[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":1275},["ShallowReactive",2],{"tag-new-delhi":3},[4,115,252,393,477,540,669,751,768,839,929,1045,1123,1209],{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"date":100,"description":101,"extension":102,"image":103,"layout":104,"meta":105,"navigation":107,"path":108,"seo":109,"stem":110,"tags":111,"writer":113,"__hash__":114},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion.md","A needle in motion",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":96},"minimark",[10,14,20,23,29,34,46,49,53,56,60,63,66,69,73,76,79,83,86,89,93],[11,12,13],"p",{},"I have no way of being able to verify this, but I think I was the first ever customer at Juggernaut.",[15,16],"blog-image",{"align":17,"alt":18,"src":19},"right","Juggernaut Restaurant","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion\u002F1.jpg",[11,21,22],{},"Some time in (July, was it?) 2017, I remember spotting their facade – a piece of Wes Anderson transported to Kailash Colony – while walking through the market, early in the morning.",[24,25,26],"blockquote",{},[11,27,28],{},"\"Are you a restaurant?\"\n\"Yes, its our first day, and you're the first customer. We open at 6 in the morning.\"",[15,30],{"align":31,"alt":32,"src":33},"left","Restaurant Interior","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion\u002F2.jpg",[11,35,36,37,41,42,45],{},"They did a little ",[38,39,40],"em",{},"aarti"," and some ",[38,43,44],{},"tilak"," and sent me up, to the dining area. Were they saying that to make me feel important? I don't know, but I have no difficulty in continuing to believe it.",[11,47,48],{},"That same year, I remember reading about \"Delhi's new 'Central Park'\" – still under construction, about to be inaugurated. A weekend back from college would have to be dedicated to its exploration. I showed up to find an entirely novel experience: a public space built with utter love and adoration for the city, and utmost respect for the average citizen who would, sometime in the future, walk its lawns.",[15,50],{"align":17,"alt":51,"src":52},"Sunder Nursery","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion\u002F3.jpg",[11,54,55],{},"This past winter – my first \"normal\" one in the city since I returned to be a full-time resident in the summer of 2020 – has been a chance to feel some familiar old feelings: the shockingly cold mornings, the glorious afternoon sunshine, and the warm embrace of the Metro system.",[15,57],{"align":31,"alt":58,"src":59},"Delhi Metro","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion\u002F4.jpg",[11,61,62],{},"What has been striking is how much of the new there has been to welcome.",[11,64,65],{},"The lines of the Metro have now combined to form a mosaic; a new city within Delhi, the latest one on the city's palimpsest.",[11,67,68],{},"Juggernaut has now successfully dethroned the neighbouring Big Chill from its perch atop the most sought-after table in that market. I say this with confidence: a recent chilly Sunday night saw a friend and I wait for a table for more than an hour.",[15,70],{"align":17,"alt":71,"src":72},"Park Walkway","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion\u002F5.jpg",[11,74,75],{},"Sunder Nursery is now a cultural movement: abuzz and alive with energy no matter where you go. Events of a nature previously unseen in the city keep popping up within its boundaries every time you visit.",[11,77,78],{},"In general, life in an Indian city presents sufficient evidence to inspire pessimism even if one isn't looking for it. Recently, though, an opposite experience seems to have begun to occur: moments of pleasant surprise. Outdoor spaces almost reminiscent of the first world; pedestrian walkways built with care and respect; mixed-use development in pieces of land familiar to the mind as dump yards.",[15,80],{"align":31,"alt":81,"src":82},"Public Space","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion\u002F6.jpg",[11,84,85],{},"There is a regularity to these moments of surprise which suggests a pattern; a pattern which has birthed hope.",[11,87,88],{},"This is not to say that I am predicting the rapid emergence of this city as a world-class capital in the near future, or that there isn't sufficient evident to inspire pessimism in those looking for it. After all, we only look at the world as how we are – not how it is – and at a less flowery juncture in life, perhaps I would be on the side of the pessimists.",[15,90],{"align":17,"alt":91,"src":92},"Cityscape","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion\u002F7.jpg",[11,94,95],{},"Till then, however, I remain cautiously optimistic: I am careful not to call this a transformation; but to be able to witness a needle in motion in the right direction – in a city whose fate I am so inextricably tied to – is a joy which defies expression.",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":99},"",2,[],"2023-03-13","Of optimism, realism and a joie de vivre","md","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion\u002Fcover.jpg","default",{"comments":106},[],true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion",{"title":6,"description":101},"blog\u002Fa-needle-in-motion",[112],"New Delhi","Auraq staff","qF64LFmLanSM7DkYkBKITxQRgMb4QaWSXCqpKVD_7a0",{"id":116,"title":117,"body":118,"date":241,"description":242,"extension":102,"image":243,"layout":104,"meta":244,"navigation":107,"path":246,"seo":247,"stem":248,"tags":249,"writer":113,"__hash__":251},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss.md","An Insidious Loss",{"type":8,"value":119,"toc":239},[120,123,127,130,133,137,140,143,146,150,153,156,160,163,166,170,177,180,184,187,190,194,197,200,204,211,214,218,221,224,227,230,233,236],[11,121,122],{},"I’ve been trying to get a driving license for the past two years.",[15,124],{"align":17,"alt":125,"src":126},"Driving License","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002F1.jpg",[11,128,129],{},"Not trying as in learning every day, taking tests and failing; rather, trying as in mustering up the determination to actually do any of those things. I haven’t yet been successful, perhaps because I don’t really want to be.",[11,131,132],{},"I finally did schedule a driving test the week before my flight to Paris a few weeks ago. I imagined being able to drive across Europe to be a superpower I would love to have over the next month. I had no specific agenda for the visit except seeing my colleagues in person for the first time across a few different countries. I wasn’t in search of anything in particular, but on the way back from a day at the Seine riverfront in Paris, I returned with a bittersweet realisation.",[15,134],{"align":31,"alt":135,"src":136},"Seine Riverfront","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002F2.jpg",[11,138,139],{},"Before the pandemic, I was confident that I would never need a driver's license. I loved public transport and wanted to spend a life being happily dependent on it. Walking through the city and photographing every little curious thing I found on the way to Metro stations was life as I knew it.",[11,141,142],{},"Then March 2020 struck.",[11,144,145],{},"For us in Delhi, the second wave in April of last year was particularly traumatic. My family was hit as well, but we were fortunate to be able to come out relatively unscathed. Like most families, we never really spoke about what we went through, but, as if in deference to our good fortune, we all unanimously entered an implicit contract to avoid any avoidable indoor spaces. Till today, we have been unable to bring ourselves to violate it.",[15,147],{"align":17,"alt":148,"src":149},"Delhi Lockdown","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002F3.jpg",[11,151,152],{},"It has, thus, been two and a half years since I last boarded a Metro. That trip was made in January 2020, where I spent the entire duration thinking about – what seemed at the time – an important decision about the course of my career. It was the last semester of college, and worrying about the future was the flavour of the season. Thirty months later, the future has turned out to be vastly different from anything I could have imagined sitting in that coach. On paper, big changes have happened in life: workplace, industry, family. Life has gone on in the way I now know it does, and it is perhaps reasonable to say it has gone on fine even without the Metro.",[11,154,155],{},"On the way back from that day on the Seine, it is this terrible realisation that struck: Life had not gone on fine. A part of myself had been lost, and I had been completely unaware.",[15,157],{"align":31,"alt":158,"src":159},"Metro Station","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002F4.jpg",[11,161,162],{},"Accepted wisdom suggests that the sharper the loss, the more profoundly it hits. It seems to me that the most insidious kind of loss is the one that is unrecognisable. What is a worse way to lose something deeply valuable: being acutely aware of its absence, or a chronic loss that obliviates any memory of what was had?",[11,164,165],{},"I did not know what I wanted out of my time in Paris when I planned this visit - it was almost a compulsive decision which I didn’t have much conscious say over. I knew I liked the city a great deal based on three days I had spent here in 2017, but that was all I was going by. No real planning, no real itinerary. Slow travel.",[15,167],{"align":17,"alt":168,"src":169},"Paris Street","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002F5.jpg",[11,171,172,173,176],{},"Things, however, seemed to have decided to align themselves particularly in line: on my second day in the city, I found myself at ",[38,174,175],{},"Stade"," Roland Garros on the final day of the French Open. My “outdoor courts” ticket had been declared valid for entry to the centrepiece Court Philippe Chatrier as a special case: an all-French team had made it to the finals of the women’s doubles, and they wanted as many people in the stands as they could get.",[11,178,179],{},"From then on, the visit became a string of surprises: how electric the atmosphere at a tennis match could get; how passionate some sports fans from India could be; how incredible watching live, international football is; how vastly differently colleagues in Europe approach their workdays.",[15,181],{"align":31,"alt":182,"src":183},"Roland Garros","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002F6.jpg",[11,185,186],{},"There were parts that weren’t surprising as well: that life in Paris happens outdoors in the summer, and that the warmth of the weather doesn’t translate at all into how welcoming the city is to outsiders. The city doesn’t rush in to make small talk as you arrive; the best description of what greets you is perhaps a faint frown.",[11,188,189],{},"Yet, when you go again, and again, and yet again, to the same places, the cold exterior begins to crack. The road signage, so utterly unhelpful on day one, starts to become familiar, and thus, useful, even if only as a landmark instead of a directional aid. The smartphone, a navigational necessity