Thoo many stains on Delhi’s fair face

You’ll find one even without looking for it. If you’re outdoors, there’s probably a fresh one right below your feet, or on the wall behind you. Watch out! the man walking in front of you might just let go of one without warning, reports Jatin Anand.

You’ll find one even without looking for it. If you’re outdoors, there’s probably a fresh one right below your feet, or on the wall behind you. Watch out! the man walking in front of you might just let go of one without warning.

HT Image

From railway stations to the neighbourhood bus stop, and from government offices to corporate complexes, that red blot of betel juice seems to be a manifestation of the city’s favourite vice — chewing the notorious paan masala and gutkha.

Age, caste, profession are no bar; everyone from MNC executives to wage earning labourers love to indulge in the “chew-as-you-go” routine.

However, creativity, it seems, flows through the very veins of these average Delhiites.

Such is the artistic acumen of Delhizens that for them, the mouth becomes a brush and a brand of flavoured paan-masala the pigment.

The municipal corporation did actually think of doing something about the problem, but never got around to implementing the Rs 25 fine it originally had in mind.

In the meanwhile, though, fresh initiates into the routine of chewing-and-spitting have continued graduating from ‘flavoured supari’ to gutkha.

And yes, they have left indelible marks on the canvas that is our city.