Delhi is a huge city, but drivers seem to only know certain areas of it. When it comes to finding other places, they actually have a pretty ingenious system: they ask people until they find it. No one gives complete directions and no one seems to expect them – rather, they’re given broad directions that get them close enough to find someone who knows better than they do.
Our driver, for instance, is based in Gurgaon, so he doesn’t know a thing about Delhi. So when we tell him we want to go to Building 6 in the India Habitat Center on Lodi road, the first thing he does is pull over at his taxi stand and ask his boss. “Do you know where Building 6 of the India Habitat Center is?” “No.” “Do you know where the India Habitat Center is?” “No.” “How about Lodi Road?” “No.” “How about New Delhi?”
“That way,” they tell him, gesturing towards Delhi. So he drives into Delhi until he comes to a major crossroads, and then he asks someone else. “Do you know where Building 6 of the India Habitat Center is?” “No.” “Do you know where the India Habitat Center is?” “No.” “How about Lodi Road?” “Oh, it’s that way.”
It’s the Delhi equivalent of Google Maps telling us to turn left on Mehrauli Road. And so we go, asking people at intervals until the knowledge of the immediate area is good enough to get us where we want to go. When we arrive at Lodhi Road: “Do you know where Building 6 of the India Habitat Center is?” “No.” “Do you know where the India Habitat Center is?” “Yes, it’s that way.” And so we get to where we’re going.
