Avoiding their place in the sun

Spend as little time as possible out in the middle” was the advice given to the Collage Club side before match against Delhi Police Cricket Club (DPCC). On Monday, that bit of advice made complete sense for all matches being held across the Capital, in the DDCA Hot Weather tournament. On the day of the Summer Solstice — that time of the year when sun stays out the longest — the mercury read 45 degrees, while Delhi’s club cricketers slugged it out amidst the swirling dust clouds.
Most teams that won the toss fielded first without even considering the wicket, making the most of the relatively milder morning conditions. “Keeping in mind the fitness level of our players, we decided to field first since it becomes hard to field in such a hot temperature,” said Ravinder Singh of Roopnagar Club. Delhi’s hot weather season may have been designed to boost endurance levels, but the players paced themselves, committing as little energy as possible.
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In the match between Collage and DPCC, fielders were rotated and on several occasions would get off the field, fill up on glucose water, rest under the sanctuary of the roofed pavilion and reluctantly head back onto the field.
In the match between KG Colts and Roopnagar Club,the seamers — sureall as it seems — bowled spin. All these measures provided only some relief as bowlers generally bowled halfheartedly, fielders moved around listlessly and dropped catches by the dozen.
Apart from their playing patterns, players took precautions to ensure their complexions were spared the effects of heat. With face and arms slathered in white sunscreen, a cold wet towel around his neck and sunshades wrapped around his eyes, a KG Colts player was just the prototype to beat the heat. “I need all these things when I step onto the field since my skin reacts to heat. And moreover, these things provide comfort.” Bermudas and slippers remained the customary uniform of the players in the pavilion.
If wasn’t only the fielders who felt the intense heat, the batsmen too cut many ends. They scored as much as possible in boundaries, keeping the running between the wickets to a minimum. Collage opener Mukul Dagar scored 44 of his 50 runs from fours while KG Colt’s Saurabh Srivastava hit the bulk of his 117 runs from boundaries. “It is an exhausting job to run and score because one gets dehydrated very quickly. The heat accumulates and the body starts cramping, which is a tough situation to face in the middle,” said Srivastava.
The best option though, was to not get under the sun at all. Rameez Nemat, the regular Collage opener, who has been in excellent form this season, decided to stay inside the pavilion and let Abhinav Kataria go out to bat. Sitting under a fan, with his feet up on a stool, Nemat watched the batsmen in the middle. “I want to give the other batsmen a chance to bat as well,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek.
Eventually though, the situation forced Kataria to get out into the middle and help chase down the target. Under his able guidance, Collage trotted to an eight-wicket victory, but there was nobody for Kataria to celebrate with. His teammates preferred to cheer from the cool confines of the dressing room, away from searing heat.
Elsewhere, umpires Promod Sood and Moidin, on their own devised a way to shelter themsleves and the U-19 hopefuls in the trial match that was being played at the Bharat Nagar grounds on Monday. With the sun beating down heavily, and the boys complaining, umpires decided to take a break of roughly one hour, with only 10 overs bowled in the second innings. Subsequently, they took drinks break every ten overs or so.

The passing of a wrestling legend

Underneth the jamun tree inside the Chandgi Ram ka Akhada in Civil Lines, is a mounted photograph of the man in all his glory. The photograph was taken after he won the Mahabharat Kesari title, the ultimate triumph in traditional Indian wrestling. The six-footer is posing on one knee with a mace, the weapon of Lord Hanuman, balanced effortlessly on his shoulder. Chandgi Ram, the legendary wrestler and coach who died early Tuesday morning of a heart attack at the age of 72, stares out past the mourners straight into the training room of his akhada.
While the menfolk have left for the cremation at Nigamboddh Ghat, the women are silent. Many of them are wrestlers themselves. Chandgi Ram not only coached, he housed and fed a number of chelas (students), including 25 women and until a couple of years back would organise ‘dangals’ for them at the Kashmere Gate maidan. Kamlesh, the oldest amongst them at 26, says: “Guru hi nahin, voh pitah samaan the (He was not just a teacher, but a father figure)”. Two girls walk in carrying their kit bags, back from a tournament in Nainital. One of them, Pushpa, is overcome with emotion and sits silent in front of an old photograph of her Guru locked in combat with Dara Singh.
After his cremation, the men slowly start filing in. Broken noses, cauliflowered ears and bull necks abound. One of them walks in swinging a fractured leg. The muscle belies the fact that there is serious wrestling talent present. Guruji, as Chandgi Ram was known, coached seven Arjuna awardees, all of whom are present. Sushil Kumar, the Olympic bronze medalist, too comes to pay his respects.
The akhada itself is in a serious state of disrepair. The roof of its training area, a large hall-like structure is covered in brambles and has cracks along its unplastered walls. Inside, the equipment is rudimentary — a training mat and a few sparring bodyforms.
The heart of his akhada, a mud pit where students still sweat it out, is an anachronistic relic in an age of gym machines that target each muscle specifically. If the akhada is rudimentary, the tools are spartan. Training has been put off for the day. The pit is empty, and the students restless. But they are ready to get back on. Jagdish Kaliraman, Changdi Ram’s eldest son, says: “My father used to say that God has sent him for one purpose, wrestling. One of his students was forced to come for training a day after his wedding. Training will continue as usual, that is his legacy.”