on day one, finally begins to stay in the pocket as you walk. The city starts to smile at you from afar.",[15,191],{"align":17,"alt":192,"src":193},"Paris Architecture","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002F7.jpg",[11,195,196],{},"A few more days in, and it may even ask you your name: A Canadian women on the table beside you at KB CafeShop in the 8th district might attempt to read the Hindi text printed on your T-Shirt, or a group of chain-smoking Latin Americans might ask to share your table at La Recyclerie, and make conversation with you in Hindi when told that you are an Indian. Layered within the expected parts are more surprises in Paris.",[11,198,199],{},"Both the above, along with the beautiful Park Monceau and La Maison Hecht near it, became places I frequented during my visit this time. Monceau and KB exist in my memory as Parisian parallels to the Lodi Garden and the Blue Tokai Café in Delhi; but there is no parallel to La Recyclerie, even if there is an opportunity to create an identical twin.",[15,201],{"align":31,"alt":202,"src":203},"La Recyclerie","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002F8.jpg",[11,205,206,207,210],{},"Paris – like Delhi – has a railway system circling its periphery, constructed in 1851 and abandoned in 1934. They called it ",[38,208,209],{},"La Petite Ceinture"," (”The small belt”), much like Delhi’s own Ring Rail which is still functional, but barely. La Recyclerie is best described as an “urban farm”: they took an abandoned station on the belt railway and created a bicycle workshop, a library, a small vegetable and poultry farm, and a café complete with rows and rows of seating inside, and also, unbelievably, along the tracks. To me, the Sarojini Nagar railway station – hidden in plain sight in South Delhi – feels like it is waiting for similar reinvention. Perhaps, one day?",[11,212,213],{},"My days in Paris began to resemble my life before the pandemic in Delhi: travelling through megacities in a combination of walking and public transport; stopping at odd places to satisfy the odd curiosity.",[15,215],{"align":17,"alt":216,"src":217},"Petite Ceinture","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002F9.jpg",[11,219,220],{},"On my final Sunday at the Seine, I found a group of African percussionists, playing a set of instruments I had never seen before. Casual visitors to the riverfront stood circled around them as they performed for no one in particular.",[11,222,223],{},"As a consequence of spending years learning and practising the Tabla as a school student, I have a measure of confidence in my ability to handle any percussion instrument reasonably well.",[11,225,226],{},"Yet, it took me all of my courage to walk up to them and ask if I could play alongside for a while.",[11,228,229],{},"They agreed - of course they did. I thanked them, walked up and left, without any material evidence of this experience. It took me, for a second time, all of my courage to walk back up to them and ask for a picture. They agreed - of course they did.",[11,231,232],{},"On the walk back home, it was as if an older version of my own life gradually reappeared, frame by frame. It sounds markedly unreal to describe it this way, but I trust that most of us have had, or will have, an experience similar to this one: going back to that one experience that defined our lives before the pandemic. To find and explore surprises layered within the familiar aspects of a big city was what life had revolved around in Delhi for me; an ability which – I realised at that moment – I had lost over the last two years.",[11,234,235],{},"It is, perhaps, for the best that the license has eluded me these last two years. The routes I will travel, when I get back in a few weeks and it finally feels “safe” again, will be the same as those I used to travel. I expect it to feel like not a day has passed. If so, it will be the beginning of reparations for this insidious loss.",[11,237,238],{},"To Paris, and to a successful remembrance of things past.",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":240},[],"2022-06-25","In Paris, a remembrance of things past","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss\u002Fcover.jpg",{"comments":245},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fan-insidious-loss",{"title":117,"description":242},"blog\u002Fan-insidious-loss",[250,112],"Paris","67GZCJ0Y2mMHZnK2PAGf4beLcCQIMFiSqWiw3lCyZI8",{"id":253,"title":254,"body":255,"date":383,"description":384,"extension":102,"image":385,"layout":104,"meta":386,"navigation":107,"path":388,"seo":389,"stem":390,"tags":391,"writer":113,"__hash__":392},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity.md","Habitat for humanity",{"type":8,"value":256,"toc":381},[257,260,267,271,274,277,280,284,287,290,294,305,322,325,332,336,343,346,350,353,374,378],[11,258,259],{},"Allegations of elitism are easy to stick to the best parts of a city. Nowhere is this more true than the metropolises of India, where the remnants of the racial differences instituted by the British linger on, thinly disguised as class differences.",[11,261,262,263,266],{},"In that context, the India Habitat Centre is an interesting contradiction. On the leafy Lodhi Road – a stone’s throw away from the Nizamuddin ",[38,264,265],{},"Basti"," – picture a towering complex of red brick, with sprawling courtyards that mimic an urban jungle. There is no grid, and the topology is surprisingly undulating: a combination of basements, elevations, amphitheatres and lawns that all seamlessly blend together.",[15,268],{"align":17,"alt":269,"src":270},"India Habitat Centre Architecture","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity\u002F1.jpg",[11,272,273],{},"It is a joyfully intriguing space: there are many office buildings and even a few hotel rooms, but it took me many years of being a casual visitor to realise that these exist. The architecture is masterfully employed to hide them.",[11,275,276],{},"The love affair with the building complex can unravel a bit when confronted with this information; the fact that there is a large part of the complex accessible only to “members” – elite government servants and others – threatens to transform this public space into an oppressive symbol of elite gatekeeping.",[11,278,279],{},"However, for one reason or the other, the Habitat Centre evades all such characterisation. It remains, in popular — and personal — imagination, truly public.",[15,281],{"align":31,"alt":282,"src":283},"IHC Public Space","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity\u002F2.jpg",[11,285,286],{},"I do not remember what age I was when I first came across the Centre; I was travelling to attend an event at one of the auditoria (a family member was performing), but the visual of the complex appearing in the car window remains inscribed in my memory to this day. I was, in equal parts, shocked and awed. The scale was unimaginable.",[11,288,289],{},"I am a staunch believer in architecture as the strongest lever of societal transformation: it has a distinctive ability to create such unimaginable realities, an ability which, in turn, can positively affect the lives of individuals in myriad ways.",[15,291],{"align":17,"alt":292,"src":293},"Architectural Detail","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity\u002F3.jpg",[11,295,296,297,300,301,304],{},"The Habitat Centre is perhaps the perfect example of this phenomenon: To the child looking on from the car window, the idea that this massive structure could be ",[38,298,299],{},"associated with",", as opposed to merely ",[38,302,303],{},"gazed upon",", provided the priceless opportunity to expand his sense of self, and to include the city he lived in within it.",[11,306,307,308,315,316,321],{},"Strangely, the Habitat Centre was born not with the requirements of the city in mind. The structure was a joint proposal of multiple organisations that required office space in that area, foremost amongst them being ",[309,310,314],"a",{"href":311,"rel":312},"https:\u002F\u002Fhudco.org.in\u002F",[313],"nofollow","HUDCO"," and ",[309,317,320],{"href":318,"rel":319},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.teriin.org\u002F",[313],"TERI",". They resolved that they would manage the institution through a governing council comprising representatives of every organisation, and decided that the Centre must earn revenue if it were to be sustainable. Thus, a pleasant public space with restaurants and hotel rooms was envisaged, and Professional management services were employed. It was an institution that was built to last.",[11,323,324],{},"I would always wonder why all the great institution builders I would read about – amongst them, Joseph Stein, the architect behind the Habitat Centre – were all from decades past. Where were the modern Indian greats? Where were the individuals building inspiring institutions of the present, and the future?",[11,326,327,328,331],{},"The Habitat Centre has an interesting plaque at its western entrance, almost obscured by a large potted plant: It quotes Jawaharlal Nehru as having said “",[38,329,330],{},"You should not tolerate ugliness anywhere in your life, in your activities, in your buildings","”. Where were the carriers of this sense of aesthetic in modern India?",[15,333],{"align":31,"alt":334,"src":335},"IHC Greenery","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity\u002F4.jpg",[11,337,338,339,342],{},"A curious, well-shrouded cousin of the Centre lives less than a kilometre away on the other side of the Lodhi Road. While it is also designed by Stein – the square kilometre containing both the buildings is often referred to as “",[38,340,341],{},"Steinabad","” in architectural dissertations – that is perhaps where the similarities end. The allegations of elitism which have evaded the Habitat Centre stick, perhaps rightly, to the India International Centre. This centre proudly declares that the “residential and dining facilities are open to members and their guests” and I have never attempted to inquire how one can become a member, although I imagine it would not be a trivial pursuit. I have been inside only once - to attend a talk which was, surprisingly, open to all; yet, despite the venue, it was remarkably useless.",[11,344,345],{},"It is in this background, perhaps, that the public character of the Habitat Centre shines even stronger. To imagine the libraries and auditoria of the International Centre existing in a vacuum – with the “masses” being given only the vast lawns of the Lodhi Gardens to satisfy themselves with – is a tragic alternative reality that the Habitat Centre shields us from. The greatest power of the centre is in its ability to continually expand this definition of “us”: each year, new people come to visit it for the first time – University students, newly-employed graduates – and each year, they return with the Centre comfortably folded within their idea of themselves. The Habitat Centre becomes theirs to own, and a connection with the city is born. To my mind, no parallel exists anywhere in India; an attempt to create one is