For over a decade now I have lived in arather messy DDA colony in Motia Khan, Paharganj. It certainly isn’t one ofDelhi’s posh localities, I have to agree, and I invariably receive quizzical,perplexed and sometimes even contemptuous glares when I give people my address.Some even ask with charming candour why I stay in such a downtown shabbylocality and don’t move to a more fashionable part of the city. Well, apartfrom the more clichéd home-is-where-the-heart-is answer, I really do believe Iam strategically positioned in terms of what the location offers me musically.
For one thing, the colony’s proximity to the popular Jhandewalan temple givesme access to the very latest on what’s new and rising on the Mata kiBhenten charts. For those of you who may not be aware of this genre ofmusic, these are prayer songs, often based on the latest Bollywood chartbustingtrack, offered as gifts or tributes to the Goddess—contemporary urban bhajans,if you like. And believe me, Jhandewalan gets the latest and the best of them!When Daler Mehndi topped the charts with his Hai o Rabba, Hai o Rabba track,I got to hear the Jhandewalan Hai o Mata, Hai o Mata version long beforeeven the bandwallahs started including it in their regular shaadi fare. And ofcourse, when the whole nation is rocking to the much hummed and widely playedand danced to Kajrare Kajrare, how could it not be offered to theGoddess? Mata re Mata re and so on and so forth well past the hour of 10,in blatant violation of the Supreme Court ruling!
Such a Dilliwallah phenomenon, isn’t it? Here in the capital of the country,laws are made by the highest court of law, to be flouted merrily and uncheckedin full view of the public and law enforcement agencies. I also find itcompletely baffling that a city that offers songs of tribute to the Goddess sofrequently and loudly remains one of the most unsafe for women. Rape, gang rape,eve teasing, abuse, murder, robbery, brutality and dowry deaths are what thecity offers to women, even as it sings out to the Goddess. Could we pleaseswitch off the blaring loudspeakers after 10, and pay some heed to the fact thatthere is no point making public displays of devotion to the Great Goddess if wecannot respect women on the streets and in our homes? And while we are at it,Dilliwallahs, how about making it easier for women, single, unmarried ordivorced, to find rented accommodation in the city?
If you are wondering why I am bringing this up, it’s because way back in theearly ’90s, when I was in my early ’30s, separated, single andself-employed, no one, but no one in the city would rent out a place to mewithout a company lease (and those weren’t the only terms and conditions I hadto fulfil) till Anita and Mohammad Merchant rented out their Motia Khan flat tome at the recommendation of Anita’s sister Gita Ahluwalia.
Thank you Gita, for proving that all Dilliwallahs don’t necessarily regardwomen with suspicion and mistrust. I hate to end on a sour note, but just wantedto let you know that I am now in my late ’40s, married, self-employed and evenhave a Padma Shree hanging on one of my walls, but I doubt that I would find iteasy to rent a new place if I started looking for one in Delhi today, despitethe fact that Ali more angana daras dikhaa jaa, one of the Indipop tracksI sang years ago, was offered to the Goddess as Mata more angana daras dikhajaa. Jai Mata Di!
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This article originally appeared in Delhi City Limits, February 15,2006
