The constant phone calls, arrival of relatives, preparations marked the week of the wedding of Malhotra's Daughter Kashish. The whole house lit up in those fairy lights. The tents were being set up for the ceremonies which were to start the next day. Malhotra's wanted it to be a grand Punjabi wedding. Well, why not, after all it was their eldest child's wedding. All the eminent people from Delhi were going to be there. Kashish was going to marry Rohan Shah. Shah and Malhotra family were really good friends. 

While the entire house was buzzing with excitement, there was someone who was lost. It was Kashish. At one side, the relatives were busy blabbering; she was wondering where her new life would take her. While the decorations were being done, she was nervous about it all. Delicacies were being prepared to celebrate whereas Kashish was being eaten up by "what if" situations. It was natural. Though she knew Rohan since a long time but it was an arranged marriage. She had to leave her house and family, start a new life from a different end. She took a deep breath. Every unmarried girl would have felt so because leaving the people you've lived all your life with, the house where you've grown up, those memories, everything was hard to part from. 

If there was one place in the entire Delhi, which could give her peace, that'd be Bangla Sahib Gurudwara, Connaught Place.  She somehow convinced her mom and took permission to visit it, alone. The history of that place dated back to the early Mughal Era. Finally, after going there she felt as if the whirlpool of thoughts inside her had settled. She knew where she had to go next. She sent back her driver and took an auto from there. 

Chandni Chowk was the place. She wanted to feel all the emotions rushing inside her. She wanted to feel all those memories from her golden days, her carefree life. Chandni Chowk was the place where she could relive those memories.  Roads of Delhi were jammed as usual. People around her, were moving, each face representing a story, each face hiding the thoughts they'd been thinking inside. And so was she. She was happy to start a new life, but nervous as well. Standing in that crowd, she felt as if she is really insignificant, as if her thoughts and insecurities were nothing as compared to the thoughts running inside each one of those minds in the crowd.  She held the corner of her Golden bordered Red Chunni, closed her eyes for a second and felt her life go on. She could actually feel the rush. The city itself had been a mystery which she couldn't understand for the twenty-five years she had spent there. Now, suddenly moving to The States (USA) was biting her. She just didn't want to let go the mighty Dilwalon Ki Dilli, because deep inside it was her home, the place she had lived all her life, the place she would never want to bid goodbye to. She came back from her thoughts when some passerby hit her shoulder, he said sorry and moved on. This was something very common when you're in Chandni Chowk, when you are in Dilli-6. 

How could she leave this place?  Tears started making their way out of her Hazel Brown eyes, some departed, some were wiped and some met her lips. But soon, this homely feeling would go away. She would be married. 

"Does every married girl get these feelings?” she wondered.

Feeling the aura of her city, she felt like she was a free bird.  She smiled in tears and walked along the crowd.  She wanted to feel that rush, she wanted to feel her city, and she wanted to feel that Dilli-Wali feeling.

Before shifting to South Delhi, when she was a little kid who used to wear that blue skirt, with two ponies adorned in red ribbons, who used to walk down to school, this was the place where she lived, Central Delhi. While passing through those lanes, she could actually view her life which had passed, just like a movie. She remembered holding her dad's hand and going to the Pranthe Wali Gali, every Sunday. She remembered being slapped by her mother when she used to come back late from school, because she and her bhaiyya Vikram used to stop by at the Ghantewala Halwai just to savor some Barfis or Gulab-Jamuns. Her Biji's stories about the Gurus and their braveries, she used to listen to, before going to sleep was rattling in her ears. Those weekends came back flying when she used to visit her Nani in Punjabi Bagh.

Stepping ahead with a crowd, she reached outside a shop, "Gianiji ka Falooda." She went inside and ordered a Falooda for herself. The very essence of the place brought back her teen memories. Every weekend, she used to wear one of her colorful frocks and walk down to this place with her best friend, Minti. Relishing her Falooda, she remembered those "Forbidden Talks" she and Minti did back then, the talk about boys. She could actually feel Minti giggling next to her, and how after a few months, Harshit had confessed her love for her. She was a teenage girl back then and Harshit seemed to be like her "Mills and Boons" hero, specially made for her.  With every passing day, she fell madly for Harshit. One of those days, when they had an off from their classes, he held her hand and took her to a date to Karim's which happened to be her favorite eating place.