perhaps, now, being made.",[15,347],{"align":17,"alt":348,"src":349},"IHC Evening","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity\u002F5.jpg",[11,351,352],{},"The Central Vista project has surprisingly similar antecedents to the Habitat Centre: a group of organisations require greater office space in Delhi; they are being given an integrated structure with multiple large buildings located amidst public space. In multiple interviews of Bimal Patel, the architect behind the project, I see a glimmer of the aesthetic and philosophy articulated by the erstwhile Indian greats.",[11,354,355,356,359,360,363,364,369,370,373],{},"He mentions how the North and South Block – offices of the most important departments of the Government of India – were designed by the British as instruments of colonisation. The greatest evidence of this is present within the structure itself: an inscription above the entrance of the North Block which says “",[38,357,358],{},"Liberty will not descend to a people; people must raise themselves to liberty.","\" While having been appropriated by the people in their own right – famous images of thousands of Indians on the steps during Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral come to mind – the structures remain buildings that a child can ",[38,361,362],{},"gaze upon."," ",[309,365,368],{"href":366,"rel":367},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fwatch?v=oauBuNBAHYA&t=4812s",[313],"Patel says"," that they must be structures that a child of the future can walk upon, and ",[38,371,372],{},"associate with."," I cannot agree more.",[15,375],{"align":31,"alt":376,"src":377},"Central Vista Perspective","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity\u002F6.jpg",[11,379,380],{},"Although a citation of the work he has already commissioned would ordinarily propel him into the list of Indian architectural legends, Bimal Patel’s legacy is, now, entirely contingent on the execution and reception of the re-imagination of Delhi’s central axis that he has been charged with. A true test will be if, decades hence, the unimaginable reality he has articulated receives tributes by another resident of the city, perhaps yet unborn. Till then, we will celebrate the habitat that we have.",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":382},[],"2022-02-16","A story of the iconography of power and ambition in Delhi","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity\u002Fcover.jpg",{"comments":387},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity",{"title":254,"description":384},"blog\u002Fhabitat-for-humanity",[112],"rrhJcEhplBFl5MJMVV6RlHDIkk77K8W7YmBn0Anq2io",{"id":394,"title":395,"body":396,"date":468,"description":469,"extension":102,"image":411,"layout":104,"meta":470,"navigation":107,"path":472,"seo":473,"stem":474,"tags":475,"writer":113,"__hash__":476},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fhappy-new-year.md","Happy New Year",{"type":8,"value":397,"toc":466},[398,401,408,412,415,418,421,425,428,431,434,437,440,443,446,449,452,455,458,461],[11,399,400],{},"The Semal tree very close to our house has flowered again.",[11,402,403,404,407],{},"For a long time, I thought it was a Palash: now, however, I know that Palash trees are not to be found in this — or any — part of Delhi; this, most definitely, is the ",[38,405,406],{},"Bombax Ceiba","; commonly known as the Semal.",[15,409],{"align":17,"alt":410,"src":411},"Semal Tree","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhappy-new-year\u002Fcover.jpg",[11,413,414],{},"The residents of a house on the second floor of a building rarely count its altitude as a virtue. It is usually a source of complaint. This, for me, changes for the few months of the year where I am able to get a sight of the flowering Semal from inside the house, via a perfectly placed living room window.",[11,416,417],{},"Today, however, the sight struck a unique chord. A realisation, of sorts; a reminder, in effect.",[11,419,420],{},"Two sequential sightings of this flowered Semal is the most visible depiction of the passage of a definite period of time: devoid of the imagined reality of 31 December turning into the first day of January, or the astronomical invisibility of the cosmic interplay between the Earth and the Sun.",[15,422],{"align":31,"alt":423,"src":424},"Flowering Semal","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fhappy-new-year\u002F1.jpg",[11,426,427],{},"A year has passed. It did so too on January the first; today, however, the concept seemed more than academic.",[11,429,430],{},"I am usually unfazed towards the end of years and the beginning of newer ones; generally not giving in to the mental temptation of evaluating the progress made through this arbitrary period of time. The resilience seems to have stemmed from an indifference to the number at the end of the date. Today, the indifference seemed to have been found out. In the face of an inquisitive Semal seemingly asking me what I had managed to do in the intervening time between two flowering seasons, I had to reflect.",[11,432,433],{},"What was I worrying about a year ago?",[11,435,436],{},"In the typical storyline of the self-help exercise which involves trying to answer this question after posing it to oneself, the respondents usually struggle to remember; the futility of ‘worrying’ is thus established.",[11,438,439],{},"To me, answers came thick and fast.",[11,441,442],{},"I was definitely worried. Worried about how I was going to even begin the process of getting to where I eventually wanted to get. About being inadequately skilled, inadequately talented, inadequately sociable and inadequately embellished — with labels, the kinds that portray success and achievement in society, and bring along with them a measure of respect. Worried about what I had to show for the ever increasing reservoir of time that had passed.",[11,444,445],{},"I still worry. The subjects of concern have perhaps shifted; but the propensity to wistfully deliberate has remained.",[11,447,448],{},"The memory of a rich diversity of experience — gained in this period of time — flooded in, seemingly as response. Each of these experiences has contributed to a spectrum of learning.",[11,450,451],{},"The first-ever foray into a workplace; the re-evaluation of a relationship; the will to invest in new friendship; the liberation of a life lived with greater impulse; the futility of narrative; the subjectivity of joy; the unraveling of conviction and the acknowledgement of possibility; the rebellion that is optimism; the bedrock of old friendship; the absolute foundation that is family.",[11,453,454],{},"So much has been gained, and some lost: a transformative period of time. It took the Semal for me to be able to identify it in summary.",[11,456,457],{},"The flowers have already begun to drop from the branches. An indication; a trigger, almost, to lumber on. There seems to be no finish line: the Semal is perfectly okay with this absence of a summit, and so, it seems to me, must we.",[11,459,460],{},"Joy’s soul, after all, lies in the doing",[11,462,463],{},[38,464,465],{},"(Originally published March 2019)",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":467},[],"2021-03-07","Lessons from the most visual representation of the passage of time",{"comments":471},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fhappy-new-year",{"title":395,"description":469},"blog\u002Fhappy-new-year",[112],"leaSLYNPGwOwVMiFLznAgSmHEFKc7QGPCOY94g-0Id8",{"id":478,"title":479,"body":480,"date":530,"description":531,"extension":102,"image":500,"layout":104,"meta":532,"navigation":107,"path":534,"seo":535,"stem":536,"tags":537,"writer":113,"__hash__":539},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-times.md","The Times",{"type":8,"value":481,"toc":528},[482,485,488,491,494,497,501,504,507,510,513,516,519,522,525],[11,483,484],{},"It is a reasonable truth, at this point, to say that times are hard.",[11,486,487],{},"The phrase \"times are hard\" was, till some time ago, evocative of a ravaged society trying to piece itself together post the second world war; now it is in every mass e-mail I have received in the past month: the word \"times\" prefaced or suffixed with whatever adjective seems most palatable.",[11,489,490],{},"In a cursory assessment of my inbox, 'uncertain' is the most popular, followed by 'unprecedented'. With this, there can be no disagreements. Times are uncertain, and they are most definitely unprecedented.",[11,492,493],{},"'Dystopian' takes third place: it is here that I cannot concur.",[11,495,496],{},"There are no strangers to dystopia in India. It comes to the northern parts of our country late each October: blankets of smoke covering city after city; the air essential yet toxic; the sky indiscernible in grey. In visualisations of dystopia, therefore, the present is a misfit.",[15,498],{"align":17,"alt":499,"src":500},"Times","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-times\u002Fcover.png",[11,502,503],{},"In October late last year, I made one such dystopian journey through three most-affected states of the northern part of this country to reach Patiala. Upwind of — and thus, unaffected by — all the smoke, it had, by the next morning, pristine blue skies and perfectly breathable air. It was a sight I could not bring myself to savour, since it is marred by the knowledge that tragedy was afoot, elsewhere, at the same moment.",[11,505,506],{},"A suitable parallel has emerged in the past few days: looking outside from the window of my room – a daily event even when the windows were not confines – has evoked a powerful nostalgia for times of childhood.",[11,508,509],{},"Spending two decades in the same house allows for an extraordinary longitudinal assessment of life: experiences are anchored to an environment that changes very little; memory, thus, exists in a stunning parallax of successive experiences studded against surroundings whose transformation is far more gradual.",[11,511,512],{},"Gradual, but inevitable. The house has changed, and so has the neighbourhood. Principally, it should suffice to say that there are far more people now; and consequently, there is far more of everything that we bring along wherever we go.",[11,514,515],{},"There are, certainly, positive entries in that list; however, the present has shone a spotlight on the negative - since it so starkly highlights what happens when we subtract ourselves from the mix. The trash on the road is missing; the permanent cacophony of traffic is absent. Surroundings are clean, and peaceful. The dogs are confounded.",[11,517,518],{},"It is a situation that closely resembles what I would have seen looking out of the same window ten — or perhaps even greater — years ago. In any other scenario, this redux would be cause for celebration. Now, however, an acknowledgement similar to the one in Patiala last October renders the prospect of any happiness illegitimate: that this is a temporary fallout of mass global tragedy.",[11,520,521],{},"There is no certainty around what the 'normal' will look like, whenever it returns to us. Perhaps it will resemble