SUMMER FLOWERS

A scorching summer noon! Our car screeched to a halt at a traffic light. The car AC was ineffective in the boiling heat. Sun’s sizzling rays struck the charcoal bed of the road like lightening and shot back thousand prismatic shards dazzling the eyes. The tinted glass windows were a lame excuse for the heat and the light not to sneak into our car. We sat inside the blast furnace sweating and fuming as the signal took its own sweet time to change.

Suddenly a strip of a figure sprouted from the pavement, jumped sprightly on the road and broke into a dozen somersaults amidst the rows of waiting cars. After completing two rounds of sprints she stopped near an SUV and begged for alms to the driver. The car windows of the big monster (read SUV) were open. I could see the driver engaged in a light conversation with the girl not more than seven or eight years old. Her hour glass like figure and kohl laced eyes could be an envy of any girl her age.

From the wordless gesticulations I could make out that the man behind the steering wheels refused to give her money on the pretext of not having any change. All of a sudden the man threw back his head and laughed. The girl smiled too and headed towards the other cars. I wondered whether it would be correct to hand over a few coins in those soft palms. This was not begging. She was asking payment in lieu of her performance though uninvited. I wished some resourceful entrepreneur or NGO could explore the possibility of utilizing the untapped potentials of such nameless artistes going waste at traffic signals. In this country of teeming billions such unidentified talents were not rare. Perhaps giving them alms might crush their desire to move further forward. Was there really any future of these unknown performers who scalded their limbs on seething asphalts to earn a few coins from an unwilling, impatient audience?

As my mind raced from one thought to the other, from one possibility to the other, from one regret to the other, the traffic lights changed colour and our car swiftly swerved towards the left. I tried to see the summer flower blooming on her own, without the love and tenderness of careworn hands in the midst of thirst ridden, sun baked dunes. But she was busy kissing the fiery roads bent on all fours oblivious of a pair of misty eyes which were riveted towards her. As our car dashed through the traffic I gradually lost sight of her but her burning image stayed with me for a very, very long time reminding of many more summer flowers that I had seen strewn carelessly on the road side by unknown hands who had scripted their fate with charred quills.

OOPS........SPLOTCH...........................OH!

It rained throughout last night. 5.30 in the morning as I stepped out of my house to walk my pet….splotch…………Oops……Oh! No, not a puddle but almost a pool of water right in front of my flat (ground floor) and that too over the manhole. The manhole did not look blocked but the water was also not passing through either. As a result, the much dreaded water logging. Time ticked by and the day cleared a bit; but my attention kept on getting diverted towards the water pool. For once, I was not enjoying the incessant rainfall. So, I did the next best thing. I went out (my backdoor opens to the staircase) and observed the water level going higher and higher till it almost touched the foot of the stair where I was standing.

Almost a year back, we had a similar problem minus the rainfall. Our shaft would remain full of stagnant water for days. As a result, a foul stench persisted and permeated inside the flats. Above all, we had a liquid den of all kinds of water borne diseases ready at hand. Moreover, due to the water chocked shaft, the Delhi Jal Board representative refused to enter the premise and check the water meters. So, we were getting provisional water bills with constant stinkers from DJB to get the shaft cleaned.

But mere cleaning would not help. As we cleaned, a few days after again the shaft got filled with water. On investigation, I learnt that it was the handiwork of the garden rodents who playfully scraped huge mounds of soil underground blocking the drains. Our block is dotted with parks, small and large. The rodents would be scampering everywhere freely! The solution was replacing the age old cemented drain pipes by PVC pipes. The cemented pipes had been laid at the time of construction of these flats (almost twenty years back). These therefore had developed cracks and breakages having not been repaired / replaced since then. This pipe also connected the shaft to the main outlet i.e. the manhole.

As this was a major repair work, I approached the RWA (Residents Welfare Association) who advised me to inform the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) as repair of drainage system was their designated job. They helpfully gave me the mobile number of the JE (Junior Engineer) also. But JE had a different story to tell when I rang him up. I was enlightened that MCD’s purview of repair work begins when the manhole starts overflowing. Since, just water was coagulating inside the shaft and there was no overflow outside, the repair job did not fall within the ambit of MCD’s work! He suggested that I got the job done through a private party.

