A few days ago, My ex-Delhite and a current Mumbaite friend and I went to our favourite watering hole – TC. He’s now taken to calling Delhi ‘your city’ after spending more than 2 decades here, much to my chagrin. But anyway…..that’s not the story here.
It was a non-media / party day and we arrived at a time when mostly non-working or oldies like us visit a pub. Not surprisingly, there were only 3 groups of people sitting close by and the music was relatively low. Good music and a little tipple in the belly had loosened inhibitions - enough for all the people in the various groups to talk a tad loudly for me to overhear snippets of conversations.
Group1: 2 guys in their mid 20s, from a very middle class background and wearing regular striped shirts and loose trousers, talked only in Hindi. They seemed to have reached a fairly decent income level – enough for them to get ready for marriage. Bits of talks suggested that one had ‘seen’ one girl for shaadi and were discussing her and ‘characters’ of girls in office in general.
Guy1: Calling the waiter – Arre kapda maar de!
Waiter: We don’t do like that here.
Guy1: Jo bhi, table saaf kar de.
Waiter: Cleans
Guy1: Tandoori nahin hain?
Waiter: No.
Guy1: Kya yaar, humlog yahan aaye the sochkar ke tandoori milega. (It always has to be Tandoori!)
Guy2: Thik hain, phir chilli chicken de de! (And why only Chilli chicken as a substitute?)
Group2: 2 guys in their late 30s or early 40s, moneyed and confident and expensively dressed.
Guy1: MC, BC, Ch*^&^……(and strings of abuses)…..and then Shiela Dixit, ?? Fernandes and (some body apparently big) had come to inaugurate my show…(and so the name dropping game start!)
Group3: 3 girls in their early 20s probably in their first job, had come down to check the pub scenario. They were sitting closely and sipping mocktails and very naturally talking and giggling about office, the guys in the office and who said what. They reminded me of my giggly new work life days! But 20-somethings in a pub meant for 25 years and above and Only girls??!! Delhi sure is changing.
It was a non-media / party day and we arrived at a time when mostly non-working or oldies like us visit a pub. Not surprisingly, there were only 3 groups of people sitting close by and the music was relatively low. Good music and a little tipple in the belly had loosened inhibitions - enough for all the people in the various groups to talk a tad loudly for me to overhear snippets of conversations.
Group1: 2 guys in their mid 20s, from a very middle class background and wearing regular striped shirts and loose trousers, talked only in Hindi. They seemed to have reached a fairly decent income level – enough for them to get ready for marriage. Bits of talks suggested that one had ‘seen’ one girl for shaadi and were discussing her and ‘characters’ of girls in office in general.
Guy1: Calling the waiter – Arre kapda maar de!
Waiter: We don’t do like that here.
Guy1: Jo bhi, table saaf kar de.
Waiter: Cleans
Guy1: Tandoori nahin hain?
Waiter: No.
Guy1: Kya yaar, humlog yahan aaye the sochkar ke tandoori milega. (It always has to be Tandoori!)
Guy2: Thik hain, phir chilli chicken de de! (And why only Chilli chicken as a substitute?)
Group2: 2 guys in their late 30s or early 40s, moneyed and confident and expensively dressed.
Guy1: MC, BC, Ch*^&^……(and strings of abuses)…..and then Shiela Dixit, ?? Fernandes and (some body apparently big) had come to inaugurate my show…(and so the name dropping game start!)
Group3: 3 girls in their early 20s probably in their first job, had come down to check the pub scenario. They were sitting closely and sipping mocktails and very naturally talking and giggling about office, the guys in the office and who said what. They reminded me of my giggly new work life days! But 20-somethings in a pub meant for 25 years and above and Only girls??!! Delhi sure is changing.
As the night grew, people also started streaming in and the music got better and louder. We looked around; not an oldie in sight. A cool hangout place for the 30-somethings with great rock music had suddenly converted into a haven for the post-teens. When another drove of barely mustached boys walked in, we decided it was time to leave. Certain mindsets like tandoori chicken and name dropping will never change in Delhi. But we could not bear to hear the good old Rock change to a Pussycat dolls number in our favourite joint. So we left and let the young Delhites to redefine the city and its watering holes.
1 comment:
and i fear that opening up of TC now in V.K. wud further degenerate d crowd...
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