Sunday morning and my Ray-Ban (r)

Some very rich Delhiites you recognise when it comes to ordering something in a café, or even better, in a lounge bar. There is a specific and special kind of affluent delhiite who cannot refrain from showing off, piling up pretentious amendments to the menu. You can easily find three women at Barista Crème in South Ex. Part 1 in New Delhi, the first asking with a Queen’s English very much pinched accent: a very cold drink but with “less ice”; the second, slightly older, opting for a cappuccino “extra sweet, please, I mean with extra sweet but not white sugar” and the third one, a middle-aged woman, asking for an amaretto flavoured cappuccino with cream, but with “a generous hazelnut chocolate fudge in a separate glass”, almost a fetish with which to indulge for a little half an hour of sheer pleasure, pouring the precious liquid little by little in the extra-large cup of coffee.

This morning it was the third time I went to that bar, one of the best where to get a very nice hot drink in a freezing sunny Sunday morning in Delhi. Under a deep blue sky (how long since last time I saw one, instead of the grey and misty pollution cap?) I was hiding my face under my 70s fake Ray-Ban sunglasses paid 200 rupies (not even 4 euros). I felt cosy and warm in my jacket, the sun hitting my face.

Then I sat at a table and I opened my Sunday HT (Hindustan Times). I usually read The Hindu, an independent high-brow and very good daily paper, yet my newspaper reseller decided it is not worth having it only for me and (I guess) few other high-brow people with fake Ray-Ban sunglasses on Sunday mornings - so he doesn’t have it any more. What a pity, though. Now I have to cross the ring road using the pedestrian subway and get to South Ex. Par 2…hard life indeed.

Anyways, on page nine (nothing to do with page 3 of the Sun, trust me) I found the photo portrait of a nice old lady, i.e. Sheila Dikshit, the Chief Minister of Delhi…for the last nine years. The header goes like this: “9 years in office ‘I admit that it gets boring occasionally’”. She’ll face the electorate once more next year. She’s planning to go to the voters with the achievements of the last 9 years.

How can’t you love this country on Sunday mornings, and the rest of the week as well?