Kicking football one day flipping burgers another

Bawi does not get much chance to practice for his side Delhi Cantt. Practice sessions at the Hari Nagar Sports complex are held on Sundays, the only day he doesn’t get off from McDonalds. “Sundays are rush days no one can get an off day on that day,” the midfielder explains before the start of the DSA Division A match against Youngsters FC at the Ambedkar Stadium.
Bawi, 23 came to Delhi five years back from his hometown in Manipur to live with his relatives in Munirka, ostensibly to study. “I filled up the form for the Public Administration course from IGNOU, but never attended any class,” he says. “Coming to Delhi I had to do three things — study, work and play football. I only had time for two. My parents weren’t going to send me money, so I had to work, and football was not negotiable so I played,” he says.with a chuckle
A few months after slumming it with his cousin, Bawi decided to move out and currently lords it with two others in his Rs 3000 rented accommodation in Vikaspuri. There he joined the Lengtong Club, a club comprising other North-Easterners as well some Burmese expats. Soon a friend who plays for the Uttaranchal Heroes, a club that plays in Division A of Delhi’s football league, got him a trial in that club. After a year, Bawi moved to the Delhi Cantt club.
When he isn’t playing, Bawi will usually be in the kitchen of the McDonalds, Vikaspuri outlet. “I make burgers,” he says. “For the first month I was mopping the floor and on toilet duty. Now I am a senior, so I work in the kitchen and sometimes the counter.”
His manager supports him and gives him an off-day whenever the football season begins and agrees to move his mid-day shift to a night shift for when he plays for Lengtong. “He is a big soccer fan. Some times he jokes with me saying, when you play for the Indian team, I will say you once worked for me!” However timings become difficult to manage during training sessions and Bawi says the practice session he had with Delhi Cantt before the match on Monday was his only he had in the recent past.
While he says his dream is to play professionally, Bawi adds his Rs 22 an-hour pay cannot be a long term proposition. Although Hindustan Club showed interest in him early this year, he missed a hastily called trial which was called when he was in the middle of playing a local match for Lengtong.
In Bawi’s match for Delhi Cantt against Youngsters FC, the latter team won by a solitary goal struck in the 25th minute by Rajinder Singh. In an another match, Moonlight and Veterans FC settled for a 1-1 draw.Rameez from Moonlight scored the first goal in the 20th minute while Anish found the equaliser for Veterans in the 22nd minute.

(I did'nt carry a camera for this match, so couldnt take a picture. Renuka Puri took an action shot that came in Newsline)

Another fire in Mundka scrap market

In what is alleged to be an act of arson, a fire broke out in two godowns situated on the West Phirni road in Mundka, West Delhi on Wednesday morning around 4 am. The incident takes place three days after a major fire broke out in the same area on Sunday.

The incident took place in the Mahalakshmi Plastics godown and Yog Plastics godown that were situated next to each other. Both the godowns stored plastic scrap. According to the godown owners, goods worth crores were gutted in the fire that raged for about three hours. It took 25 fire tenders, and around 125 fire fighters to douse the fire. However no casualties were reported.
The guard Makhan Lal, who was on duty at the godown Mahalakshmi Plastics said, “I saw four or five people in a car outside the godown. They threw a bottle which caught fire as it landed. I didn’t try to chase them as I got scared and thought they might be carrying weapons”. The police have neither confirmed nor denied this theory although a senior Police official said he suspected the fire to be the work of miscreants.
However, speaking on condition of anonymity, the proprietor of one of the neighboring godowns said that the fire on was started in order to drive the scrap dealers out of Mundka.
Ever since the Delhi Metro had reached this formerly isolated part of Delhi, property prices had risen. Landowners who would once rent out their land to the scrap dealers now were looking at better deals from builders. The proprietor said that this was also the reason that the previous fire had been started.
Hari, a labourer who works at Yog Plastics said “I was sleeping inside the godown when the fire broke out. I rushed out and called other labourers. We tried to put out the fire but were unable to do so as the fire was too strong and we did not have any way of knowing how to put it out”
Firemen who arrived at the scene said that they used specialised chemicals and brought the fire under control by 7.35 am. However even in the late afternoon they were putting out small fires that were breaking out from under the layer of melted and hardened plastic.
On Sunday, a massive fire ranging for about 15 hours had broken out in Mundka Industrial Area gutting an entire plastic scrap market and causing huge losses. In that incident Delhi Fire Chief, R C Sharma had said that he suspected the fire was a work of sabotage.
(Although this does not seem to be a particularly special story, I think this would be a good starting point to look into the alternate impact of the Delhi Metro)

Fire injures 17 children in West- Delhi slum

The fire broke out at a grocery where a lot of people had gathered to make their purchases.