Since, it was a common problem, the residents of our building got together and finally one Sunday the work started. In order to replace the pipe, the road had to be dug up. Some thoughtful neighbor seeing the labourer digging the road complained to DDA (Delhi Development Authority) who quickly sent their representative accompanied by a Police Constable.

The DDA official accused us of committing an offence of digging the road which residents were not permitted to do. He said it was illegal and that MCD should have been entrusted the job. As I had taken the initiative, I informed the official what had transpired in the conversation with the JE. On hearing my story, they fussed a bit over the issue, mildly though. Even if they had any ulterior motive they could not vocalize the same being confronted by a lady. Ultimately, it was with the united efforts of the residents that the repair was completed.

Thereafter, almost a year has passed by but I have not seen any MCD personnel coming and cleaning the manholes which should form part of their routine job with or without any overflow. No wonder then that we have to now spend the days with crossed fingers that the rains should recede fast so that we are saved from water logging and flowing inside our flats.

My question to all of you is what is this? Apathy to work? Callousness? Or just another instance of moral corruption – taking big fat salary home at the end of the month with meager or next to nil output?

And as I post this Diary, it’s still raining………..

God Help Us!

CITY DIARY - III

I was super excited with my transfer from Noida to Delhi after 8 long years. Though a Delhite must get used to the expansivenss of the idea of residing and working within the NCR, it was more than a psychological relief when I was posted back in SCOPE Complex,where I was based eight years back. Delhi meant lesser commuting time, easier departure schedule from home to office, more time with family and less tension (of transport) when working late in office. I was sadly mistaken. SCOPE of eight years hence was a rude shock. I was unpleasantly surprised to see the serene and organized landscape of SCOPE marred by potholes, bad roads, disorganized traffic, scanty parking space and the resultant haphazard spill over of parked vehicles on the main roads, in fact, wherever, there was an iota of space which could be grabbed. As a result, just to move in and out of the Complex every morning and evening is an exercise in dilligent and time consuming maneouverings. Nowadays, it takes equal time, if not more, to commute within Delhi as it takes from Noida to Delhi by road. To top it all, a sudden downpour or the monsoon bouts and indefinite stranded existence in claustrophobic interiors of public conveyance is an invariable consequence. To add to the misery is the multiplicity of constructions, road renovations etc taking place in view of the upcoming Commonwealth Games. This is not the Delhi I knew. At the same time, it is also a fact that it doesn't take much time for the city to bounce back to shape. We have seen that happening earlier. So, however, slapshod, disruptive and disorderly the makeover exercise may be, we hope to see a more beautiful, organized and upbeat Capital in a few months to come. Till then patience must prevail.

CITY DIARY - II

Being the Godmother of all stray dogs and puppies in my locality and having a pet of my own, I happen to frequent the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital for Animal Care more than I care to visit any other Hospital. In the beginning, I had a few misgivings about the kind of care and sevices which would be provided there. But these soon dissipated. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Vets dedicated and caring and the assistants efficient and helpful. Though, the Hospital needs to be updated to a large extent in terms of beds, equipments, etc. But even within the limited infrastructure, the services rendered are exemplary. It is here that I also realized how much Delhites love their canine friends. On one such visit, I found two young girls bringing in a dehydrated, emaciated puppy who naturally had to be put on glucose. The OPD having limited beds which being all occupied, the puppy was laid on newspaper sheets on a stone bench outside the OPD building with the glucose bottle hung by the branch of the tree next to it. The two girls spent hours fanning the puppy and driving away the flies. The doctor took several rounds to see how the puppy was doing. It was a very touching scene which brought tears to my eyes. During the same visit, I found a father and son bringing in an adult stray dog wrapped in quilt for treatment. Most probably the dog had a leg injury and was bodily carried in. I also found families donating quilts, mattresses and other items so that the inmates could be provided with proper beddings. I have heard that the hospital receives large fiscal donations as well which I only hope are properly disbursed towards better facilities and medical care for our animal friends.