the old normal; on some days, there seems hope that it will be better. A newer normal whose contours will be shaped by sincere national – and global – introspection. Perhaps a constructive, bipartisan public debate about issues that truly matter will finally emerge.",[11,523,524],{},"Not everyday, however: it would be reckless to be hopeful everyday. Like everything else that is hard to come by, hope must also be rationed.",[11,526,527],{},"A sign, of course, of the times.",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":529},[],"2020-04-02","The best of them, the worst of them",{"comments":533},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-times",{"title":479,"description":531},"blog\u002Fthe-times",[112,538],"Patiala","orH8HHsQAmcho-lY8JgXT69CZXqjLtkY2X1P233qJLQ",{"id":541,"title":542,"body":543,"date":660,"description":661,"extension":102,"image":557,"layout":104,"meta":662,"navigation":107,"path":664,"seo":665,"stem":666,"tags":667,"writer":113,"__hash__":668},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built.md","The houses they built",{"type":8,"value":544,"toc":658},[545,548,551,554,558,561,564,567,571,574,577,580,584,587,590,593,597,600,603,607,610,614,617,620,624,627,630,634,637,641,644,648,651,654],[11,546,547],{},"Noise pollution has perennially been overshadowed by its more potent relatives.",[11,549,550],{},"It would always appear last when I would be asked to list categories of pollution in environment class; for a major part of my life, I secretly felt that it was an entirely made up concept.",[11,552,553],{},"These notions were dismantled only over trips to countries other than our own. Any sound unpleasant to the ear was absent. In some cases, all sounds were absent. A realisation was cemented: every city has a characteristic sound; for some, this may be even be the sound of silence.",[15,555],{"align":17,"alt":556,"src":557},"Karol Bagh Street","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002Fcover.jpg",[11,559,560],{},"Consider the hypothesis that the characteristic sound of Delhi is the sound of argument. It rests on two pillars - activities that are universal in this city: haggling, and honking.",[11,562,563],{},"Bargaining is a necessary ingredient of the roadside commerce that dominates our city. The prospect of being able to drag prices down is often the principal draw. In essence, bargaining is a form of argument. It is polite, civil, and often even guided by implicit rules; yet, it is argument.",[11,565,566],{},"Vehicular horns, in Delhi as in most of our cities, are also a form of argument. They are the sound of cars, buses, trucks, auto rickshaws – and even e-rickshaws – quarrelling on the road. This vehicular language is ubiquitous here; and argument is the only communication it facilitates.",[15,568],{"align":31,"alt":569,"src":570},"Traffic Chaos","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F1.jpg",[11,572,573],{},"Thus, the most real description of the sound of Delhi is that it is the sound of argument. This is not an overly decorative metaphor; it is, as we have shown, rooted in practicality.",[11,575,576],{},"It is now 2020 and we have finally resolved – all sections of society, together – to deem pollution to be an unacceptable part of our lives. However, just as it was in environment textbooks a decade ago, noise pollution remains relegated here as well. I imagine it will be multiple more years till such a consensus arises against it.",[11,578,579],{},"Last year, however, an aberration occurred. The 'pedestrianisation' of Ajmal Khan Road, in Karol Bagh, was attempted, and successfully completed.",[15,581],{"align":17,"alt":582,"src":583},"Ajmal Khan Road Pedestrianized","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F2.jpg",[11,585,586],{},"Two terms of note in the previous sentence deserve special elaboration. The first is pedestrianisation, which simply means converting busy, commercial parts of cities into pedestrian-only zones.",[11,588,589],{},"The second is Karol Bagh.",[11,591,592],{},"There are places in every Indian city that sound familiar to those who have never visited it. I have never been to Chennai, but I have heard of Anna Nagar and Besant Nagar. I have been to Kochi only once; at an age when I was too young to remember anything other than blurry visuals; still, I have heard of Fort Kochi. I had heard of Indiranagar and Koramangala before I first visited Bengaluru four years ago. For Mumbai, as became clear on my first visit recently, such a list is unending. Although I cannot comment with any reasonable certainty about the nature of this list for my own city, I imagine Karol Bagh would be on it.",[15,594],{"align":31,"alt":595,"src":596},"Karol Bagh Market","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F3.jpg",[11,598,599],{},"One of two factors contributes to any place featuring on such a list: either it is upscale, home to the affluent; or, that it is culturally popular in film, television, theatre or even the new-age currency of shared attention: memes. Karol Bagh fits both, and fits them well.",[11,601,602],{},"Property rates are prohibitively expensive for the middle class, a definite sign of the area being upscale. The Hanuman statue that is now a standard identifier of Delhi in Indian cinema exists here. Consequently, even if you have not heard of Karol Bagh, you have most likely seen it.",[15,604],{"align":17,"alt":605,"src":606},"Hanuman Statue","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F4.jpg",[11,608,609],{},"As a residential area, parts of Karol Bagh are older than the partition of India. Signboards calling the area 'WEA' still abound, and they all refer to how the houses were built as part of a 'Western Extension Area,' the 'Western' used to indicate a region to the west of the planned boundaries of British New Delhi. There was a demographic shift in 1947; the houses were occupied by businessmen and architects who spent their time helping the city around construct, and reconstruct, itself. Today the city no longer needs them, and their houses are in disrepair. The nameplates still exist; it is a testament to the futurism of those early residents that their names still look as much a part of the present as the shops that have grown around their old houses. If the year of construction were not etched onto the walls themselves, a fresh coat of paint might make anyone believe that they were built recently.",[15,611],{"align":31,"alt":612,"src":613},"Old House Facade","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F5.jpg",[11,615,616],{},"It is an understatement to say that the shops have grown around these houses. Like a ruderal species, they have colonised any, and all, vacant area. A new form of signboard has appeared, and this sort has nothing much to say except to indicate the arrival of the age of consumption. The uniformity of state-planned and licensed enterprise is absent; perhaps the loss of aesthetic value is a fair price to pay for faster, even if less than ideal, economic development.",[11,618,619],{},"Ajmal Khan Road is one such market place in Karol Bagh: heritage structures are isolated; few and far-between. Commercial establishments ooze out of every conceivable square foot.",[15,621],{"align":17,"alt":622,"src":623},"Market Shops","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F6.jpg",[11,625,626],{},"To walk on Ajmal Khan Road in 2018 was to have to navigate both parked and moving vehicles; the undulating terrain of a semi-built road, and vendors, hawkers and touts of all sorts. The road ends where the far more popular – and chaotic – Ghaffar Market begins. Thus, Ajmal Khan road was a kilometre-long preparation: being able to handle it was a pre-requisite to getting to its more disorderly cousin.",[11,628,629],{},"The pedestrianisation of Ajmal Khan Road shattered this delicate filtration scheme that the city had evolved over the years. This, however, is its only possible negative consequence. The only way to describe the rest is that they all contribute to create a dream.",[15,631],{"align":31,"alt":632,"src":633},"Pedestrian Zone","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F7.jpg",[11,635,636],{},"Ajmal Khan Road now allows you to sit on benches deliberately placed in the middle of the road. In a marked contrast to most other places in the city, where pedestrians are helpless, forgotten second-class citizens; here, you are respected even in the absence of a vehicle. The city has decided, uncharacteristically, to empower those who have nothing. It is unprecedented, and overwhelmingly positive.",[15,638],{"align":17,"alt":639,"src":640},"Benches on Road","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F8.jpg",[11,642,643],{},"Ajmal Khan Road now provides an altogether new sound: the horns are absent, and the haggling is infrequent. I believe the two are connected – an environment free of one form of argument fosters one that is free of all.",[15,645],{"align":31,"alt":646,"src":647},"Quiet Street","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F9.jpg",[11,649,650],{},"Ajmal Khan Road now allows you to stop and stand, and look at the houses they built.",[15,652],{"align":17,"alt":292,"src":653},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F10.jpg",[15,655],{"align":31,"alt":656,"src":657},"Street View","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built\u002F11.jpg",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":659},[],"2020-01-04","Karol Bagh and the sound of argument",{"comments":663},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built",{"title":542,"description":661},"blog\u002Fthe-houses-they-built",[112],"VDEKeSFaiMAzCnFfGXKVLU6ojV_7bjJubhUn7MyhnBA",{"id":670,"title":671,"body":672,"date":741,"description":742,"extension":102,"image":684,"layout":104,"meta":743,"navigation":107,"path":745,"seo":746,"stem":747,"tags":748,"writer":749,"__hash__":750},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fa-lemon-cheesecake-and-other-desires.md","A lemon cheesecake, and other desires",{"type":8,"value":673,"toc":739},[674,677,680,685,688,693,696,699,704,707,712,715,720,723,728,731,734],[11,675,676],{},"Beginning early morning was essential to reach well in time for breakfast. The semi-randomness began with realising that the regular old family favourite garment store Fabindia apparently had a ‘café’ as well. Breakfast plans at other food joints were scrapped immediately. Summarising the experience in one line: the food was adequate, the coffee average, the tea exceptionally good, and the names of the items on the menu very excessive (a kettle of tea called ‘Petrichor’ and ‘buttermilk pancakes’, for reference).",[11,678,679],{},"We were surrounded by three different groups of people, of which one was the most striking. This was an old couple, both of whom were dressed flawlessly on a Sunday morning. They spoke at length and in impeccable English, about politics, old friends, and fitness. The lady truly had her fashion down, carrying a cream Louis Vuitton Vavin PM making an elegant contrast with her wine-red suit.",[15,681],{"align":17,"alt":682,"caption":683,"src":684},"A singular stick of biscuit with coffee","The singular stick of biscuit with coffee.