A fire caused by a leaking LPG cylinder on Tuesday morning injured 29 people including 17 children in the AO block slum in Shalimar Bagh. Doctors say 10 of the victims are in a critical condition.
Police and eyewitnesses say the fire started around 8.30am when the owner of a grocery in the slum, Ram Bachhan was transferring LPG from a large cylinder into smaller ones in order to sell them. This was a time when the slum residents were preparing their morning meal. Eyewitnesses say the gas began to leak while being transferred and caught flame after coming into contact with fire from one of the several chulhas in the vicinity.
The fire spread along the narrow lanes of the slum injuring people, many of whom had come to the grocery to buy supplies. Children were burnt as they played alongside their mothers who themselves suffered burns as they carried out chores outside their homes. A resident of the slum, Ravi’s nephews Neeraj age 3 and Palak age 5 were injured in the inferno. He escaped as the fire did not reach his house. “We were lucky the cylinder did not explode, otherwise the entire slum would have been destroyed.”
Fire engines arrived on the spot soon after, but were unable to reach the congested area. However the residents themselves managed to put out the blaze by 9am.
The injured were rushed to the nearby Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital.
Deputy M S (medical superintendent) of Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital Dr. Chanderkant said “We received patients with upwards of 70 % burns. We have transferred the serious cases to Lok Nayak Hospital for specialised care.
Additional MS of Lok Nayak Hospital Dr. JN Sharma said “we have deputed senior specialists to take care of the patients”.
One of those severely burnt was fifteen year old Saurabh who was filling water from a pump outside his home when he was caught in the fire. The evening school student of class 8 suffered burns across his face, back, arms and legs. His parents look on helplessly even as doctors at the Lok Nayak Hospital privately place his chance for survival as slim. Some residents who escaped the blast, only heard of what happened to their family members when they came back from their workplaces or in the case of eight year old Radha when she came back from school. A class two student of Nagar Nigam School in Shalimar Bagh, Radha sat wearing her dark blue school uniform outside her one room home waiting for her parents to return. Her younger sister Priyanka, a kindergarten student in the same school sat beside her.
Radha’s sister 13 year old Arti and her mother Sunaina Devi lay alongside each other, sharing a bed at Bapu Jagjivan Memorial Hospital. Arti was supposed to be at school but stayed at home after complaining of pain having received an injection the day before. Next to Sunaina Devi, lay 7 month old Sarwar who escaped the fire being asleep in the house of a relative at the time.
Sunaina Devi’s husband Purshottam who suffered burns to his legs had been admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital. Sunaina Devi has not heard from him nor has she spoken to her daughters Radha and Priyanka.
Neighbours say with confidence that they will provide food and shelter for the two girls who haven’t eaten since they got back from school. Ram Narayan Chaudhry, a neighbor says “ Itna darre hue hain ki subah se chulha nahi jalaya. ”

( I've been covering a lot of fires in the last week. Probably something to do with all the 40degree heat. One thing is for sure- whenever someone says they wish they covered the crime beat, they probably haven't seen the inside of a burns ward)

Weeks after suicide by principal, another body dug up in compound of West Delhi school

(This is the really lame result of my attempt to do a sensational type story)

In the days leading up to 11 April, children studying in the S V Public School in Baprolla, South West Delhi, played behind brightly coloured doors decorated with cartoon images of Chacha Chaudhry, Micky Mouse and Donald Duck. Little did they know their innocent games were being played over a dead body buried just a meter below their feet.
On April 11 the decomposed body of a 25 year old man was dug up from a shallow grave inside the school compound. The incident took place less than a month after the principal of the school Pankaj Bhardwaj had commited suicide in the school premises.
The body recovered was that of Dinesh, a resident of Raj Nagar in Palam who had gone missing on 20 March. Senior police sources say they believe the principal killed the missing individual and buried his body. Police suspect that he subsequently committed suicide out of guilt.
A local resident of Baprolla, Bimla Devi’s job was to open the gates of the school for the students in the morning and close them after they left. She remembered the principal as a quiet man who kept to himself. She said that Pankaj had asked her son to dig a hole in the school’s small open area on the 17 March. “He said he wanted to bury some cancer medicines that belonged to his father. When I came to the school two days later the pit had been filled up.”
Three days after the hole was found filled up by Bimla Devi, Pankaj was found hanging from a ceiling fan in one of the classrooms. A teacher at the school, Savita Manipandey told Newsline “After his death on 22 March, his family were running the school ”
Bimla Devi’s son, Joginder said that on 11 April, members of Pankaj’s family asked him to dig up the hole. “They said that they wanted to examine the newly filled up area. After I started digging a little bit, I saw a human foot sticking out of the dirt.”
Police sources say the body bore the signs of injuries to the head as well as blunt weapon trauma to the body. Rope marks were found on the neck. Police however are uncertain if the slightly built Pankaj killed Dinesh himself or with other associates. They say an FIR has been registered today against unknown persons. DCP Sharad Aggarwal said Pankaj and Dinesh may have been known to each other as they are residents of the same locality (Palam). However he added that it was too early to say anything as investigations in the case have only just started.
Pankaj Bhardwaj’s family was untraceable.

