Capitalistic musings

sometimes i wonder "why is delhi the capital of our country? " according to me, a capital should have certain attributes which should reflect the nature of the country and it should also set standards in some other areas. if seen through this prism delhi satisfies on some counts and fails miserably on some others. i have come up with a list. lets see how i fare in my analysis:

1) Pluralism: we have had this concept drilled into our 'accept what is told by ur teachers as gospel' brain that india is a sovereign, secular, socialist democratic republic with some fundamental rights assured for a citizen and most important, its a country where unity in diversity flourishes and it has the name sub-continent blah blah blah. in this sense yes, delhi satisfies my definition. you will find many many people from many different parts of india. we have the tamils, telugus, malayalis, kannadigas, marathas, gujaratis, bengalis, NE Indians etc. people live together harmoniously without any animosity (apparently). but the usual back-bitching goes on. so, on two counts delhi satisfies the criteria...it mirrors the pluralism that is india and has many different linguistic groups of people living in harmony.
2) Good roads: whatever you may say about delhi, you got to accept its excellent network of roads. it is termed bad by international standards..then if i am asked to comment on the state in other places...all i have to say is 'God save the other places!!' You have to see the roads which are broad, well marked with proper signs. the flyover network beats them all. well, in this sense it sets a standard for other places to follow.
3) Eateries: As far as food is concerned it mirrors the pluralism in food. you only have to go to dilli haat to get a first hand experience of this. but make sure you have enough cash with you.
4) Low cost markets: haven't seen such pocket friendly markets anywhere. heck, the items available here would even put the malls in gurgaon to shame.
5) an already established administrative mechanism consisting of buildings, administrative culture, established head quarters must surely tilt the balance in favour of delhi.
6) proximity to the major army units - Mhow, Beas, Bhopal,Amritsar, Ambala, Jodhpur..these are all major cantonments. quite useful in case of any rebellion in the capital. another advantage is that they can also be used a strike corps against our enemies (i will be a bloody 'sinner' if i mention their names in this era of bhaichara)..

seen from the above angles, delhi surely deserves to be the capital of the country. but there are other points which i would like to list and would like you, my dear reader to ponder over them..
1) should the capital also bear the title 'the rape capital'? check this link for some 'revealing' statistics http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/12/stories/2005081213400100.htm
2) should a capital have the highest incidence of traffic violations, road rage etc?
3) in my estimate this is the rudest city in india. so...................(case in point: people fling across the balance cash in a shop for example, whereas down south it is given to your hand)
4) the most money minded city in india where people will do anything for money.

nothing more to say folks. i personally dont know if i have a right to make such comments because i have never belonged to a particular place so that i can imbibe the ethos of that place. bangalore does comes close on that count. i just dont have the feel for any place. i also dont get very passionate about any place. in this regard i would like to quote a dialogue from 'The Shawshank Redemption'.
"I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."

i only hope somebody feels like this about me.
i am an everybody who is a nobody. guess thats what settlers are doomed to. a life without identity. maybe my kids will be the caged birds. thank god, its not me!!!!