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-lemon-cheesecake-and-other-desires\u002Fcover.jpg",[11,686,687],{},"A small detour ensued and amid light rain we left for Lajpat Nagar, with no particular destination in mind. A simple drive around the place revealed recent history. Interesting to note was the polarity between the symmetric plot sizes but different house-designs. This has roots in plots being assigned to migrant families from Pakistan during partition. Due to commercialisation, builders would buy these plots, ask for the ground floor areas to operate their own business in lieu for building the rest of the multi-storeyed structure for these families. Different business signboards can hence be seen on these tightly-packed houses on picturesque stretches of roads in this locality.",[15,689],{"align":31,"alt":690,"caption":691,"src":692},"Plaid shirt","Sunny plaids look great, not so sure about the dhoti.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-lemon-cheesecake-and-other-desires\u002F1.jpg",[11,694,695],{},"What came next was indeed a long time coming- a trip to ITO. But what was truly of our interest lay on the opposite side of the road: the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. SPA, ND is deemed an ‘Institute of National Importance’ under an act of Parliament. The reason I was looking forward to visiting this place, albeit temporarily, was because I had relinquished the opportunity to study there three years ago and had always been curious to know more about what I had not chosen.",[11,697,698],{},"The academic and hostel buildings are surprisingly small and look rather run down. I was concerned we were at the wrong place altogether, but the guard assured us that this was indeed the premier educational institute we were looking for. Rather underwhelmingly, a simple photo of the blue signboard was taken and now suffices for the only first-hand memoir of this ‘road not taken’.",[15,700],{"align":17,"alt":701,"caption":702,"src":703},"SPA New Delhi Board","Board 1\u002F2 of SPA, New Delhi on a rainy morning.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-lemon-cheesecake-and-other-desires\u002F2.jpg",[11,705,706],{},"Following this was the magnum opus of the journey, the compulsory pilgrimage to Connaught Place. The universe had been uncharacteristically kind having lent us a cloudy day in the middle of June, and so we did not regret walking around the colonnade. In our whimsical quest to find a specific ‘E.D. Galgotia’s bookshop’ from my father’s time, we instead landed at another, smaller bookstore. Keeping up with my habit of buying books in every city I visit, I acquired a Haruki Murakami Vintage Mini titled ‘Desire’. It was only later at home that I realised I already owned a copy of 2\u002F5 stories within. Nevertheless, its a beautiful small paperback and solid addition to my collection. We skipped out on lunch in this never-ending vortex of shops, even forgoing the original Keventers outlet and cancelling on a trip to Karim’s.",[15,708],{"align":31,"alt":709,"caption":710,"src":711},"Book collection","A modest collection from the last 4 cities.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-lemon-cheesecake-and-other-desires\u002F3.jpg",[11,713,714],{},"What for? Just to wander through Janpath. Rows upon rows of apparel, accessories and adornments; and yet we came out empty handed. It is a thrift-shopper’s dream and walking this stretch without buying anything is a testament to your will-power.",[15,716],{"align":17,"alt":717,"caption":718,"src":719},"Janpath shopping","Difficult things to do: avoid shopping in New Delhi","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-lemon-cheesecake-and-other-desires\u002F4.jpg",[11,721,722],{},"The only regret I come out with is not having enough time to pay a visit to Khan Market. Although I’ve visited it a grand total of one time, I can confidently say that the lemon cheesecake at Café Turtle is the best I’ve had. I may be wrong and have a traveller’s glorified idea of narrow marketplaces, bookshops with wooden staircases (here’s looking at you, Full Circle), and cosy cafés; but Khan Market will always have a rosy picture in my mind. I have been recommended several other wonderful eateries, and that tempts me to visit it once more, and again.",[15,724],{"align":31,"alt":725,"caption":726,"src":727},"Khan Market","Happy folks with their books and coffees, Khan Market (2016).","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fa-lemon-cheesecake-and-other-desires\u002F5.jpg",[11,729,730],{},"Delhi is, unsurprisingly, a city with much to offer, more in its plain old streets than near crowded landmarks, I’d assume. One or two visits could never do it justice, and so we hope more undirected plans will offer even more amusing jaunts.",[11,732,733],{},"Because in the end, ‘यह शहर नही, महफ़िल है‘.",[11,735,736],{},[38,737,738],{},"The writer has observed a dichotomy of feelings towards the city of Delhi: people either seem to love it, or absolutely detest it. Considering how this city's history has been endlessly romanticised by all forms of art, the writer has chosen to sidestep it, and describe the events of an impromptu day-trip.",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":740},[],"2019-09-02","An account of an eclectic day-trip",{"comments":744},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fa-lemon-cheesecake-and-other-desires",{"title":671,"description":742},"blog\u002Fa-lemon-cheesecake-and-other-desires",[112],"Mokshlakshmi Bhan","FBiGAe2fprH2E7zFM8oGTv0Zpe5MJHIT97sM1Cpz8xs",{"id":752,"title":753,"body":754,"date":758,"description":759,"extension":102,"image":760,"layout":104,"meta":761,"navigation":107,"path":763,"seo":764,"stem":765,"tags":766,"writer":113,"__hash__":767},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fpaysage-qui-te-submerge.md","Paysage qui te submerge",{"type":8,"value":755,"toc":756},[],{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":757},[],"2019-06-05","An Eid visit to Delhi-6","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fpaysage-qui-te-submerge\u002Fcover.jpg",{"comments":762},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fpaysage-qui-te-submerge",{"title":753,"description":759},"blog\u002Fpaysage-qui-te-submerge",[112],"Fw3nQfum3acqIXQ4Zr8tKxUaUhWg3W1rC2LGjCoEZos",{"id":769,"title":770,"body":771,"date":829,"description":830,"extension":102,"image":788,"layout":104,"meta":831,"navigation":107,"path":833,"seo":834,"stem":835,"tags":836,"writer":113,"__hash__":838},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fschool-games.md","School Games",{"type":8,"value":772,"toc":827},[773,776,779,782,785,789,792,795,798,801,804,807,810,813,816,819,822],[11,774,775],{},"It is not everyday that one comes across a prodigy. That too in a nondescript bus journey from Patiala to Delhi. ",[11,777,778],{},"Bus rides back home are usually quiet – nowhere as adventurous as barely making it on time to board the Shatabdi from Ambala. They are also uneventful : earphones are employed to nullify the film beaming from the bus’ unwelcome entertainment system; serendipitous, meaningful conversation with co-passengers is eliminated as collateral damage.",[11,780,781],{},"Things are different today. I am in the late afternoon service to the Delhi airport, and there is no need for earphones : has the conductor forgotten to put the latest Salman Khan starrer on? Or has the television system given in?",[11,783,784],{},"In any case, a fantastic silence results, owing to which I can sense that the man seated beside me is eager to talk. He begins with informing me that Delhi is not his final destination – Indigo flight 643 will ferry him to Pune early next morning – and soon makes the reason for his travels clear.",[15,786],{"align":17,"alt":787,"src":788},"Archers","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fschool-games\u002Fcover.jpg",[11,790,791],{},"“My son, seated behind us,” he says, turning and pointing, and making sure I’ve placed him, continues, “is 14 years, 7 months and …” He waits for the Age Calculator app on his phone to tell him the exact number of days. The number that flashes is inconsequential to the story, because what he goes on to say puts his unusual specificity in mentioning his son’s age in perspective. “He is the three-time national U-17 archery champion. We are travelling to Pune to compete in the Senior National Championships. He is going to be competing against olympians.”",[11,793,794],{},"I can not tell if he can sense the pinch of salt I take his – as I do all – claims with, but he immediately begins scrolling through the photo gallery on his phone.",[11,796,797],{},"There is a story associated with each, and my doubts dissolve.",[11,799,800],{},"A picture of him on a podium, holding a silver medal up. “The youngest international medallist for the country, at the recent South Asian Championships in Bangladesh.”",[11,802,803],{},"Being honoured by the Chief Minister of Punjab, on Republic Day, 2018. “The Government of Punjab provides no support at all. Look at Haryana. Lakhs to its athletes, even for a junior national medal.”",[11,805,806],{},"Another picture on a podium; this time with a gold medal. “National winner at the Khelo India School Games in Delhi. The Sports Ministry has announced 5 lakhs per year, for 8 years, for all medallists at these School Games. The new minister needs to stay put for this to happen.”",[11,808,809],{},"There is a packed schedule in the year to come : a number of trials for the Indian team in April and May; international events in Europe and Africa in September and October, and covering all of class 10 mathematics and science in the intervening summer.",[11,811,812],{},"The bus glides along the highway. I hardly find time to gaze outside. The conversation is one sided, but there can be no complaints : I am soaking his sermon up. It ranges from advising me about health to motivating me about life in general. It is evident that he was born to coach.",[11,814,815],{},"The trip ends, but not before I am introduced to the rest of the athletes in their contingent. There are two girls – 16 and 17 – both national-level medallists themselves. I take a picture for posterity, and run a few Google searches as I deboard: Who has been the youngest Indian medal winner at the Olympics?",[11,817,818],{},"The result reminds me of the Age Calculator app. The number of days – that I dismissed earlier as being inconsequential – might yet be of consequence.",[11,820,821],{},"He surely looked the part.",[11,823,824],{},[38,825,826],{},"Written and first published in April 2018",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":828},[],"2019-05-30","Three archers on a bus",{"comments":832},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fschool-games",{"title":770,"description":830},"blog\u002Fschool-games",[112,538,837],"Pune","R7HrDSdd8NixvBltsgb90-5KVG3Mf3KOp6Y3i3-64IU",{"id":840,"title":841,"body":842,"date":920,"description":921,"extension":102,"image":859,"layout":104,"meta":922,"navigation":107,"path":924,"seo":925,"stem":926,"tags":927,"writer":113,"__hash__":928},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-generosity-of-trees.md","The