The Delhi - Southie letters

So we have a lot of talk on the blogosphere and the amongst the twitterati on why this open letter was written and why it should not have been written. 

I have read the reply from the Delhi Boy… and also from the Mad Momma… and I still am not sure why she has written this letter. Very evidently someone did tick her off. But, what all she has said there is something which most people know. There is that section of Delhi which she describes, and there is also another which does not fit into any of the categorizations which she has made. 

I have lived in Delhi for 6 years and I have positively loved the city. I love the late nights, the wide roads, the metro, the shopping paradise and I will not fail to add that I do agree it is not the greatest place for a woman to walk about on the streets or take to public transport without thinking twice. The metro has made things better with the women's compartment in the recent times. Anyhow, as everyone says, why judge a book by the cover? How can you say the whole city is so bad if you are going to base your one interaction with a non-so-great punjabhi guy? I have also come across a fair bit of well -read and not - so well - read punjabi folks… but that does not make the community as a whole this way or that. 

I am a true blue Malayalee and I have married a Delhi born and bred UPite. And, I met him at Bangalore, so does that make him any less a Delhite or a UPite? I do not think so. In fact I feel one tends to be more in touch with the roots when you live away from the buzz of community on a everyday basis. This is just my theory, and need not be true in any manner.

Anyhow, another thing which made no sense to me, is the upland English status. Where did you get that from? I know enough human beings who belong to Delhi and who speak perfectly good English, and what would be the idea behind saying that a region produces bad English speakers. Every region in India has a dialect of English and also an accent which needs to go. In fact when many of my friends used to say that I have a tinge of a Malayalee accent, initially I used to take it with a pinch of salt, and many a times, even countered demanding some explanation with examples. But, with time, I have seen that it does not really matter. Everyone has those accents, and the ones who try to camouflage these accents with the American/ British accents sound truly funny to me. What is the harm in being true to your roots? Even some Madrasis have an accent which is quite distinct, so I would not go to the extent of saying that all Madrasis have an accented English! 

There is also some humor which she has ride to infuse, but then hitting on family members is not a great way of doing it. If these are views which are written on a fun note, then great… which to an extend I do think… as you can see from reading the authors comments, but s I said… maybe the humor should have been rightly hit....