With VAT hike, Asia's largest dry fruit market begins dry run

Weighing their options: Traders say that by increasing VAT, the government will only encourage tax evasion

Sitting in his room in the centuries-old by-lane of Katra Ishwar Bhawan in Old Delhi’s Khari Baoli, Shyam Bansal constantly looks towards the TV. He flips compulsively between news channels searching as to whether the Delhi Finance minister AK Walia will reduce VAT on dry fruits. Elsewhere in Asia’s largest dry fruits wholesale market, proprietors are hoping for the same.
In the latest Delhi budget announced on 22 March, Finance Minister AK Walia had raised the VAT (value added tax) on dry fruits to 12.5% from the present rate of 5%. “VAT was 4% before January this year. They made it 5%. Raising the rate by 1% was understandable, but a hike of 7.5% is disastrous. Market khatam ho jayega” said Shyam Bansal, the general secretary of the Indo Afghan Chamber of Commerce- a body that represents most of the dry fruit traders of Delhi. “The Government says they want to raise revenues, but by hiking the rates so drastically, they are only going to encourage tax evasion and revenue will fall.”
“We might even have to move to neighbouring areas like Ghaziabad or Noida where the VAT rate is 5%. Ghaziabad kitna time lagta hai jaane mein”, he says darkly.
Other shop owners still hold out hope. Terming the rate hike as “shock therapy” Sandeep Gupta a trader sitting atop sacks of unshelled almond from California, pista from Iran and dates from Pakistan said “I don’t think the government will keep the rates so high, they will bring it down to around seven or eight percent.”
Fearing that the proposed VAT hike would seriously affect the Rs. 1400 Cr imported dry fruits business in Delhi- 70% of the Indian market, the traders held a protest meeting and submitted a proposal to the CM Sheila Dixit asking for a rate reduction.
The protest drew not only the dry fruit traders but also the kirana (grocery) traders of the Khari Baoli who were not directly impacted by the VAT hike. “This market was established as and is famous as a dry fruits market. If the dry fruit trade suffers, so will our kirana business”
Traders at the market complain of the unfortunate timing of the entire episode. The 17 day strike over low wages and poor working conditions by almond shellers in Karawal Nagar in the industrial area of Wazirabad in February this year cost the business several crores. A previous two week strike by workers in December 2009 had paralysed the industry during one of its peak seasons (New Year).
With the government not looking to back down and reduce the tax rate, traders in neighbouring suburbs look forward to receiving business normally headed towards Khari Baoli. One of the bigger wholesale trading markets after Khari Baoli is the Ghaziabad Kirana Mandi. Local traders there believe that such a vast difference in the tax rates between Delhi and UP will encourage the dry fruit market to shift there or at least encourage the traders to open offices here. They do not believe that the Delhi Government will change its mind. A trader Shankar Agarwal says “Most people do not really care where their kaju (cashew) comes from. Vyapari hi bas shor machayenge”
However he adds that the tax would not affect the traders dealing with Indian produced dry fruits like cashews and raisins. According to him, as Delhi does not have a entry tax format as compared to UP which has a Form 38 set up, this means that traders can simply say they deal with a smaller amount of goods than they usually do and avoid tax entirely. The difficulty will be in avoiding tax on dry fruits imported from abroad, where the quantity on which tax will have to be paid will be hard to hide.
The man at the centre of the controversy A.K Walia, said that the VAT hike was inevitable. “The Asim Das Gupta Committee had recommended raising the VAT rate across India to 12.5% in 2005. At that time we were in a good financial position and so we agreed to the traders request and kept the VAT rate at 4% . Because of this concession we lost tax revenue of around Rs. 50 Crore a year. This year we have only Rs. 200 crore and we also have to pay for the Commonwealth games. We have no choice but to raise the rates” he said. Walia added that neighbouring states were complaining that Delhi was already offering many subsidies such as cheaper diesel and LPG which were unnaturally bringing down the prices of dry fruits.
The Finance Minister added that he was not targeting the traders of Khari Baoli. “Taxes have been increased on other items as well. In addition I believe that other states will also have to increase the VAT rates in their states respectively.”
The VAT rate is set to be notified on 1st April. With no relief from the government looking to come through, a combative Shyam Bansal vowed to go to the courts. “We will appeal to the court that this measure is illegal. It encroaches on our constitutional right to livelihood. There should be a level playing field. Either increase the VAT rate on dry fruits across the nation to 12.5 % or bring down the rates in Delhi.”
Only the coming few days will determine whether Delhi’s dry fruit market is headed for a dry run.

(This article was published in the Express Newsline- the city section of the Indian Express)

India won six gold medals at the Commonwealth Boxing Championship

The Indian boxing contingent won all six finals they were in. They were participating in the Commonwealth Boxing Championship. A tournament that has been held regularly for the last 5 years- this year it served as a testbed for the newly built Talkatora boxing arena.

Vijender had a tough fight against Frank Buglioni. He was bleeding from his nose within the first round but he came back strongly to win 8-3.

While clicking photographs from ringside, I could'nt see the score card. It was easy to figure out when an Indian boxer scored a point though. The arena literally errupts.