generosity of trees",{"type":8,"value":843,"toc":918},[844,847,850,853,856,860,863,866,869,872,876,879,882,885,888,891,894,902,906,909,912,915],[11,845,846],{},"A tall Neem standing across the road from our house meant that the Neem became the first tree I could recognise from afar.",[11,848,849],{},"This was, also, largely due to the Neem being, in general, a very easily identifiable type: its distinctive needle-leaves are unmistakably its own. It has, in addition, a large presence on the packaging of most products found in a standard Indian bathroom. For the first decade of my life, I brushed with a toothpaste named Neem: it had a disdainful taste, a colour that reminded me of surgeons' scrubs, and a large Neem leaf on the tube.",[11,851,852],{},"The Neem, thus, was squarely placed in the imagination right from the beginning.",[11,854,855],{},"For other trees, however, through a large part of my life, I had no special affection, or disaffection; through my years at school I managed to be able to identify only one or two more. I learned how to write detailed answers about the general role of trees in society, study their biology and draft letters to editors about their conservation: all for marks in examinations. The tree, in all those years, never managed to climb out of the textbook.",[15,857],{"align":17,"alt":858,"src":859},"Neem Tree","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-generosity-of-trees\u002Fcover.jpg",[11,861,862],{},"A special affinity for trees has only developed in recent years: it is due to a delayed realisation that the tree is the most deeply entrenched symbol of any city. It is an absolutely inalienable aspect of its personality – the arboreal profile of the city is a circumstance of a complex intertwining of its history, geography and polity. If cities had fingerprints, they would largely be defined by the kind of trees that are found in them.",[11,864,865],{},"In that regard, there is excellent scholarly work on the history of Delhi and its trees. The principal resource is Pradeep Krishen's 'Trees of Delhi,' the underlying primary source behind any contemporary writing on the city and the diversity in its greenery.",[11,867,868],{},"This contemporary writing about the trees of the city is, naturally, most accessible, and it inevitably circles around only a few popular varieties. Amongst them, it is the Amaltas that draws the maximum attention; that becomes the subject of the most decorative metaphors.",[11,870,871],{},"Not unsurprisingly: the Amaltas offers a remarkable yellow to the city's typically grey sky; through the tree-lined streets of New Delhi, which saw extensive horticultural planning during the construction years of the imperial capital, the Amaltas is a frequent sight, causing intermittent showers of golden in April and May – setting the stage for intermittent showers of another kind only a month later.",[15,873],{"align":31,"alt":874,"src":875},"Amaltas Tree","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-generosity-of-trees\u002F1.jpg",[11,877,878],{},"The Amaltas thus became, only about a year ago, the first tree I added – after multiple years – to the mental repository of those I could identify from afar. This, as anyone will invariably point out, is no achievement: the Amaltas too, like the Neem, has a very distinctive appearance.",[11,880,881],{},"This is true, but only partly. The Amaltas' yellow fever is limited to the summer; for the rest of the year it bears a completely ordinary appearance. The only giveaway then, as has been recently discovered, is to look for the fruit: either hanging on from the tree itself, or spread across on the patch of land beside the observer. Long, black tubes that do not befit the label of a fruit in typical imagination, but are highly regarded in traditional Indian medicine.",[11,883,884],{},"During the early part of this year, this character trait of the Amaltas helped the identification of a number of them in Patiala. A resplendent college campus during early April, thus, did not offer surprise; as to why I was never able to spot them earlier in my three years in college, I have scant response. Perhaps the eyes only see what the mind is primed to see: a point of view that is obstructed by a mind determined to look outside, crippled by the fear of missing out, remains unable to see what is available in plain sight.",[11,886,887],{},"An alternative explanation is that the Amaltas only began to register in memory when an association between the tree and Delhi was firmly placed in my mind. When the golden yellow became a symbol of the city, it began to stand out – even in places I was not expecting to see it.",[11,889,890],{},"Among the places I have always expected to find it are the romantic avenues of New Delhi - Amrita Shergill Marg, and others such. Among the places I did not, was the park located behind the building I live in.",[11,892,893],{},"A couple of months ago, facing the second-floor entrance to our house, whilst waiting for someone to answer the doorbell, a sight of the now-familiar golden yellow was chanced upon in the park. In an instant, it became clear that the tree is not the exclusive reserve of the more central parts of the city; as time has passed, I have now realised that it has an absolutely egalitarian presence across the expanse of our capital; it does not see class, and even borders: there are streets lined with it in both Noida and Gurgaon.",[11,895,896,897],{},"Curiously, the Amaltas jostles for space in that park with a Neem, and for attention amongst multiple event venues at India Habitat Centre, each named after a species of tree indigenous to the country. In terms of public adulation, however, there is no contest: although I could not find official records being able to confirm this assertion, it is often regarded as Delhi's 'state tree.' It is a regular feature on most of the city's chroniclers' dispatches about the city; as well as a constant-starrer on multiple Instagram accounts documenting the trees of this city, the apparent chief amongst which is ",[309,898,901],{"href":899,"rel":900},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.instagram.com\u002Fdelhitrees\u002F?hl=en",[313],"@delhitrees.",[15,903],{"align":17,"alt":904,"src":905},"Amaltas Blooms","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-generosity-of-trees\u002F2.jpg",[11,907,908],{},"Within this context, then, there has been a remarkable evolution of my relationship with the trees of the city, and more specifically, the Amaltas: from juvenile indifference, to a love for the green aesthetic of an urban space, to a feeling of a deeply intrinsic connection – one that felt truly valid when the gradual extension of the Amaltas behind the house reached into our balcony; within touching distance of my outstretched hand. In being able to touch it, there was special meaning: entirely imagined, and yet, perfectly real.",[11,910,911],{},"In some sense, in that moment, it felt as if a sanction had been granted: to associate a sense of belonging, of home, with a chance sighting of the golden chandelier. Of being able to treat the tree as more than mere public ornamentation; instead as a complex teleportation device.",[11,913,914],{},"Within the Amaltas, thus, now vests the ability to take me home – if only to derive momentary comfort – from wherever I manage to spot it.",[11,916,917],{},"How remarkably peculiar then, given the very tangible service it provides to all of humankind, that it is this imagined benefit that I feel completely indebted to it for.",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":919},[],"2019-05-12","A personal history, intertwined with the Amaltas",{"comments":923},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-generosity-of-trees",{"title":841,"description":921},"blog\u002Fthe-generosity-of-trees",[112,538],"8WZYu5b4FlhtA1AQGKubh-FBMKKb-_aU1eYKSbzdRjg",{"id":930,"title":931,"body":932,"date":1035,"description":1036,"extension":102,"image":945,"layout":104,"meta":1037,"navigation":107,"path":1039,"seo":1040,"stem":1041,"tags":1042,"writer":113,"__hash__":1044},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines.md","The rebellion of straight lines",{"type":8,"value":933,"toc":1033},[934,937,940,942,946,949,952,956,959,962,966,969,972,976,979,983,986,989,992,995,999,1002,1005,1009,1013,1016,1019,1023,1026,1030],[11,935,936],{},"I have been posting quiz questions, packaged as ‘stories’, to an Instagram audience for the past fortnight. It is not an exercise in the grand signalling of knowledge; it is, rather, an attempt to compel myself to find, every day, at least one thing worth framing a question about.",[11,938,939],{},"On most days, that has happened to satisfactory outcome. On the rest, the imagined burden of public expectation — I’m informed by the app that 120-odd people look at the question each day — makes me look for trivia collected sometime in the past.",[11,941,553],{},[15,943],{"align":17,"alt":944,"src":945},"Chandigarh Architecture","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002Fcover.jpg",[11,947,948],{},"Such an issue presented itself on the 13th day of this series. The influence of this number on the process of searching through pages of memory became apparent in the outcome: Chandigarh, and the absence of a ‘Sector 13’ in the city. A sufficiently interesting fact found; an appropriate facade — to hide it behind — to be built. The internet, as usual, offers support.",[11,950,951],{},"A news report in The Tribune (what else?) about a restaurant called ‘Sector 13’ having opened in the commercial complex of Sector 17 is found; the headline beams: “Chandigarh finally gets Sector 13.” Everything appears to have come together in a perfect co-incidence; a wide grin becomes unavoidable.",[15,953],{"align":31,"alt":954,"src":955},"Sector 17 Market","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F1.jpg",[11,957,958],{},"The making of a plan to take a solo day-trip to Chandigarh had preceded the making of this question entirely. The idea of a self-taken, real-time picture of ‘Sector 13’ as the answer — instead of a stock image off the internet — was attractive. The plan was solidified; so was the question. Despite having been engineered, the serendipity was exciting.",[11,960,961],{},"The events of today — the day of the trip — have been very revealing. The introduction to a city — its optics, its theatre, and its emotion — define the relationship we build with the city: in that, cities are like people. To me, this city has been introduced, in earnest, only today.",[15,963],{"align":17,"alt":964,"src":965},"City Introduction","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F2.jpg",[11,967,968],{},"I have visited Chandigarh in the past: as a primary school student, to visit my father’s college campus for a reunion function; as a tourist a few years later, and then twice in this stint as a college