Water n Lights

These are the fountains in Central Park, Connaught Place. The combination of water and lights surrounded by plush green grass, makes the park a great after-meal hanging zone for all who come to the various restaurants located in the market. I clicked this one just after one such outing!!! :-)

Don't Touch Me!

I read this sign on the metre of an autorikshaw. Makes sense to me and I wonder where else the sign can be used. :-)

All Men are Equal to Women

This man managed to change the definition of Gender Equality. In a line reserved for Ladies at the Delhi Reservation Counter, this man conveniently covered the board that read... "Gents Not Welcome". Since it made for a nice picture for the blog, I am not complaining. :-)

My Fair Lady

I spotted this mannequin at a shop in Laxmi Nagar Market, Delhi. It is, comparatively, a small market but has everything from clothes to jewelry to groceries. This particular mannequin caught my eye because in a market where most customers are brown, in our fair-skin-obsessed country the mannequin to attract customers was a replica of a white woman, who is dressed in an Indian attire - Saari. :-) (This one is a sarcastic smile)

Something I Never Want To Sample

This was a sign that I spotted at the reservation counter, New Delhi station. Now this is one Delhi delicacy that I never want to sample. :-)

Pumpkin Magic

In one of the busiest markets, Paharganj, on the confluence of Old and New Delhi, I saw these gigantic pumpkins. As soon as I started clicking pictures, the vendor became chatty and he told me that these were home grown vegetables and the person selling these humongous pumpkins had made a request of hollowing the vegetable and keeping the seeds for the next cultivating season. The huge pumpkins reminded me of Cinderella's chariot. :-)

Metro Station- Rajiv Chowk

This is the underground photo of what is the central point of Delhi. I tried to capture the circular construction of the above-the-ground - Connaught Place, which is a circular market and considered to be the central point of Delhi. This Metro Rail Station is called Rajiv Chowk. Rajiv is the first name of our former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who was assassinated in 1991. Chowk means a square.

Bargain Jewelery

Well this one was coming for a long time. Small markets spread across Delhi are a great place to hunt for these bargain jewelery that are great imitations of real things. Believe it or not I spotted this display not in a shop but along the roadside. The craftsmen are really geniuses for being able to create such beautiful designs with limited resources. :-)

Traffic Signal, Raisina Hill

This is my favorite traffic signal that is placed atop a belatedly constructed canopy (to match the surrounding architecture). This traffic signal is located at the Raisina Hill, or the official address of the President of India. As a child the signal held a special charm for me and over the years the excitement of crossing the signal on my way to home has remained. I never crib at getting a red light on this signal :-)

A lot can happen over coffee

I love this tag line and just to share this with you, I went to the Cafe Coffee Day all by myself. But as the line says, I met a wonderful group college goers who were very curious to know why I was clicking walls and the CCD board. I told them I belonged to the species of daily city photo bloggers. That actually got their attention. It was fun talking to them about it. If you guys are reading this, thanks for the fun time! :-)

Indian Railways Engine

This is an original Indian Railways engine that is on display at the entrance of Rail Bhavan, the building that offices the Ministry of Railways. Nothing more to write for now. Would like to share that monsoon rains in Delhi are proving a handicap for me go out and click pictures. Hopefully, I will find a solution soon.

@ Benjamin and Kris: I promise to treat you with Chhole bhature when you visit Delhi :-)

Bombay Bhel Puri

When we were in school all our India related answers began with the statement, "India is a country where the axiom 'unity in diversity' holds true". I was out shopping for books at one of the posh markets of Delhi, South-Ex when I chanced upon this lane of street-food sellers. It says "Bombay Bhel Puri". Even though, Bombay has now become Mumbai but the bhel puri is one popular chaat (snack) from the Western city that has the best of Delhiites asking for more. The love for food is surely something that unites this diverse country of ours :-)

Chhole Bhature

I thought of treating all the blog visitors with a snap of one of my personal vegetarian Punjabi delicacies on the 75th post of the blog, which also happens to be a Sunday. This is Chhole Bhature. Chhole are gram seeds boiled and cooked with an eclectic mix of Indian spices, while Bhature are deep fried highly-refined wheat flour breads. Onion chunks and green chillies are served along with this Punjabi high-calorie cuisine. Happy binging. :-)

Mobile Paradise

For a junk food enthusiast like me, this small mobile shop is a piece of heaven. The shop has all the basic food groups my friends and me rely on for survival - chips, cold drinks and water. Aside from my love for what the hawker is selling, the fact that the cart has beautiful colors makes the picture even better. :-)

Sai Baba

Today is Thursday, an auspicious day to visit the Sai Baba temple on Lodhi Road, Delhi. He is a revered saint who, it is believed, help several people living in and around Shirdi in the Indian state of Maharashtra. I have been visiting this temple since I was a child. It is a replication of the massive temple in Shirdi that is dedicated to Sai Baba. It is believed that He always said, 'Sabka Mallik Ek' i,e. God Is ONE. :-)

Bholu

This is "Bholu", the Indian Railways mascot adopted on the occasion of the department completing 150 years. This particular statue stands gaurd at Rail Bhavan, 1, Raisina Road, New Delhi. It is a very cute elephant who is dressed in the official garb of the Railway guard.

Feeding Pigeons

Feeding pigeons is an auspicious custom in India. Early morning people scatter pearl millet seeds or what is locally called Bajra for the pigeons to feed on. My friend and me often love to run on the stretch and make the pigeons fly. :-)

Chinese Lamp At Bercos

Eating out, something I generally do not do often, has become quite a norm over the past 15 days and especially since my birthday. This is a lamp at a Chinese/Thai restaurant - Bercos in Connaught Place. I was there for a colleague's farewell dinner. Had loads of fun because of the company. Sadly enough for vegetarians like me the place has little to offer when it comes to food. however, ambiance was a good substitute and I feasted my appetite with great jokes and delicious fruit beer. :-)

Cafe Coffee Day (CCD)

This photo was a long time coming considering this place is one of my favorite hangout zones. In fact there was a time when I could be spotted sprawled on the couches of Cafe Coffee Day or CCD as we like to call it with a group of friends singing, joking around or talking about matters of grave importance or significant gossip. Now, most of my friends and me are busy with our respective jobs or in some cases, marriages. But this joint signifies a great time of my life. The tagline of this cafe chain is "a lot can happen over coffee". So true.

So lets have a cuppa coffee at CCD! :-)

Commonwealth Games 2010

This is a hoarding that has been placed on a bus stop. I liked this photo because of the nonchalant man, who like majority of the Delhites has no idea of Games being announced by the hoarding or when they will be held. Even as the world is preparing for the Beijing Olympics, Delhi Government is busy preparing for the Commonwealth Games 2010. The whole city is undergoing a transformation with huge sites being turned into stadiums specially for the games. I sure do hope that India puts up a fantastic show and makes the long hours in traffic worth the while. :-)

Marathi Thali

This is a typical "thali" or platter of Marathi food, prepared on special occasions. It has puri (deep fried round bread), raita (curd preparation which has chopped tomatoes and onions), daal (boiled pulse), allo ki bhaaji (boiled and then fried with spices potato), bhaat (boiled rice), aam ras (mango pulp), achaar (pickle) and papad (poppadum). My mom had made this special preparation for a friend of mine a few days before she was to get married.

I hope the description and the photo tickle your appetite. I invite you for a traditional Marathi meal. :-)