Kicking it old school

On-field medic at the Ambedkar Stadium for 60 years, Doctor sahib doesn’t plan to quit anytime soon

Barely three passes have been made in the second half of the DSA Senior Division match between the New Delhi Heroes and City Football Club, when Charles, the star Nigerian import of City FC is fouled and goes down in apparent agony. A bespectacled, big-white-bearded, salt haired old man shuffles hurriedly across the grass at Ambedkar Stadium followed by two boys carrying stretchers. After spraying Charles’ sprained ankle with Relispray, he walks a sheepish looking Charles to the sidelines.
“Sab drama” grins the 71 year old Mujahiduddin Bashi. “Yeh to bas rest karma chahte hain.(its all acting, the player just wants to rest)”
Bashi has been the on field first aid medic at the Ambedkar Stadium for as long as anybody around can remember. He himself puts the year he started as around 1962 but he was a regular at the stadium before that. A student of the Anglo- Arabic Senior Secondary School, he would visit disobey his father’s orders to return home immediately after school in order to cheer his team- Indian Nationals.
After obtaining a degree in pharmacy, he continued to frequent the stadium, until the President of the DSA asked him to do first aid for the players.
And Doctor Sahib as Bashi is now known has been fixing sprains at the Ambedkar Stadium ever since, missing out only for the odd wedding or funeral. Every day of a tournament, he wakes up at 5 am at his home in Turkman Gate, puts on his Reeboks, goes for a walk and then reports for duty. 55 year old Jagdish Malhotra, says he remembers Doctor Sahib from the time he himself was a Delhi Under 19 footballer.
Bashi points out that he isn’t really a doctor, although both his father and grandfather were Unnani Doctors from Dera Ismaili Khan in Pakistan. He provides the basic first aid to the injured- including binding broken bones, disinfecting scrapes and spraying sprained ankles, until they are taken to the hospital for more specialised treatment.
Doctor Sahib is more than a first aid dispenser. As a 1984 certificate from the organisers of the now defunct DCM tournament attests “His presence on the field inspires confidence”
Sitting in the neutral zone between the two teams, in front of a nearly empty stadium Bashi reminisces about the glory days of soccer in Delhi. He recollects the finals of the 1968 DCM tournament when the main gate of the stadium collapsed under the weight of fans trying to get in.” He recounts the time he accompanied Indian Nationals to Margao in Goa where they lost to Salgaocar in the finals of the National Second Division in front of a packed Nehru Stadium. Bashi has scant regard for the profession of physiotherapy and isn’t very appreciative of players these days either. As another player hits the ground in the penalty area, pleading for a penalty, Bashi gets up grumbling “aj kal players bade halke hain. Zyadatar to school ke hi hote hain. (Players lack strength. Many are still in school). It’s a false alarm as the referee signals “play on.”
Although Bashi has probably seen more live soccer than most people in India, he professes no desire to play the game himself instead preferring to watch. He laughs off suggestions that he might be too old to attend every game saying that he plans to quit when his body quits on him, something he says doesn’t seem like happening anytime soon. The league he says won’t be firing him as they see his duties as honorary and thus don’t have to pay him much.
The sight of a septuagenarian on the football ground inspires the usual smart alecky remarks. “Doctor sahib ko stretcher me nikalo(take out the doctor on the stretcher!)” shrieks anonymous in the stands. Bashi looks back, flashes a smile that’s missing a few teeth and yells back “arre koi nikal ke to dikhao. (lets see if someone can take me out!)”

Pune in Paharganj: German Bakery next to Chabad House

Saturday's blast at the German Bakery in Pune, is discussed at a cafe in one of Paharganj's lanes with almost a sense of déjà vu. Like Pune, the German Bakery in Paharganj is located close to the Chabad house. The two bakeries are more than just namesakes. Both were set up in part by a German named Norman who traversed India, setting up German Café’s wherever he travelled. Both serve excellent baked treats-, strudels, bagels doughnuts and cakes. More recently, The German Bakery in Pune was the target of a terrorist bomb, while 18 people died in the 2005 blast outside M S Medicos, just down the road from the German Bakery in Delhi.
Set up in 1994 out of an old Royal Enfield Garage, Delhi’s German Bakery, also known as Ajay Café is a mini United Nations. At any point of time there will be people from America, France, Germany, Israel- Orthodox Jews with their black hats and payots (sidelocks), hippies with their coiled and matted hair and sunburnt backpackers with buzz cuts, all dining in the basement eatery.
Ujala, with her matted dreadlocks and Shiva digital print T Shirt, was sipping mint tea. A regular resident of the Osho Ashram, she says “I too stayed in Koregaon Park in Pune. The German Bakery was the café where I would hang out all the time.” Ujala reveals that her friend died in the blast. “The day after she died I and many of Nadia’s friends did not cry, instead we danced in her memory”. Flying back to Tel Aviv in a couple of days after four months in India, Ujala has no doubts that she will return for the fifth time. “I love India! Of course I will be back.”
Michael is the co-owner of Bubbles, a small shop in the corner of Ajay Café that sells quirky womens wear. Walking into his shop area with a load of embroidered jeans in his hand, he looks visibly tired. He has been living and working in India off and on since 1991. Over a Danish Chocolate roll he says, “Look I’m from Tel Aviv. We(israeli’s) have faced terrorism for years now. At some point I believe in karma. If something is going to happen to me, it’s going to happen to me.”
Owen, a 26 year old University of Queensland student who had just arrived in Delhi from Jaipur- a city which also has a German Bakery. “Huge portions and cheap prices” recalls Owen. He however is unfamiliar about the Pune blast. “Pune? Where is that? Did anyone get injured? ” On being told that 9 people had died in the incident, he said “Whenever I go to a conflict zone, in the back of my mind I am kind of expecting it to happen.” Denying any change of plans he says “I was in London at the time of the bus blasts (2005). I’m not going to let a terrorist decide where I have to go or what I should do. Otherwise, finally I will just be sitting at home, and doing nothing at all.”
Over the course of the day, the Bakery does not fill up. Srikanth, who mans the service counter says “It feels strange not to be serving many people, to be sitting idle for so long.” Rajesh Kumar, the manager of the German Bakery restaurant says “After any blasts in the country, there will be fewer foreign tourists showing up here. Attendance will come down by 15 to 20 percent, but barring any further blasts, it will pick up once again.”
Ajay Agarwal the proprietor of the German Bakery, points to the 5 CCTV cameras in place since 2007 and the newly bought metal detector and talks security. He says “Inside the restaurant it is my responsibility. I can ask my waiters and managers to be extra careful, but how can I guarantee that outside in the streets, nothing will happen? Every time some incident happens, the police will step up security for a few days, but in time, things will be back to as they were.” Around this time three plainclothes policemen come and make enquiries about the guests staying in the 36 room Ajay Guest House situated above the Bakery. They make their notes in a little book, and seemingly satisfied, leave.
Just about forty paces and two left turns from the German Bakery is Delhi’s Chabad House. Two rifle totting policemen guard the entrance and refuse to let anyone in. They have not been posted recently. They have been stationed there ever since 26/11.

