With The End Of Winter, Delhi Shows Its True Colours

Delhi Diary By M.Santhiran M.Santhiran, Bernama's correspondent in New Delhi shares his take on the Indian capital city and its unique social nuances. NEW DELHI, March 3 (Bernama) -- The weather is certainly changing across much of north India and the testament to this is not only the rising mercury but also the changes in the attire donned by Delhi-hites. The people here are no longer walking around with their thick winter clothing, a big relief for myself as well. Youngsters can be seen moving about in their jeans and t-shirts, ladies wrapped in sarees and in "shalwar kameez” (traditional two-piece suits), while the gentlemen in their office attires. With more school going children appearing in the open, their colourful uniforms add gaiety and a celebrative atmosphere prevails in Delhi. And speaking of celebration, the first week of March is certainly a colourful week for the Indians as they will be celebrating the festival of colours or Holi. I am so excited and looking forward to Friday (March 6) to join Delhi-hites in the colourful festival. I will tell the readers how colourful and meaningful was the Holi in my column next week. DELHI A SWEET CITY AS WELL Delhi is not only a colourful city but also a 'sweet city' as it has more sweet shops than restaurants. The temptation to indulge in Indian sweets and desserts is always there for anyone living in New Delhi. And they are worth every Rupee you spend on them. The array of colourful barfi's, ladoos, halwa, rasagulla, gulab jamun, kheer and others neatly displayed on glass shelves makes one drool. Even I find it difficult to control my temptation and end up in indulging in the tempting Indian sweets despite the fact I have to keep my sugar level in check. NO HOLDS BARRED WHEN COMES TO NEWS Meanwhile, being a newsman and a foreign correspondent, the first thing that I do in the morning is to read several major dailies and monitor television channels for potential newsbreaks. Since day one, news and sport channels in Indian cable TVs have become my favourite. Debates are lively with anchors or moderators tackling current issues by engaging speakers from both side of the divide. The topics range from day-to-day social issue confronting the public to hot political or economic issues. It is amazing to see how technology has helped to link people from 29 states and seven union territories of India to air their views simultaneously on television channels. The "Newshour" of Times Now (9.00 pm to 9.30 pm) talk show hosted by Arnab Goswani is the most watched channel when I'm at home. Arnab is highly respected for his hard-hitting questions on various matters and sometimes his speakers are forced to "take cover" from his tough questions. Name calling and shouting are normal in local Indian talk-shows and things even get more exciting when viewers join in the fray. Even issues related to special lanes at railway stations and roads leading to airports to VVIPs and MPs are scrutinised. There are literally no holds barred when comes to news in India. -- BERNAMA