Of Lutyen's Delhi, Jungpura, The Statesman House and Me

Hi.. just reached office..the place where I am presently interning. I have been driving to this place (Jungpura) since the past few days now and though it has its pros and cons (opting to drive this far) but I am enjoying the long drive more with each passing day. That's because there's a considerable stretch within Lutyen's Delhi that makes me wanna keep going on and of course music helps. The beautiful  bump-less roads....the majestic greenery .. the fast moving cars and roundabouts, the fact that it's close to Connaught Place..and located near so many museums and legendary buildings with wonderful food joints like Bengali Market nearby and places like Purana Quila -- make me feel I've come home. The area is so nicely lit up at night.. and then there's India Gate to keep me company on one major roundabout. There's a lake nearby and one can see people boating or just roaming about the lush green lawns. They have all the time in the world.. such comfort. :)

Finally the mystery of Lutyen Delhi is revealing itself to me. Now I know why we're supposed to religiously follow the Ashoka Road! It would lead you to every wondeful place there is in this part of Dilli. I always used to wonder how to reach Patel Chowk or may be Pandara Road.. or Zakir Hussain Marg... it all makes so much sense, now that I have driven through it by myself. Earlier, places like Jungpura, Nizammuddin etc. seemed almost beyond my reach for I used to find the route so confusing and befuddling, especially at night. I never thought I could drive myself to these places alone... now it seems like a child's play..I always used to be scared of getting lost in Lutyen's Delhi.. always preferring the lethal combo of auto-metro to reach far flung places.


I am yet to discover where a road emanating from the Blue Tomb roundabout leads to.. I think it leads straight to Lodhi Road. I'm gonna find out soon. There are many more discoveries in the offing! I recently realised that if you keep going straight on Mandir Marg, and not take the left turn you always take, you reach Birla Mandir and thence when you take a right the Kala Bari Marg makes for a better route! And and and if you keep going on that road before you know it, you reach Sacred Heart Cathedral and Bangla Sahib in no time! I can just go on about these little happy discoveries I am making each day.. these roads are opening up to me and I am warming up to them.

This part of Jungpura (called Bhogal), where I come everyday, is not without its 'rustic' elements and the cheeencheeenpopo (blaring din) of traffic and ogling men.. but the place is quite well-situated. I have seen quite a few foreigners as well as refugees putting up here, apart from those working in my own department. Yesterday I went with six of them to a joint called Kabul..an Afghani deli that serves almost zilch vegetarian food.. actually they are unaware of the existence the term 'vegetarian'. The afghani naan and kabuli chana that I comforted my appetite with were so Afghani..the bread was thicker than a coffee-table book and the lentils too sweet for my taste. But because it was so different I liked it better. Shukran shukran I muttered under my breath feeling more outlandish than all my Europian and American colleagues! 

There's another posh locality nearby. That is also Jungpura, albeit epicurean in style. I picture mean lawyers and shrewd men living in those mansions. (ofcrs till I own one) This affluent section of Jungpura is predominantly inhabited by lawyers (the penguin class). There are so many firms in the cubby holes of those big houses that it's definitely a haven for any law student looking for internship. My advice: Just knock on all the doors of the neighbourhood and  plead. Someone will sure take you in. And if no one shows pity on you kindly throw a stone aiming the skies above and it is bound to fall on the head of a lawyer..haha.. :P it'll be fun. 

A few days ago I was waiting for a friend in CP. It was one of those pre-monsoon days that gave us our first taste of heavens pouring. I got down from the auto at Barakhamba Road, already half drenched, but as usual smug about my date with the rains. Acting touristy, as I very often like to do, I took many pictures of the majestic Statesman House which happens to be my favorite building. An edifice I consider an architectural marvel with its grand towers and old worldly stone yet classic design and everlasting, ageless, stark magnanimity and consummate emplacement. I stood there admiring it till I couldn't look up anymore and had to run for cover. As the rain receded, I again stepped on the pavement and took some more pics. The weather was so fine..just perfect and though I wanted to visit the Oxford Bookstore situated within the Statesman House.. I decided not to miss the awesome weather and the wonder that stood towering before me.

The Statesman House

There is more to Statesman House than just the structure it is. There is more to it and that's the reason why I'm so partial to it. It left a lasting memory once, a moment engraved in my senses and espoused in my being. It bechanced as I was ascending the staircase leading up the first floor and as I turned around I could see Connaught Place bursting with energy and spontaneity. Amidst the profusion of colorful neons and ablaze of headlights in motion, I felt the bearing of a raging awareness of raw emotion, repleting with an almost ruthless presence of power and strength. It smacked of opportunity, of abundant possibilities; of so many roads diverging and converging..of the grandiosity of life we take so granted; and the sheer magnanimity of what man can achieve. My heart thumped with each beat. And i felt freer than ever.

Gautam Bhuddha must have felt the same under the Bodhi Tree in Gaya I guess! It was a revelation of what being free meant, of what growing up felt like, of tasting independence for the very first time. I remember I came home that night and in all my newly chanced enlightenment, I jotted down my experience in a diary I used to keep back then. :) It was, and is, one of the most unforgettable moments that I spent with myself :)

So here are two of the pics I took that evening.. hope you lyk these and if you don't, tooo gooooood.. i'm mighty possessive anyway!

Standing tall

Throwing in a pic of India gate.. you have been a good reader.

India Gate by night