Once Upon a University Campus

Chandni Chowk

It had not been ten minutes after exiting the Chandni Chowk metro station that Shivaay was already showing signs of being defeated by the grit, dust that were aplenty in Chandni Chowk. They had parked their car near the Central Secretariat and hitched a ride to Chandni Chowk on the metro. He was wearing a white full shirt and a pair of grey trousers. The salubrious Char Bagh around Humanyun's tomb and the gentle morning sun had kept them comfortable. But post noon the sun was unforgiving as was the pace of life at the Chowk.

Annika led them towards Parathe wali gali. It was only about a kilometer but it did require a lot of navigation skills, after all, the road was shared by two wheels, three wheelers, push carts carrying goods while the vendors, hawkers, encroachment by shop owners, pedestrians and stray animals all competed for the pavement space. It was a part of real India, every square inch bustling with life, supporting a sea of humanity.

Annika expertly ducked hurrying passers by as well as navigated the obstacles on the way, but he could not. A few people bumped into him, sometimes he waited for people to make way for him like it would happen in his office, in his world where he was recognised. Here he was a non-entity, just one drop in the ocean where no one recognised him, much less make way for his highness the great Shivaay Singh Oberoi. Annika saw him lag behind and had to walk a few steps ahead of him to help him navigate. Montmartre was his comfort zone, Chandni chowk her. Just as they were about to cross into the small lane, he stopped. Annika looked around cluelessly, nothing was obstructing his way. Then she noticed him looking up at a tangled bunch of wires.

"What the hell is that?" He asked still staring at the tangled mess of wires overhead and the haphazard hoardings and boards that seem to stick out everywhere.

'That is just the electricity wires" Annika said as a matter of a fact.

"Electricity wire this tangled? that is so dangerous. How can people here ignore such a hazard? "

"It is more of a norm here. What can we expect in an area more than 3 centuries old."

"But it is a fire hazard. Just look at the number of people around." He looked around.

"It might be. But that is how things are. I guess people here are not intimidated by that small probability of a fire incident."

"Unbelievable" He exclaimed disbelief written on his face.

Annika turned around to walk into the gali. He followed her closely.

"It does not look like they get direct sunlight here." He remarked looking up at the multistoried buildings on both the sides of the narrow lane that looked more like haphazardly piled legos than human inhabitation.

"They seldom do, perhaps did about two centuries ago." Annika turned back and laughed. A happy sunflower had lit up the sunless narrow lane with the radiance of her laugher.

An unassuming smile found a way on his face, after all the sunflower's laughter was contagious.

They stopped at the small hole in the wall, kind of a joint. A man at the corner of shop's entrance sat with an open tray filled with colorful ingredients much like a painter's palette. He was briskly rolling out parathas while a younger man stood next to him, in front of a small wok frying the parathas in what looked like stale, dark grease. An open drain with black slimy slush glistened between them and the actual entrance of the shop. From afar faded photos of celebrities and old time politicians adorned the interiors.

"Do you know the escape routes in case of fire" He whispered before they entered the restaurant.

"What? No.. But don't worry. Nothing of that sort will happen." Annika assured. But then she did not have the heart of say that there were no exits in the narrow bylanes of Chandni Chowk, it was a miracle and continued to be a miracle how life went on there despite so many things that could go wrong.