Feeling like a fish out of water (quite literally, since I do hail from Calcutta, sigh), I found myself wading through endless hours of traffic, confusing metro routes and struggling to keep up with the fast pace of life in the Capital city when I first arrived there in 2017. Floating amidst a series of assignments and a loop of examinations and living in a boys' hostel, I found my lone bliss in guiltily spending way too many embarrassing hours on social media and a string of search engines — all in the quest to know Dilli - the City of Hearts, a little better. It was upon one such random occasion of idle scrolling that I stumbled across Majnu Ka Tilla — a place whose name had only dawned once previously in my life when a certain school friend had shifted to the Capital city in 2015.

In my 3 years of living in Dilli, it was this place that became synonymous to home for me - especially during the chilly winter months, when I'd wind my way around the foggy dingy alleys of this Tibetan colony, in the search of piping hot food - yes, go ahead, imagine that fantasy land of hot, juicy dumplings, thukpas and spicy buff and pork and so much more! (Dear Lord, take me back! )

Following is a journey of my love affair with Majnu Ka Tilla through pictures (I do express myself the best through this). Come take the journey with me?


I associate Majnu Ka Tilla with winter and friends. Christmas is often associated with ‘homecoming’ and for me, I found my home in Delhi at this very place. The narrow alleys which get narrower as we enter the interiors, to the chiaroscuro between the oddly structured buildings and echoes of Dalai Lama preachings from the nearby store that actually take you away from the loud and peppy Punjabi music-infused Dilli and into a land with a strange kind of peace.

There is a Buddhist temple in this refugee colony which with its waving flags on a chilly morning will definitely wave you off on a Tibetan sojourn. The oddly structured buildings here are a result of expansion over the years. Being a sucker for irregular structures, this colony saw me getting lost and through it, I fell in love with the people, food and the music that was always lilting in the air - things which I never fully understood but it brought a sense of peace, inevitably, making me realize that meaning cannot be confined in only language itself, it exists outside, it breathes in certain emotions that cause ripples in the heart.

The Tibetan New Year — Losar takes place in February and the natives celebrate in their small colony. I had a plan of doing a story on it last year but then I got busy with a documentary shoot and could never cover it. However, February is a comfortable month as the bitter cold of Dilli is slowly replaced by good sunlight. In Losar 2018, I went to Majnu Ka Tilla and never saw that place so quiet and empty. Shops and temples were closed and most importantly, the aunty selling delicious Laphing was not there. (This is where you should know that Majnu Ka Tilla became so special to me also because of the amazing food available here, I fell in love with the Laphing, Pork Shaptak over here! On that note, do pay a visit to Tara Kafe and Ama Cafe for authentic Tibetan dishes!)

Why did I feel like home in this place? Why did it feel like a warm hug from a close one on a chilly winter evening? There were too many questions that crossed my mind in these last three years. I still do not know what the exact thing is, maybe it’s the love of the people and those happy faces.

There are two places I would happily go back to in Dilli — Majnu Ka Tilla and a dilapidated building near Vidhan Sabha. If we had not grown up and Santa Claus existed, I would have definitely wished him to take me back to my slice of home in his sleigh this Christmas.