On July 5, a Lahore-based digital media manager who goes by the Twitter handle @izahshaid tweeted a quote by English art critic John Berger.
"Every city has a sex and an age which have nothing to do with demography. Rome is feminine. So is Odessa. London is a teenager, an urchin, and in this hasn’t changed since the time of Dickens. Paris, I believe, is a man in his twenties in love with an older woman."
— Izah. (@izahshahid) July 5, 2019
- John Berger
The declaration about “the sex and the age of cities of the world, unrelated to their demography” instantly got Twitter thinking. Soon, beautifully-worded descriptions of various cities began pouring in.
Chennai is a matriarch. Grounded, loved, earthy. Gives us the yummiest of food and the best of advice. Is full of stories that demand rapt attention. Laughs and cries with equal vigour. Keeps the door open for beef biriyani dinners. https://t.co/jRL5t6grPh
— Malarăsculat (@caselchris1) July 6, 2019
Delhi, I think, is lovesick student who still hasn't gotten over his first love and therefore drowns his sorrow in half a bottle of cheap whiskey every night, but he knows he has responsibilities so he gets up next morning, gulps down bitter coffee and goes to his part-time job
— The Boy Who Died Inside (@praveen_k_roy) July 6, 2019
Bombay: late 30s, jaded, bit weathered. Smokes bidis,carries pocket watches. Broods alone by the sea. Man of many talents, gets the job done. Isn't classically handsome,has strange scars, really long legs. Throws his head back&laughs. Has secrets. Try but you can't help swooning. https://t.co/GuC2pjH6sS
— Caught in a bhel jar (@Shayonnita15) July 6, 2019
#Shimla is an English lady's restless soul trapped in the body of an old Pahari woman, it misses the charm of its youth and writes fog poems for a lost lover. https://t.co/A3o4ZblhZA
— Pooja Priyamvada (@SoulVersified) July 6, 2019
Benaras is an old shayar who was in love with a courtesan in his prime and still writes love sonnets about her performance on his ghazals
— Dr Pooja Tripathi (@Pooja_Tripathii) July 6, 2019
He often sits with his friend Ganga and talks about how she used to put flowers in her hair
Ganga never confessed her feelings for the shayar. https://t.co/vDaPsMmqE7
Srinagar is a damaged teen that was abused in his childhood and also sent to prison even though he was innocent. All these brutalities and injustice are turning him into something even he doesn't know but the beauty in his heart is still alive, it's pure. Nothing will change that https://t.co/Vb2Yo3p9Qf
— Dork (@sameedshah7) July 6, 2019
However, not everyone had a romantic description of their cities. The ugly sides of many Indian metropolises were also.
Bangalore is a kid who went from playing all day in his favourite playground to put in front of a computer along with reasonably good coffee https://t.co/gTZzillqn7
— Shiv prasad (@Shiv978) July 5, 2019
Gurgaon must be the man in his late 30s/40s who thinks every he is every college girl's desire https://t.co/drlodaBIVg
— !ah sataN 🌓 (@NutAshes) July 6, 2019
Bombay is a huge rat. https://t.co/JXeTJK6nbq
— Vineeth Srinivasan (@vineeth_sri) July 6, 2019
Delhi is mostly #KabirSingh https://t.co/K4PHDoovts
— Aman Sharma (@AmanKayamHai_ET) July 7, 2019