Just met a super courteous elderly Sikh man Sukhdev Singhji in Nehru Place after our biannual health screening, who drove us home. He broke bread with Sir Ben Kingsley during the making of Gandhi and Satyajit Ray during ‘Shatranj ke Khiladi’ as he worked for the producer of these films. He drove for 8.5 years on behalf of the Embassy of Western Sahara. We were discussing Polisario Movement and Magrebi Colonial Politics driven by phosphorus during the 15 minute drive. Some days do make me wonder about the sheer wealth of understanding academic life outside the ivory tower of Commercialization. 
Tag: Delhi
‘Tapri’ Tales: Conversations over Cutting Chai
Tapri can be identified as a humble rambled neighborhood corner tea stall which sells you a smoke, biscuits and snacks. Its significance as a locus of community engagement goes beyond the unimpressive physical confines which it depicts. This urban street corner joint is a great social leveler in which the office boy interacts with the MD as both share a crackle over a smoke, whether it is a chota gold flake or Rothmans (brands are insignificant as it is the nicotine kick that counts, right?). In aping the west, the Glitzy office blocks are non smoking zones, and even the overseas educated snobs are compelled to share the space with mundane workforce cousins of the office complex. I do not have a negative bias against smoking as I understand that it is a lifestyle choice as much as a drink at a pub on a Saturday evening.
Office Gossips and petty plans are concocted over a cutting chai in the five minute post lunch walkabout downstairs. A node of interactions with peers beyond your office floor; a quick eye to eye glance with the latest eye candy in the block, adds those microseconds of joy to ones dreaded cubicle slavery.
I do not smoke but I have been a passive smoker over the last few years of my life due to my friends who enjoy a drag. I can sense the kick which esteemed bosses have when they substitute their Cappuccino at Costa for a 6 rupees wala cutting chai. 8% of the cost, 8 times more kick with a chota gold flake. Tapri as they call the significant social institution in Mumbai sells you poha or samosa for breakfast or a quick bite in 15-20 rupees where a normal meal at a registered eatery will set you back by at least 50-70 bucks (kindly excuse the hygiene levels please). For the invisible urban underbelly that keeps our homes, offices and communities functioning at equilibrium- the tapris are a lifeline in these times of inflation and economic uncertainty.
In Delhi and in general the NCR, Tapris offer a lot more on the plate (pun intended) in terms of the fare they serve. It is cold currently in the height of the winter in Delhi, it serves one eggs, maggi and sometimes steamed chicken dumplings (momos) that makes one warm. It is a mini eatery on wheels in a way. The tapri owner is a walking talking yellow pages of the services available in the area. Well, sometimes all kinds of services, which a decent boy next door really does not need to know off.
The pulse of a community can be gauged from frequenting the tapri, whether it is the sentiment over Arvind Kejriwal dharna at Rail Bhawan or Katrina Kaif in Malang. I was pleasantly shocked that the tapri next door sells the Indonesian cigarette Godam Garam and it pretty popular I have unscientifically observed during winter. Although the barely literate tapri owner is aware that it is an ‘imported’ cigarette, it is the embodiment of how globalization has reached the urban classes in India.
The joy of a cutting chai, pani kum or strong tea cannot be equated with the inorganic finesse of a CCD. Truly a lot more happens over a chai 🙂
Why the Political Start Up called AAP is changing the political narrative in India
The emergence of the Aam Admi Party (AAP) as a viable alternative in the urban political culture of Delhi after the electoral results are out, is akin to nothing short of a small budget documentary film winning an Oscar. The author, director and narrator of the script are the indomitable Arvind Kejriwal & Co, who trounced the erst while Delhi Chief Minister by a big margin. The party that metamorphosed from the India Against Corruption aka Jan Lok Pal Movement. This break out victory gives AAP the energy to rise above the circumstantial moral authority of the saint from Ralegaon Siddhi- Anna Hazare and the NGO-esque mold. It gives the middle class leadership of AAP the critical to expand to a role to fill in the vacuum of being a proper urban political platform for India. Normal people, next door neighbour type of personalities being elected to assembly is a brilliant thing for representative democracy. AAP is a political start up from Delhi that has potential for a scale across urban centres. The biggest fall out, will the re-energising of the urban youth to take interest in participatory democracy. As I read somewhere on Facebook- ‘Greater Kailash gives lessons in Democracy 101 to South Bombay’ captures the energy of the moment. The push to move beyond social media platforms to actually working on the ground is a monumental game changer.
There are more political start ups that are reshaping the terrain of Indian Democracy. The Peace Party, The Welfare Party and AUDF are contesting for the taken for granted Muslim Vote. I welcome the rise of newer players to represent minority communities. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena may not be new as it has its roots in the five decade old Sena Movement in Mumbai, but it seems the larger than life image of Raj Saheb has enthused the Marathi youth to look beyond the status quo.
The other major political start up of the educated classes in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka is the Lok Satta Party of Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan, a MLA from Kutapally in Andhra Pradesh. This is again a NGO converted in to a political outfit. The outfit could potentially be an ally of the AAP in the South, where the linguistic barrier could be a deterrent for expansion.
The Political Start Up is a blend of two factors- a strong personality brand and approachability uncharacteristic of the main political parties. I was a sceptic of the AAP, but its direct approach is an attractive draw. More Power to the Urban Politics of the AAP.
Change Thinker 