student: once to watch a film that was deemed too important by the friend group to be watched at a nondescript cinema hall in Patiala; the other time for a familial engagement, a trip that was contorted to include a visit to my father’s old hostel room.",[11,970,971],{},"The planning, the architecture: none of it was new to me. I have seen it before and appreciated it in a typically measured manner. The object of this visit was not to decorate my perception of the city at all. The plan was to spend a day sampling each museum and memorial within the urban expanse: the choice of city dictated by geographical convenience.",[15,973],{"align":31,"alt":974,"src":975},"Museum Visit","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F3.jpg",[11,977,978],{},"Four separate institutions of note were visited; the last one just barely. The purpose of writing this out is not to describe the excellent exhibits at each, although the efforts of the Chandigarh Architecture Museum as well as ‘Le Corbusier Centre,’ are sufficiently spectacular such as to merit special commendation. It is to etch in material memory the great joy that has been derived during the travels between these places: applauding the respect a pedestrian could command on the street, and the approachability of the system of public transport.",[15,980],{"align":17,"alt":981,"src":982},"Pedestrian Friendly","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F4.jpg",[11,984,985],{},"I am used to neither, as are perhaps most of us living and growing up in cities not privileged enough to be planned and built by legendary teams led by European architects. It is not even my contention that great architecture automatically elevates a city in stature — critics of Corbusier would perhaps even say his work is not ‘great’ at all — but a much greater understanding of the process, the philosophy and the sheer effort behind it all has managed to cultivate deep respect for the progenitors of the Capital Project.",[15,987],{"align":31,"alt":292,"src":988},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F5.jpg",[11,990,991],{},"Especially for Pierre Jeanneret: he was the one who perhaps truly ‘built’ the city, and then adopted it as his own. He lived in it for more than a decade, designed the less glamorous — but perhaps equally spectacular — parts: the houses, the schools, the fire stations, the bus stops, the theatres, even the manhole covers. He asked for his ashes to be scattered in the lake he helped develop. A manifestation of irrational, excessive attachment — worthy of great respect.",[11,993,994],{},"A long straight walk along Sector 8 led to his house, now preserved as a memorial. It is a stone’s throw from the lakeside; an almost unnoticeable sign post — and a newly installed ‘Chandigarh Smart City’ board — gives any indication that this building has special significance. I had barely entered when it was five; time for governments across the country to call it a day. Before I left, I was asked by the lone security guard to express my thoughts in the visitors book. I ruffled through its pages: one visitor a day on most days; most of them not even Indian. Perhaps institutions like these could do with a mention — or a visit — by another chowkidar.",[15,996],{"align":17,"alt":997,"src":998},"Jeanneret House","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F6.jpg",[11,1000,1001],{},"The manhole cover that Jeanneret designed is placed as an exhibit at the Architecture Museum, along with an exhortation to onlookers: “See how many you can locate.” I tried, unsuccessfully, during the few hours I spent traversing the streets, to find one.",[11,1003,1004],{},"Fittingly, there is one right outside his house. Fittingly, the inability to go through his memorial — and photograph each exhibit, even the manhole cover outside his house — will compel me to return.",[15,1006],{"align":31,"alt":1007,"src":1008},"Manhole Cover","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F7.jpg",[15,1010],{"align":17,"alt":1011,"src":1012},"Manhole Cover Detail","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F8.jpg",[11,1014,1015],{},"‘Sector 13’ was still left to be photographed. It was located inside Sector 17 — a fantastic outdoor pedestrian-only market — also the location of the city’s local bus stand, from where the return journey would commence.",[11,1017,1018],{},"A great deal of asking-around later, bad news. ‘Sector 13’ had rebranded themselves to ‘Mauser Beer Bar Set’ — MBBS, in short — and the sign board I was looking for was nowhere to be found. No more Sector 13, just the way Corbusier had intended things to have been.",[15,1020],{"align":31,"alt":1021,"src":1022},"Sector 17 Sign","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F9.jpg",[11,1024,1025],{},"A hypothesis of strange connection was thought of, as we left: Chandigarh of the present is what I imagine New Delhi of the 1980s would have been like. Perhaps the beacon of urban planning in this country — with its sectors sheltered within its road-grid of straight lines—will manage to stay the way it is, in forty years hence. There were a few signs that suggested it might not, but I want to remain optimistic.",[15,1027],{"align":17,"alt":1028,"src":1029},"Chandigarh Grid","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines\u002F10.jpg",[11,1031,1032],{},"I am not typically a votary of rebellion; but to stay optimistic about its future is the greatest act of rebellion in our country: guilty, then, as charged.",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":1034},[],"2019-04-02","An introduction to Chandigarh",{"comments":1038},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines",{"title":931,"description":1036},"blog\u002Fthe-rebellion-of-straight-lines",[1043,112],"Chandigarh","YNMjM8xdbmRxAPlJH2rXcnuy5D1I5TpYA-bUZtS9dRY",{"id":1046,"title":1047,"body":1048,"date":1114,"description":1115,"extension":102,"image":1059,"layout":104,"meta":1116,"navigation":107,"path":1118,"seo":1119,"stem":1120,"tags":1121,"writer":113,"__hash__":1122},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fleaving-delhi.md","Leaving Delhi",{"type":8,"value":1049,"toc":1112},[1050,1053,1056,1060,1063,1066,1069,1072,1075,1079,1082,1085,1089,1092,1098,1102,1105,1108],[11,1051,1052],{},"The first time I ever travelled by train, by myself, was a trip aboard the 12011 Kalka Shatabdi in 2012. Most of the people aboard were headed to Chandigarh, while I was making the full trip to Kalka; the object being a weekend in the hills with my cousins.",[11,1054,1055],{},"All north-bound trains from Delhi would, upon entering the northern suburbs of the city, present vast swathes of openly-dumped garbage as scenery to its passengers. The situation today is better, but only just. Countless conversations between co-passengers, I imagine, would have found their beginnings in an expression of anguish at that particular sight. So began a conversation with the elderly man seated to my right.",[15,1057],{"align":17,"alt":1058,"src":1059},"Train Journey","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fleaving-delhi\u002Fcover.png",[11,1061,1062],{},"I do not remember much of the early parts of what he said, save for a determined optimism about the city, and a hope that it could yet be saved if the government got its act together. As the inhabited regions outside were replaced by tracts of farmland, the train picked up pace. Taking cue, so did the conversation.",[11,1064,1065],{},"He told me that he was travelling to Chandigarh with a film crew from Canada – a few members would periodically come and check up on him – who were shooting a documentary film. He had been an architect; having worked for a large phase of his career on the Chandigarh project with Pierre Jeanneret – the city’s first chief architect – a name I was hearing for the first time.",[15,1067],{"align":31,"alt":944,"src":1068},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fleaving-delhi\u002F1.jpg",[11,1070,1071],{},"There is a typical, unmistakable manner of the eager storyteller: they do not pause to gauge the audience's response; the narration is reward enough. He skipped from one story to the next, as if keeping pace with the sequence of stations that passed us. I was overwhelmed, but remained eager.",[11,1073,1074],{},"Of all his stories, two stood out sufficiently for me to be able to remember seven years later. The first about his meeting with Nehru during his time assisting Jeanneret, and the second about his son – a lawyer at the Supreme Court of India – and how he had fought for the victim’s family in the Ruchika Girhotra case that had made headlines in 2009.",[15,1076],{"align":17,"alt":1077,"src":1078},"Jeanneret Work","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fleaving-delhi\u002F2.jpg",[11,1080,1081],{},"I am positively certain that there were other fascinating parts of the roughly four hour long conversation that are now lost; this confidence is partly due to a realisation, delayed by many years, about the stature of the man I was beside. Thankfully, I managed to remember his name.",[11,1083,1084],{},"Jeet Malhotra is a constant, significant presence across the architectural history of our nation. In the beginning of his career, he worked with distinguished architects on the League of Nations project in Geneva. Post his contributions to the Chandigarh Capital Project – which earn him multiple features in books and museums dedicated to that subject – he would go on to serve as the Chief Architect of Punjab, and eventually as the Chief Architect of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation. I had almost never bothered to find all of this out; an evening of searching was triggered by finding his name in a book on Indian architecture a few years ago.",[15,1086],{"align":31,"alt":1087,"src":1088},"Jeet Malhotra","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fleaving-delhi\u002F3.jpg",[11,1090,1091],{},"We eventually parted at Chandigarh station, and he extended an invitation to visit him at his Vasant Vihar residence. Although I never took it up, it was an incredible gesture; one that made me realise the great power of always being unexpectedly kind.",[11,1093,1094,1095,1097],{},"The entirety of this episode has played out in multiple parts; from the first time I wrote about it, I have discovered a new detail every six or so months. Very recently, I found out that the film he had been travelling to shoot for was an architectural documentary titled \"",[38,1096,1047],{},"\"; all that is available about the film on the internet is its trailer. Thus, what remains is to be able to watch it completely and tie all ends of this story together.",[15,1099],{"align":17,"alt":1100,"src":1101},"Documentary Still","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fleaving-delhi\u002F4.jpg",[11,1103,1104],{},"Coincidentally, I have continued to frequent the Kalka Shatabdi over the previous three years; now for a shorter and decidedly unromantic home-bound commute. More often than not, on entering the coach, I remember the extraordinary debt of gratitude that I owe to the