“A seemingly well-meaning guy with a cloth pointed out a fresh blat of runny cow dung on my shoe and offered to remove it for me. Hang on a minute. I only stepped out of the car a moment ago and if I’d trodden on something it would be under my shoe, not over it.” Stravaig reflects on some of the more common scams in Delhi, and the economic realities behind them.
“Forget Afghanistan, forget the tensions between Pakistan and India. Forget the possibility of terrorist attacks on foreigners. And forget that they’re trying to change the right-of-way rule on roundabouts (scary!). The currently most dangerous thing about living in Delhi is the birds.” Stravaig has a brush with a pariah kite!
Primate pranks take up Stravaig’s attention in this instalment of her column about life in Delhi.
Stravaig goes to pick up an Indian driving licence – and finds the process startling!
“Some bees make honey, some bees buzz around, and some bloody BIG bees will build nests (beehives?) on your backside if you’re not careful.” Some facts of life in Delhi as seen by Stravaig…
“Although no stranger to the Indian sub-continent, I am new to New Delhi. Perhaps I should shut up and write about what I know. Rule one in any ‘How to write’ manual. Even so, the observations of a newcomer may be of interest. Let’s give it a shot.” Stravaig kicks off her column about life in New Delhi.