Within and Without

It's been pretty quiet around here, not just this space, but just life at the moment. College is swinging by, one submission after the other, and surprisingly very less of the night outs, panic attacks and last minute tensions. Who knows long these peaceful days will last, and therefore taking advantage of this spare time, here are a few photos from my trip to Delhi last year. Once during the peak hot summer, and once, just at the onset of winter.

Part 1: Summer Explorations
Humayun's Tomb
The heat blazed on, and there I was walking round and round the Humayun's Tomb in the scorching heat, sweating from all the pores possible, admiring the giant mausoleum, standing tall in front of me. This monument has always escaped the Delhi Darshan* list we prepare when relatives visited us in Delhi, thus it got spared a few less tourists but we lost (many) chances to bask in its beauty. 

Consequently, I dragged my parents and my brother out here, and explored the nooks and corners of the place, the patterned shadows it casted and the its admirers.

Lodhi Gardens
The same day, at a later time in the evening, we made our way through to the Lodhi Gardens. The hot and humid air hung heavily, and the dry grass was pricking our feet. Flowers were in full bloom everywhere, flocks of crows decorated the twilight sky and the path was crowded with joggers, and pet dogs. 

And amidst all this commotion, these magnificent tombs stood motionless, a reminder of a bygone dynasty, and a mute witness to our ever changing lives.

My favourite were the painted dustbins, found all over the park! I loved them so much, I walked all over, trying to find more of them!

Part 2: Winter Bliss

Winter betrayed Mysore, and throughout the month, we were left waiting for the cold to set in. Naturally, I was excited for some cold weather afterwards, and though this Delhi winter was a big letdown, I did enjoy the street food, thick clothes, shopping and some sightseeing. 

Chandni Chowk

Chandni Chowk can be defined as a mess, or to put it in a more sophisticated manner, an amalgamation. Mess because of the sense of chaos it shoves onto you from the moment you enter the market; it's like a fish flapping out of water. You feel breathless, restless and want to jump right back into the calm waters. You (almost) get hit by the oncoming rickshaws, and get bumped around by large groups of people. But soon enough, you find your way and before you know it, you are a part of the chaos and responsible for it.

Amalgamation because of the co-existence of the old and the new, the static and the dead, the different cultures, all breathing in such a small area it is no wonder, it has created a small world of it own.

I walked through its lanes, overflowing with shops selling wedding garments on one side, and small stalls on the other. A peek through the shops, and I would spot a bride, trying on her wedding lehenga, with a fair amount of shyness and glee radiating from her face.
Goods are so cheap, I had to stop myself from buying unnecessary things. We gorged on rabdi jalebi and some very yummy aloo parathas in Parathey Wali Galli, where we sat in a small, cramped restaurant, with no space even to move our arms. I was itching to bring a measuring tape and measure the small distance that was left between the two adjacent tables. It was dream for a foodie and a nightmare for an architect!

Qutub Minar
We visited Qutub Minar on a bright, sunny day, a little bit more warmer than the other days and I wore a light pink kitchen kurta**, brimming brightly against the red sandstone monument. I must have visited Qutub Minar more times that I can count, I guess it has become more of a ritual. Humayun Tomb gets a special visit from time to time while, Qutub Minar is an absolute favourite.

I studied about the minaret's architectural history previous semester, so it became like a treasure hunt. I noticed the ruined arches, the incomplete Alai Minar, the Madrasa, the Hindu motifs carved on the pillars. It was like wiping the steam off the mirror, everything became more clearer!

Living in just one corner of the city and you never realise how vast it could be. While driving down to Chandhi Chowk itself, you drive via a metamorphosis of the city. Large crowds to small, congested lanes to wide straight roads, trees to no tress, markets varying of different sizes, some housed in a large mall, some right out there on the street. Buildings, old, new, short, tall, made of glass, brick or concrete. It's all here. Not condensed in any way, but each one occupying each own special place. Everything is within and without itself.

*Delhi Darshan = Tour of Delhi
** Kitchen Kurta = click here.

Misaeng

CONTAINS SPOILERS.
If you havent watched the drama, go watch it now. If you have, you may proceed to scroll down.

The drama opens up in Amman, Jordan with Jang Geu Rae (Siwan) chasing a man across the busy streets of the city. He's wearing a suit, he speaks English, and is in a foreign country, so we already know that there is a happy ending. Flashback two years, and we see him working at a sauna, his hair is swept down loose, his face carrying a sense of defeat. We watch him perform many small jobs, until he lands up at a trading company as a contract employee. And that is where the real story begins. 

The whole story revolves around the ongoings in the company, whether it be work, or be the people. The idea through which this is shown is simple. Pick a business item. You have some problems with it. You solve them. You move on to the next one. This runs for three to four episodes at a large. It could be become horribly repetitive for a 20 episode show, if not for its characters, who hold the largest part of the show's success. 

When Oh Sang Sik (played by the excellent Lee Sung Min), meets Geu Rae, he is furious and unable to accept an untrained and under qualified intern as a part of his team. Yet by the third episode, Sang Sik is able to trust him, and keeps an eye out for him. On the contrary, it takes more than half the drama, and after a rather awkward scene in the sauna (this scene is gold!), that Jang Baek Ki (Kang Ha Neul) asks his boss out for a drink. 

I especially enjoyed the scene where Jang Baek Ki and Jang Geu Rae try to sell socks and underwear on the subway line, and then eventually get drunk and sell it outside a sauna. I loved how this situation brought together many solutions - Jang Geu Rae learns the art of selling the right items at the needful place; Jang Baek Ki comes out of his shell, and both of them become closer, not in the sense of the bestest of friends, but the awkwardness and jealousy present between the two is erased. Or when Oh Sang Sik forces his team to drink expired milk, in order to avoid working for a new business item. These bitter sweet moments is what puts a smile to our faces. 

The only female lead, An Young Yi (Kang So Ra) starts out as a star intern, but later on suffers sexual harassment, and Han Suk Yool (the life of the drama, played by a joyful Byun Yo Han) is never given credit for he work he does. And all of this is tackled without any unnecessary melodrama. An Young Yi decides to bury her pride and performs menial task with any hesitation. Han Suk Yool does restore to some of his tricks, but decides to go against them when they backfire. I particularly loved the scene where Han Suk Yool is in a dilemma of whether to revel his boss's affair or not, and we see him keeping and removing the photos (proof of the affair) from his boss's desk, unable to decide on whether to choose his boss's humility or his own integrity. Here, we see him as a mature 27 year old, not the cunning pervert we were introduced to. 

I watched this drama after a year of its release, yes, but it was totally worth the wait. It is devoid of anything related to love, so don't expect cheesy lines or mushy dialogues or damsels in distress waiting to be rescued from the school bullies, but go for it's tight storyline and strong performances (and even for Siwan, if you don't have another reason, that is ;) )

Don't bother marathon-ing it, I took 6 months to finish watching it. You can probably take waaay less time but give time to the story and its characters to grow on you, and for yourself to fall in love with them.