54 august 2019
City Chronicles
Just as you can tell what city any Indian is from by
the mango she insists is the world’s best, each city’s
auto drivers have a unique way of turning you down.
We asked our readers to share with us their own
experiences characterizing their hometowns. Here’s
a smattering of anecdotes from their contributions
By RD ReadersOnly in Delhi
A city known for plain speak, but
some interrogations are just weird
I had moved to Delhi recently and was
out on assignment as a reporter. The
Delhi Police had a women’s cell that
tracked what was called ‘eve-teasing’
those days. I was seated in a police
jeep next to a woman officer, waiting
for action.
Delhi’s evil-doers were probably
waiting for the temperature to come
down a bit, so we found ourselves sit-
ting in the jeep for a long while. Like
a true detective, the officer decided to
interrogate me instead—and the first
thing she wanted to know was my sal-
ary. I tried to evade the subject, but
she was insistent. All she wanted was
an idea, she said in the end.
“Why?” I asked
“What if I want to become a
journalist?” she said.
“If I tell you my salary, you won’t,”
I said.Reader’s Digest
Several would-be molesters were
caught that evening. I wonder if they
were asked their salaries later.
—Rajeshwari Jha, DelhiOnly in Kolkata
Trying to buy something isn’t
always a City-of-Joy experience
A friend from Pakistan was shop-
ping for saris in Kolkata. There was
a bunch of passive, morose sales-
men sitting around the store that af-
ternoon, when she entered—a bit of
a contrast to the Karachi salesmen,
who were always eager and willing.
So much so that these large muscular
Pathans would enthusiastically drape
saris on themselves to display them
for the shopping ladies.
My friend was kind of embarrassed
to ask these pinched Bengali
men to get up and help. Then she
remembered that she had come
to buy some gifts and pointed to a
top-shelf piece she fancied.