While I was waiting for the money change office next door to be restocked with rupees, I had lunch. Four of these Punjabi deep fried spicy potato balls cost 90 rupees, about $US 1.30. I originally noticed the locals snapping up servings of fried puffed dough, which the Dilli-ka-chaat street food vendor punctures with his finger then fills with a small scoop of mixed spiced vegetables swimming in a cold minty broth. I had no idea what it was called, but I accidentally got given one for free, while waiting for my aloo somethings to heat, as the stand was doing a roaring trade. I found a bench in a nearby park as a lunch spot. Park benches are as rare here as they were in China. And the M Block market strongly reminded me of going shopping in Tongling. Same crazy near miss traffic, horns honking as they pushed through, same scruffy street dogs, covered ceramic tile sidewalks cluttered with street side tables of cheap goods, litter and mud puddles in the ripped up street itself. The one difference is that Indians at least drive in one direction. It's uncanny just how like China it feels, and that familiarity is comforting.
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