She went back to the time when she visited Purana Qila with Harshit. On the way back, they kissed each other for the first time. The union of two lovers was like the unison of two long lost souls. She started dreaming of being with him forever. As a crazy love-struck teenager, she started planning her wedlock with him. Little did she know that he wasn't the one God had destined for her.

With the school ending, the relationship she had shared with Harshit came to a stand-still. She was broken and dejected. There was this certain phase in her life when she was numb. On one of those days, she woke up from a long afternoon nap and she could feel that the solidarity had made its home inside her heart. Everything had turned it's back on her. She couldn't feel colours in anything. Her red curtains, her pink bed sheet, the table lamp, the wooden furniture, the bright kurtis, jeans and skirts lying in her almirah, they all were grey. She couldn't fathom the very change around herself. The unpleasant aura was familiar because it had already made its way inside her. Her mind and heart had already deceived her so why would the sudden transformation in her perspectives pique her. With passing time, she regained herself.

She finally recovered her lost self when she got admission into one of the best North campus' DU college, Miranda House for pursuing Economics Honours. Her dreams gave her wings. The whole family was proud of her and she realized that life had better things to offer than dating a guy, back from school. During her college life, she turned out be a confident young lady who outgrew the concept of forever love. She was smart enough to handle her own decisions and often used to help her father and brother with some deals regarding family business. Her transformation into a mature, elegant lady from an immature, young, love-struck girl surprised even herself. But she was proud of who she was. Maybe that was how it was supposed to be. Maybe in order to learn and stand up, she had to go through the pain and she was proud of it, she didn't complain.

During this time, she realized another thing. As she grew up, she realized her best friends were not the ones with whom she studied or the ones with whom she went out for shopping, but her best friend was her mother, her first lady companion. She started confiding her feelings in her mother. Her mother was an epitome of perfection for her. Happiness, tears, joy, nervousness, fears, excitement, she shared it all with her mother. If her thoughts had found their solace, finally, she owed it all to her mother. Her mornings were bright again; she was one of the college toppers now. Her evenings were spent with her mother. A very deep bond developed between the two. She liked telling every minute detail of her day to her mother. Her mother instilled a very good habit in her, that of reading. She could never thank her mother enough for this gift. Thanks to novels and the world of imagination, she got back and never felt alone, never ever. She knew what she could go home to. She confided her feelings in her mother and her thoughts were occupied by the fictional characters that looked real, every inch of them reflected reality.

The sudden increase of noise in the street made her snap back into reality. In a few days, her life might change but there was something no one could ever take away from her, those bundle of memories she had, here in Delhi. In every part of her life, she had lived it all and didn't regret anything even one bit. She was someone who had always believed in the concept of soul mates. So she believed Rohan was the one for her. Maybe it was an arranged marriage, but they understood each other well. Their compatibility was good and they had already been friends for long. Maybe one day, she would love him like the way it is meant to be. A silly smile lighted up her face. She was afraid to share these insecurities with her mother, not wanting to add to her mother’s sadness about her daughter moving to a different country.

She was about to leave the shop. It was quite some time she had left home and now was the time to get back. Everybody must have been looking for her for some thing or the other. She was about to leave when the man behind the counter said, "Dubara Zarur Ana Beti." (Come back soon, child) With a smile, she nodded.  She could not let go of this place. It was her home. Every bit of that place had an essence of her and her life. Those memories were something she would cherish forever. She might be away from her home, but her heart would be there, always. Her heart would always be in those lanes of Chandni Chowk, the hymns of Bangla Sahib, stories of her Biji, Jalebis she ate with her Bhai, classes at Miranda House, those bunking of classes to see new movies with friends, holding her Dad's hand and exploring the city, her conversations about novels and sharing secrets with her best friend, her mother. Her entire life from Central to South Delhi was something she could never forget, even if she would move to The States.

Her phone started ringing. The caller ID said, "Rohan calling".

Somehow, going down the memory lane made her stronger and a lot more confident. She felt as if some of her insecurities were fading. She couldn't thank the city enough for everything. And now, just walking down those streets cleared up her mind. She smiled and that nostalgic feel took over her. Nobody could ever take this away from her. Nobody could ever take away Dilli from her. Nothing could ever snatch those memories, those times she treasured, never ever. No matter what happens, she would always call Delhi her home. 

Walking down the streets of Chandni Chowk that day, she realized why it was called "DILWALLO KI DILLI."