Bye, bye, CP…

In a few days time, my office will get shifted to Okhla, which is rather uncomfortably close to where I stay. It would of course mean lesser traveling hours, in fact, on a cool morning or evening, I can walk to or from office. Now, some people might think of it to be a luxury, given the fact that several people travel even 50 km (one way) to reach their offices. However, I am rather wistful about this turn of events despite the prospect of regular gymming and having wholesome, home-cooked food.

Every day, I leave my home by 8 and take an auto to Connaught Place, where my present office is located. I always thought of myself very lucky to be working in CP. And, I have always wondered what makes CP so special to me. Is it just the buildings or access to the ‘best’ shops that the capital has to offer? After a lot of thinking, I realized it is the people. Well, they are NOT different from the people you see in other places, but only that you see people from all classes. There’s the way side chai wala, pappu chaat wala, the British Council, the American center, antariksh bhavan, and the majestic white columned round buildings. Such variety of sights, such heterogeneity, as against the homogenous, ugly white-collared executives stomping around in their tailor-fit suits and sparkling shoes with bags from wherever!

Then, of course is the auto ride and my daily chats with the auto drivers. I will certainly miss that. I know that the auto costs 4.5 lakhs, and you can make close to 1000 bucks if you owned the auto and drove it for about 12 hours. On the other hand, you could make only 300 or 400 if you took the auto on rent. The owners charge at least 300 bucks per day, and they do not pay for the petrol or the vehicle maintenance.

Then, the ride…filled with colorful sights, especially when the spring was in full swing. Violet, red, yellow, blue, etc…the roads would be strewn with these colorful flowers, and one had to only lift your head to the see the colorful miracle on the trees with the sky as a clear blue background. On some days, the journey will be accompanied by rain with the smell of wet earth. At the umpteen signals, I’d look around to see people hurrying up for their jobs, some engrossed in the newspapers, and some just waking up and stretching.

Well, as they say, only change is constant...perhaps, who knows, Okhla might also have some beautiful things to capture my imagination...Only one thing I wish...I don't want to see capitalists, who do not use the term recession, big cars, and dumb fakesters!