(This article was published in Express Newsline- the city variant of the Indian Express)

Walking in Gandhi's footsteps

The event on the 30th of January on did not get off to the best of starts. In fact the event nearly never got off to a start at all. The organisers of the Gandhi walk on martyr’s day- the anniversary of Gandhi’s assassination, said that police permission for their planned walk from Connaught Place to Rajghat had been revoked the night before. Around 30 to 40 police personnel gathered to prevent the “unlawful assembly” of the 20 or so khadi wearing grand parents, grand kids, artists and college students.
The police were unlikely to arrest such an innocuous group and finally did give the marchers permission to walk, albeit in small groups. The week before, Shailendra Unniyal and Himanshu Verma the organisers of the march had posted an invite on their respective Facebook pages. The choice of the co – organiser was an apparently odd one. Himanshu is an art curator and the founder of the Red Earth organisation and frequently organises shows and events with an emphasis on conservation.
Shailendra explained “If one looks carefully at the guiding principles of the global conservation movement such as Greenpeace, you will see the essence of Gandhianism in their actions. The small Greenpeace boat taking on giant whaling ships is a parallel to the innocents facing off with the British.” He said the aim of the walk was to get people involved with Gandhian thinking at a time of increasing suspicion, hatred and violence. “Giving lectures in a hall, or academic seminars is not going to get the common man involved in understanding and appreciating Gandhi. That’s where art can make a difference.”
The walk took the marchers through Barakhamba Road which was the site of one of the 2008 Delhi serial bomb blasts that killed over 30 people and injured over 70. It was perhaps a way to reclaim a place that had become ingrained in the public consciousness as a site of violence and uncontrollable hatred. Here the organisers stopped and placed a pair of wooden Gandhi slippers on the pavement. They invited bystanders, to literally step into Gandhi’s shoes and speak about what Gandhi meant to them.
Ashok Kumar was an office worker at the Nirmal Tower office building over-looking the blast site. He had witnessed the mayhem through his office window. “There was a victim I saw. He was unrecognisable as a human. For a long time I wondered why some one would do such a thing to another human”. His body was shaking and cheeks were wet as he stepped into the Gandhi slippers. All he said was “Respect and love every living creature.”
All along the marchers distributed marigolds, speech bubble stickers with printed Gandhian ideals and told curious onlookers about the importance of the day. And as they heard about the purpose of the day, the people, bowed their heads, folded their hands and received the flowers in obeisance. Hundreds of people must have received flowers- shopkeepers, schoolgirls in pigtails, salarymen, auntiji’s doing their weekend shopping, beggars and even a gaggle of four urchins along with a donkey they were “taking for a walk.”
A couple left what they had been doing and joined the walkers. Mohit Gupta, a resident of Meerut had just appeared for an interview in CP and was doing some sightseeing when he came across the procession. Joining in alongside he said “I can sightsee later as well, this(the march) is something I want to be a part of.”
By the time the procession reached Rajghat it was well into the afternoon. Having walked upwards of 5km everyone was tired, the policemen had mostly left. The people paid their respects to the Gandhi memorial. They then gathered in a circle and shared their experiences. One additional addition to the group was a police constable. One of those who had received orders to prevent the walk taking place. He did not say anything but appeared thoughtful. The constable left RajGhat carrying a lathi in one hand, and a marigold in the other.