Railways' seating algorithm since 2012; uninteresting, or worse, unpleasant co-passengers are thus excused.",[11,1106,1107],{},"Despite having no similar fortune ever since, my affinity for train journeys remains set in stone. An undying anticipation of running into an extraordinary co-passenger has preceded every journey I have taken, ever since. Apart from all his buildings, it is this optimism that he is also the chief architect of.",[15,1109],{"align":31,"alt":1110,"src":1111},"Railway Station","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fleaving-delhi\u002F5.jpg",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":1113},[],"2019-03-28","An unforgettable journey with a Chief Architect",{"comments":1117},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fleaving-delhi",{"title":1047,"description":1115},"blog\u002Fleaving-delhi",[112,1043],"r9VQY7WaXdRkGuTd_xILASaiR4twkKA5FhvORGVhNFI",{"id":1124,"title":1125,"body":1126,"date":1200,"description":1201,"extension":102,"image":1139,"layout":104,"meta":1202,"navigation":107,"path":1204,"seo":1205,"stem":1206,"tags":1207,"writer":113,"__hash__":1208},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fshubhaarambh.md","Shubhaarambh",{"type":8,"value":1127,"toc":1198},[1128,1131,1134,1137,1140,1143,1146,1149,1152,1156,1159,1162,1166,1169,1172,1176,1179,1182,1185,1189,1192,1195],[11,1129,1130],{},"Cities are like people. In “meeting” either, first impressions are crucial. One false move — one bad experience — may cause a relationship drastically different from what it may have been.",[11,1132,1133],{},"It all depends, therefore, on the introduction.",[11,1135,1136],{},"The spectacular cities of the world have mastered the art of the perfect introduction. The entry — regardless of mode — is always stunning: The trains, seemingly from the future, arrive, perfectly on-time, to stations: structures which are the embodiment of a spectacular past. The airports are massive; amazing simply through sheer scale. The roads are a flawless grey, inscribed with symmetric symbols and signage; the buildings that rise up from the sides, resplendent and imposing, drive home the first impression that everything is perfect; everything just works.",[15,1138],{"align":17,"alt":1110,"src":1139},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fshubhaarambh\u002Fcover.jpg",[11,1141,1142],{},"It is carefully engineered, the perfect introduction. The end-product of bold vision; crafted through meticulous design.",[11,1144,1145],{},"Delhi, however, makes it abundantly clear on entry — regardless, again, of mode — that there will be no perfect introduction. Everything, and indeed anything, goes, here, and it is up to you to get used to this idea.",[15,1147],{"align":31,"alt":569,"src":1148},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fshubhaarambh\u002F1.jpg",[11,1150,1151],{},"The trains from the past arrive — never on-time — to stations: exhibits of a colonial past and the poverty it has left behind. The airport — a spectacular one, no less — is an attempt to nudge the city into mending its ways: rolling out the red carpet in a city which has welcomed visitors for years with sewers and hills of garbage. A noble attempt; the hill, however, was always going to outlive the carpet.",[15,1153],{"align":17,"alt":1154,"src":1155},"Delhi Streets","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fshubhaarambh\u002F2.jpg",[11,1157,1158],{},"Things are different today. The first sign is an on-time arrival of the Kalka Shatabdi to New Delhi; a first in my two years of being a regular patron. Next in the rapidly unraveling series of unlikely events is a newly installed false ceiling on Platform #1 : the ultimate proclamation of prosperity in aspirational India.",[11,1160,1161],{},"It is due to this signalling that I decide to experiment. The traditional exit — one involving dodging swarms of autowallahs on the filthy streets of Paharganj — is given a miss, in favour of acting on a hunch.",[15,1163],{"align":31,"alt":1164,"src":1165},"State Entry Road Gate","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fshubhaarambh\u002F3.jpg",[11,1167,1168],{},"It pays off. At the other extreme on Platform #1 — a five-minute straight walk down from where I deboard — are located the iron gates of the State Entry road. As an intimidating notice hung to the gates declares, they are usually “closed due to security reasons”. Today, they are flung open. Hanging to one side is the steel frame carrying the notice – barely noticeable.",[11,1170,1171],{},"The tree-lined avenue — State Entry Road — I find myself on is typical of the more important parts of this city: It is spotless, well-lit and feels welcoming for a pedestrian like me. It is elite enough to inspire safety and anxiety simultaneously: the only other people on the broad footpath are the late-night elderly walkers; residents of the railway flats. Railway policemen make infrequent appearances on this ten-minute stretch. They are bunched together outside the Delhi Divisional Rail Manager’s office that also finds refuge on this road: What if they tell me I can’t be here?",[15,1173],{"align":17,"alt":1174,"src":1175},"Tree Lined Avenue","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fshubhaarambh\u002F4.jpg",[11,1177,1178],{},"No such untoward hostility greets me. The familiar traffic of the Connaught Circus appears in the distance; the pole of the Central Park flag stands in the centre of the visual.",[11,1180,1181],{},"A five-minute walk, straight ahead, leads us underground, through Gate #2 of Rajiv Chowk Metro station, to the warm embrace of the Delhi Metro. Getting home is a breeze.",[11,1183,1184],{},"The ease of it all is jarring.",[15,1186],{"align":31,"alt":1187,"src":1188},"Connaught Place Flag","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fshubhaarambh\u002F5.jpg",[11,1190,1191],{},"What results is the confirmation of a long-held belief about cities. We may think we know them, but we never really know them. There is always room to continue probing.\nIn that, to my mind, cities are like people.",[11,1193,1194],{},"To the benevolent authority which decided to let subjects exit through the State Entry, I remain extremely grateful. This mode of rendezvous with the city will go on to replace all others.",[11,1196,1197],{},"It is, after all, a perfect introduction. Far from accurate, but perfect.",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":1199},[],"2018-10-26","A re-introduction to home",{"comments":1203},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fshubhaarambh",{"title":1125,"description":1201},"blog\u002Fshubhaarambh",[112],"fK-sRjw62R0tuGIZupSFdp_1W1bmqQMlU8Kn44-b2ok",{"id":1210,"title":1211,"body":1212,"date":1266,"description":1267,"extension":102,"image":1235,"layout":104,"meta":1268,"navigation":107,"path":1270,"seo":1271,"stem":1272,"tags":1273,"writer":113,"__hash__":1274},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fnew-delhi-times.md","New Delhi Times",{"type":8,"value":1213,"toc":1264},[1214,1217,1220,1223,1226,1229,1232,1236,1239,1246,1258,1261],[11,1215,1216],{},"Things so aligned themselves on this last weekend of May that the last exam of the semester – one which would draw curtains on the second year of my engineering degree – coincided with the last day of the 13th Habitat Film Festival.",[11,1218,1219],{},"The India Habitat Centre has a diverse event calendar, featuring a number of film festivals through the year. This one was special, however, since on the roster on its final day was \"New Delhi Times\" – a 1986 Shashi Kapoor starrer I had foraged through the internet multiple times to find, encountering only failure.",[11,1221,1222],{},"There was no question of missing this opportunity, then. A 7:30PM start time for the film meant that the only way of even remotely making it in time would involve taking the afternoon service from Patiala, which leaves at 12:40PM and is very punctual. The exam was scheduled to end at noon, which provided a forty minute buffer; on any other day, this would have been very manageable.",[11,1224,1225],{},"The additional complication at play here was that this was the last working day of the year; we would return only two months later now, to new rooms in new hostels. Therefore, all belongings – formerly pristine; infused, now, with the memory of the spent year – were to be carried along.",[11,1227,1228],{},"A worthy challenge. One which saw me walking out of the \"Manufacturing Processes\" examination earlier than I would have on any other occasion; sacrificing the opportunity to conjure up definitions and details in exchange for the prospect of marks granted out of sheer generosity and amusement on the part of the examiner – a generosity of which I have been a regular beneficiary during my time in college.",[11,1230,1231],{},"We lumbered our way to the bus; helped out by the introduction of Ola cabs to the city, which meant we could get a cab to ferry us from inside the campus to the bus stand. We made it in time to the bus, the bus made it in time to the city, and I made it in time to the screening.",[15,1233],{"align":17,"alt":1234,"caption":1234,"src":1235},"Vikas Pande, Executive Editor","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fnew-delhi-times\u002Fcover.jpg",[11,1237,1238],{},"About the film; numerous adjectives come to mind. The most appropriate though, is, perhaps, 'real'. It is sombre, reflective and genuine; especially memorable because of its shots of Delhi from the '80s.",[1240,1241],"iframe",{"width":1242,"height":1243,"src":1244,"frameBorder":1245,"allowFullScreen":107},"100%",315,"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.youtube.com\u002Fembed\u002FHHcBBPkRzlQ","0",[11,1247,1248,1249,1254,1255],{},"Shashi Kapoor's inclination towards creating fine, meaningful cinema is described well by the director of the film, while ",[309,1250,1253],{"href":1251,"rel":1252},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.outlookindia.com\u002Fmagazine\u002Fstory\u002Fbollywoods-own-shakespeare-wallah\u002F299604",[313],"writing"," upon his passing in December 2017. 'New Delhi Times' is a fine example. There are many, many more; each of which is lying in wait for its time to come. A string of excellent films that have slipped through the cracks; waiting to be appreciated. ",[38,1256,1257],{},"Inka time aaega?",[11,1259,1260],{},"The next item on the agenda was to watch Liverpool play Real Madrid in the Champions League Final; as per tradition, Abhishek's house was to be the venue for a small-time screening. I slept through most of it – it is unfortunate, and a frequent cause of complaint by those around, that I have lost the ability to stay awake through nights in my early 20s – and Liverpool lost. All's well that ended well.",[11,1262,1263],{},"A summer, thus, begun well.",{"title":97,"searchDepth":98,"depth":98,"links":1265},[],"2018-05-26","Shashi Kapoor and New Delhi of the 1980s",{"comments":1269},[],"\u002Fblog\u002Fnew-delhi-times",{"title":1211,"description":1267},"blog\u002Fnew-delhi-times",[112],"L-_hEFb2kdKLhE097XFGqfmB6tcp6CZlzdQg0-I3KqE",1779676880823]