Book: Dilli to Pagal Hai (Shivjeet Kullar)

The story of buying Dilli to Pagal Hai (DTPH) is interesting. I was in the Bangalore Book Festival, which is running from 6th to 15th November, 2009. I had been through the bookfair and was tired, having a plain Dosa and Appy while my friend told me that we had bought total 13 books. And then, I decided it wasn’t a good number and we needed to buy one more. The reason that was running in my mind was that I was already running behind my schedule in completing 50 books for the year and didn’t want any bad signs. So I once again entered the Hall 2, where books were on display. I had thought of buying a book from The Times Group stall and this time it caught my eye which it had missed the last time (yeah, they’re no Arjunas, they miss the eye of the customer they have to fish) and finally, after loving the title, the cover and part of first article, I bought it.

I do not know if it’s exactly a book review, but now that I have almost finished the book and even the story of how-I-got-this-piece-on-my-hands, it’s very normal that I tell you how I liked the book, or am liking it as there are still 20 pages remaining.

Well, had it been a novel or something, I would wait for those 20 pages to finish too. But the book happens to be a collection of one and half page (of the book, of course) articles that are quite similar in nature and after reading almost 90% of them, I am good enough to write a review, until there is a surprise at the end, which, in utmost probability would not be there. In case it happens to be there, I can always append the post and tell you what’s new or write a whole new post named part 2, the way producers run their hit movies nowadays.

OK. So this book is about Delhi. Delhi and Delhites. And Punjabis. Because Delhi is a city full of Punjabis and at the same time Punjabis generally are a variety many writers and joke-makers earn their bread through. So the book starts with an ABC of D(elhi) where the author Shivjeet Kullar (should have been Khullar as per my experience but then a misplaced H can make a clay-tea-cup pf yours, so maybe the guy changed it) has written a lot of daily-usage dialogues and intended, unintended and pretended puns about the Delhites. The book has a number of things many non-Delhites take their lives to understand and hence the book can be used as a guide to Delhi for lesser-knowers.

Getting into review mode, I’d say the book is quite interesting in the start and makes you laugh time and again. But then, things start getting repetitive and finally there is a time when you wait for something new and good to come, or for the book to end.

As far as the matter is concerned, the book has portrayed the daily habits of typical Delhites from a different view and the selection of words makes you think and laugh. Though there are certain subjects that go overboard as the writer keeps tracing his pen on the same topics repeatedly. For example, there are at least five articles on Page 3 alone that makes you feel strange, especially when almost all of them appear together.

Still, overall the book is a worth read. Especially for those who have been in Delhi and seen it closely, it is going to be a good experience. Try the book, you will surely laugh at first. Leave it if you start getting bored beyond limit. My limit hasn’t come yet though.

Tags: book review, Delhi