Genda Phool

"Himanshu kya chahta hai?" is scrawled across the wall of Himanshu Verma's living room at his home in Press Enclave. It's a question that has immense relevance with this 29 year old "art curator." Dressed in various shades of orange, he greets us and offers us chai. His room is in various stages of chaos and is a window to a life constantly in a state of flux.
Verma is the founder of Red Earth, an organisation that specialises in curating visual art exhibitions, art festivals and connecting with people through innovative mediums like talks, performances and workshops.
Himanshu recently organised a Basant Panchami walk from Lodi road to Nizamuddin on 19th January without much advertising drew a crowd of 60 eager revelers. They sang songs, danced, did Saraswati Puja and had a special "yellow" lunch.
At his house in we see a man is weaving genda phool(marigold) into a garland. "They are my favourite", Himanshu tells us. He fell in love with the song "genda phool" from the movie Delhi 6 and has ever since been planning to start a Genda Phool Plantation Project. An incident, he says that convinced him about the vitality of the flower, was the fact that it spontaneously grew in a compost heap he had created. "The flower is a symbol of everything good and positive in life. It's a recurring icon in our culture", says Himanshu. Playfully twirling a single bud in his hand, he tells us about his plans of forming a project team that would get in touch with RWA's in Delhi and plant his favourite flower and beautify the city. He criticizes the current form of beautification drive by the Delhi government just before the Commonwealth Games and calls it "monstrous and nasty." He shows us an article and a photograph of the flower market in Old Delhi that is tobe demolished to "prettify" the area.
Seemingly attracted to environmental causes, he feels that one way to make the layman care more for the environment is by talking about art and culture rather than preaching about slogans as done by most NGOs. Himanshu however, hates being called a "conservationist". He is the man behind the very successful "Monsoon Festival" that has been taking place in the city for the last four years. This festival features many events like exhibitions, readings, films, music and theatre on the theme of monsoon.
Himanshu has made an initiative of involving school children in his projects by organising guided tours during HaryaliTeej, Basant Panchami and Janmashtami to make them come face to face with their cultural heritage.
As an art curator, he says, business is not as good as it was before recession took over worldwide in 2008. "But at least this ensured that only the truly good talent survived." he says, " I am not particularly worried as I basically believe my life is all about naach-gaana, khaana-peena, rang, puja, phool, sringar pehnava etc.( dance, music, eating drinking, colour, worship, flowers, style and dressing up)", he sums up, with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.
(This article was written along with Somya Lakhani)

Overcoming his troubled past, blind boy reaches finals of International Informatics Olympiad

"I love challenges. The harder the better"

I want to prove myself. I love challenges, the harder, the better." These are not the words of a regular teenager. Then again, Arvind Malik is not an ordinary 16 year old. Completely blind since birth, Arvind, a resident of the National Association for the Blind (NAB) defied not only his disability, but also, the actions of an uncaring school to reach the finals of the International Informatics Olympiad.
Life for Arvind has not been easy. A student at St. Mary's, Delhi from classes 6th to 9th, his years at the school resulted in once bright and cheerful boy becoming reserved and quiet. Unintentionally having taken help from his writer, he was accused of cheating in an exam and as a consequence, lost an entire academic year. "They asked me if my writer had helped me. I said yes. They punished me for telling the truth." This setback did not deter him. His subsequent admission to Salwan Public School, according to him was what gave him a "new direction in life."
The school's Principal, Mrs. Vandana Puri has been "an inspiration" for Arvind. "I enjoy going to school. It was here that I learnt HTML and MS Access within a span of just 10 days." He says. Constantly encouraged by his teachers, he mustered courage to participate in the Informatics Olympiad held in November 2009. "The questions they asked were pretty simple". With the finals due on Feb 4th 2010, Arvind is planning his routine accordingly, putting in extra hours for coaching classes organised by the school.
Arvind has not been at NAB his entire life. Originally a student of Sharp Memorial School, Arvind came to Delhi in the 6th standard. His parents, Rev. Mushtaque Malik and Rev. Neeram Malik had come across the NAB during one of their trips to Delhi.
Always a smart student, Arvind struggled initially. Shanta Rangarajan, an English teacher at the NAB who taught Arvind in the 6th and 7th standards said, "Arvind was reluctant to use the plastic Braille slates as he was used to the two - grid wooden ones earlier."
Blindness is no longer an impediment to this ever-so-cheerful adolescent.
He's excited when he tells us about his maiden trip outside Delhi, all by himself to Dehradun in a train. "I was scared, but my parents were even more worried. Now, however, they trust that nothing will happen to me. " he says with a smile.
He loves to read and enjoys Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar'. Mohammed Rafi is his favourite singer. "His voice has a lot of feeling." He says. His ambition in life is to reach out to those deprived of proper schooling.
Arvind along with his parents and teachers, attributes his achievements to his strong religious faith. As we are preparing to leave, he said, his favourite piece of poetry was one by Jagjit Singh.
Meri rooh Khuda mein magan hain ,
Jaan meri Najat se khush hai.
Mere sar ko usne buland kiya,
Ab kaun hain mera uske siva.."
(My soul is foccussed on God. I rejoice in the freedom of my life. He has raised my lowered head . Who else do I need besides him?)

