hindi Marathi Gujrati and i don't know what not. Remove the "always-in-a-hurry" mumbaikar from Mumbai and it pretty much loses its charm or the lack of it. Or the smell of fish and salt the minute you land in the city. Its these small things, the funny names (come on...Chinchpokli?!),the tormenting Locals and the surprisingly disciplined bus and taxi lines,that's one thing Mumbaikars do best..Stand in a queue...THIS is Mumbai for me. Not the Gateway of India or the Marine Drive.

Coming to Pune, well my definition of it is " Its a small city, aiming to be huge...pretty much caught in the middle. The same goes for the people. The whole IDEA to be "known" is so high in this city..its almost scary. Its as if from the time one reaches standard 9, there's this urge to be seen in the right places, with the right people doing the right thing (which mind you, isn't really right). The pressure might be because here EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYONE" Oh and not to forget...the constant need to ape everything "in" in Mumbai. Its the whole elder brother phenomenon.

Its a debate that might go on for centuries, and something most of us "outsiders" will face everyday. *sigh*

PS: I love you Delhi :P