Chapter 1

                                    

                                              
Abduction
Aafiah:
Staying locked inside my hotel room for a whole ass week after my difficult landing at Delhi Airport was definitely not what I was looking forward to, but I had no choice. The trip itself was a risky one and I knew it very well already but the problems would start right at the moment I set foot on Indian soil was not what I had anticipated. I should have known better. I should have got the sign when my visa application got rejected two times before finally getting accepted. It was still a miracle as to how my application got accepted because neither I had any medical grounds nor any business here. Heck, I didn't even have any relatives here that I would be visiting just because we got separated during migration in 1948. I had a few acquaintances from entertainment industry online but that was all. We weren't close enough to sponsor each other for trips. So yeah, my visa was purely by luck.
Or should I say bad luck? 
I barely knew anyone here and was too scared to go out alone without any guidance about how to deal with a situation like this. Moreover, I had heard travelling alone in Delhi was a risk in its own. 
However, 'Adventure' was my second name. Actually, everybody else likes to call it 'Trouble' but I like to name it as adventure because Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. [You only live once.]
I was sick of staying in a single room and just ordering food so I decided to let it go. 
Taking a nice hot shower, I changed into my pastel blue embroidered kurti with navy blue capri pants and sneakers. I grabbed a silk tail scrunchie and half catched my hair letting rest of the loose curls dance freely around my shoulders. Tying a multi coloured scarf around my neck and grabbing my camera bag, I headed out, ready to take on the challenges of this new place that I wanted to explore since a long time. I had my money with me so sight seeing wasn't really an issue for me. I had always wanted to roam around in the Delhi streets, relishing the typical street food and taking lots of memories with me. As a student, I had read about the rich Mughal history of this city and all the monuments built here. I remember my 10th grade Urdu books had a lot of writers originating from Delhi and Lucknow. Also, the famous Urdu poet Ibrahim Zouq's unmatched love for Delhi really made me eager as to what this place was really like. I wanted to see and experience it all. Finally stepping out of the hotel and taking an auto rickshaw, I set off on this new adventure. It was a breezy day and I was loving the weather and the fresh air hitting my face. 
"Bhaiya! [Brother] Take me to all the famous places in this city and also the places where they serve the best Delhi food. I am a tourist here so take me to the best places and don't worry about money. Today I am your only customer." I told the auto driver excitedly. 
"Aap chinta mat karo madam." 
[You don't worry ma'am.]
He was more than glad to show me around the city and even told me that I was a guest so I didn't need to pay but ofcourse I couldn't do that. 
First he took me to Qutub Minar and Red fort. Qutub minar is a part of the Qutub complex which houses probably the oldest surviving mosque of subcontinent. It was built as a monument by Qutub ud din Aibak, the first ruler of Delhi Sultanate around 1192. As for the Red fort locally called as the Lal Qila, it was built in 17th century by the fifth mughal emperor Shahjahan. It has two gates. One of them is Lahori Gate which is named for its orientation towards Lahore in Pakistan. Its the main one. The other is Delhi gate. Both of these gates were used by commoners whereas another gate called Khizri gate was used by the emperor. The fort houses many other structures such as Mumtaz Mahal and Diwan e Aam which was mainly the food court.