(This story was written along with Shalini Narayan)

Delhi's decides to give its fitness resolutions the cold shoulder

In a rather cold January, Mind proves no match for Matter.
Gyming in January is generally a crowded affair While during the rest of the year, one sees a few, regular, familiar faces pumping iron and pounding the treadmill, January is the month that has large numbers of recruits joining, feeling the burn and then subsequently quitting.This lemming like behaviour can be associated with the resolution making fever that develops around the New Year period. There is something about the start of each year that makes people try to reform their habits and enact a lifestyle change. Perhaps due to the fat gained partying and holidaying over the New Year, one of the most common resolutions is to get fit. Gyms cash in, promising hopefuls 6 pack abs and shapely pecs. "We usually see a boost of 30 to 40 percent in new memberships in this (New Year) period as compared to other months" says Sangeeta Bist, Centre Manager at Esporta, R K Puram. Similar numbers exist for gyms in Mumbai.
It's 6 in the evening on January 18th at Esporta, rush hour by gym standards. There are just four persons working out in the 10000 sq ft gym where monthly memberships go for Rs.5000. It's a bizarre sight, but one that's common in gyms across the capital this year."Forget about new memberships, even our pre-existing customers are missing sessions. Our daily walk-in number is down to 40 from 120 in other months"says Sangeeta Bist of Esporta. A similar story is repeated at Fitness Core at Vasant Vihar, Gold’s in Rohini and Talwalkars in GK-2 market.Sangeeta blames it on the cold weather-the temperature is around 13 degrees or several degrees below normal at the time I spoke to her. "Its so cold that people don't want to get out of their beds. Even in the evenings people would rather go straight home than work out" "But the gym is heated" I say. "Arre, but par thand me hi to aana padtha hai naa?(they have to come in the cold right?)" she retorts.
The gym floors are unheated and consequently emptier at the Muscle Beach Gym in Munirka. A lone man is cranking out his reps on the bench press machine. His breath turns white in the cold basement. "Only the true hard - core fitness junkies will come these days" says Akash Thakur a trainer.Of course there are those who seethe positive side of the situation. "Usually the floor is crowded with new comers this time. Most have no idea how to gym. So it's good to have some space to do your own thing. I don't have to wait for my turn on the equipment" said Neeraj the lonely gym rat training at Muscle Beach.

Management however, is not taking January’s low turn out too seriously. I came across no special offers or discounts in the gyms I visited although centre managers at ESPORTA and Gold’s said that they offer counselling to hold on to existing customers. A trainer at Fitness Core,Vasant Vihar who wished to remain anonymous said "Right now its really cold, but as soon as people start to notice that tyre building up around their belly they are going to come. People like to come at the start of a month, so I’m guessing things will pick up from the first of February." Äkash, trainer at the spartan Muscle Beach gym scoffs at such spinelessness anddismisses the entire concept of New Year fitness resolutions. "Those who do come here on the basis of New Year resolutions don't last. If twenty such people show up on day one, I can expect only one or two to become regulars" he grunts.

Kotla ka kabootarbaaz

People say Kabootarbaazi is a dying sport. One man seems to think otherwise

Every afternoon at around 12.30, a flock of pigeons cover the sky over the Indian Express building. Simultaneously you hear a skinny man standing on a temple terrace, calling out to the birds, whistling to them and gesturing wildly. The pigeons almost instinctively know when to return and when to fly back. The entire spectacle lasts for almost an hour and is repeated every day.
The man in question is Madan Lal, a temple priest at the Valmiki mandir in Kotla. He says he has been practising kabootarbaazi for 40 years, an art he picked up from his father. Kabootarbaazi was once associated with royalty. The Mughals and the Nawabs of Awadh indulged in the art of racing pigeons as a pastime. Primarily prevalent in Delhi, Agra and Lucknow, the exponents of this art is now a dying breed.
It's a rare sight today and that's why we walk up the mandir stairs to meet this kabootarbaaz. Madan Lal flaunts his collection of 50-60 pigeons. His pigeons are not the plump grey-blue ones sitting on rooftops. They are instead bred for speed. Bought from Agra and Lucknow, the birds are exotic both in physique and colour. From the brown jarad, the pony-tailed black chotidaar to the white tailed kabuli, Madan Lal keeps them all and loves them like his "children".
His brother is sitting in one corner making "aatte ki goli"with ghee and almond water as Madan Lal shows his favourite pigeon of them all. All white with colourful tiny bangles (baane) tied on his feet; Masakkali is a slender necked, arrogant looking pretty pigeon. His feet are tied so that he doesn't fly away. A price he has to pay for being his keeper's favourite.
In between sips of tea, Madan Lal tells us that these pretty birds cost something between Rs.200- Rs.7000. "I have never sold my pigeons and I never will." he says firmly.
All the pigeons have been fed and they have had their share of freedom for the day and are ready to return to their home, a huge green coloured cage lying on the terrace. Some rebel, hop and fly a little and reluctantly follow their peers, except one. Its then that Madan Lal brings out a pair of brown jarad pigeons, kept away from the rest as the female-pigeon is pregnant. The male pigeon walks protectively around her, bobbing his head as he escorts her back to their resting place. "Yeh bezubaan hai magar phir bhi kitna pyaar dikhta hai (They can't talk but they still manage to show so much love)", says Madan Lal.
We climb down the stairs and promise Madan Lal photographs of his pigeons. He smiles returning to that one pigeon who longs to be free.

(This article was written along with Somya Lakhani)