WHAT TO DO ON BORING DELHI AFTERNOONS

Astha Kapoor

It was 4PM on a lovely September afternoon. My classes were over and I was bored of the coffee-with-friends routine. My friends and I have often lamented about how there is precious little to do in Delhi. “If I don’t want to go out and wine and dine with friends, then what do I do with my time?”, we’ve repeatedly exclaimed. Films are expensive and often boring, parks have been overtaken by love-struck couples and even Appu Ghar is shut!

On that September afternoon, out of sheer boredom, I started drawing up a list of things I could do.

1) Read

Out of question! It’s 28 degrees outside and I just cannot bring myself to sit indoors amidst musty smelling books.

2) Take dog to vet

Whining dog is worse than musty books.

3) Bar hop

Depressing if done while the sun is still shining and the bartender is still setting up.

4) Gym

Haha!

5) Museum tour.

I heard that NGMA has an interesting new exhibit. It also shuts at 5pm. 

6) Practice headstand

A.K.A cure for the bummed out brain

The list only annoys me further. How can there not be anything interesting to do in one of the oldest cities in India? Somewhere along the way, I digressed to an old habit, Facebook. I started searching for classes I could take. Maybe learn Spanish or Urdu? Or Jive or Salsa?

I was a little skeptical going down this path. I had taken a salsa class once, but it was mediocre and I took it only because it was nearby. I’ve also called off 2 attempts to learn a new language because I could not find the right person to teach me. My guard up, I started exploring for teachers on Facebook. There were so many options that it was difficult to tell the good from the bad. In the absence of peer reviews and full information, I had almost given up my search when I landed on SkillHippo’s page.

Skillhippo was the one-stop shop I was looking for. It helped me explore the different skills I could pick up. All the information I needed was in one place and the peer reviews made it easier for me to figure out what to do.

Thanks to SkillHippo, I’m now spending my free afternoons learning new skills instead of bumming around.