Tryst with New Delhi - Bees Saal Baad

When my brother and I planned a 3-day trip to Delhi last week, little did I imagine the impact it would have on me, visiting Delhi after 20 years.

We planned this trip to witness the first ever F1 grand prix in India – a spectacle I’d never thought I’d see in my lifetime. But thanks to the remarkable progress and development made in the various sectors of the country, this is now a reality (like any other success story of so-called lopsided development, this one too would have its critics)! The other first I was eagerly waiting for was the Metallica Concert in Gurgaon, which was also part of the F1 celebration.

We arrived in Delhi on the morning of 28th Oct. The route from the airport to the hotel was a route we used to often take when we were kids, dropping relatives to and from the airport whenever they’d visit us in Delhi. But this time around, I had no clue as to what the route was and where we were – Predictably, the city had changed in the last 20 years – A very big change at that. Nevertheless, I could recognize some of the roads like Lodhi Road and Humayun Road – some of the roads I have walked during my childhood.

We took a 3-min walk from our hotel to Khan Market and what a walk that was! An overwhelming feeling to be treading the same path and seeing some of the older shops which have hardly changed in the last so many years – a stark contrast to the metamorphosis the city has undergone. Was this the feeling shared by Delhites as well or was it just me and my high-strung, emotional chords? I wondered!

While the superstructure of the market remains unchanged, it has acquired a brick-wall fence and an overcrowded parking lot. Some of the older shops still remain and have retained the same look-and-feel – something we could relate to. Shops like Gift Palace, the barber shop and Bahri sons remain the same. A toy shop in one of the by-lanes even had the same owner we used to speak to, years go!

We then took a taxi to the F1 circuit to witness the first practice session – something we were looking forward to, as one of the many passionate car-freaks in the country. The wide and fast roads of Delhi are a phenomenon that is best experienced – the infrastructure of 20 years still stands strong, with many more flyovers dissecting into the roads. In no time, we were out of Delhi and into Noida. This was accentuated by the countless posters of the UP CM, Ms Mayawati that stood tall on the road-medians throughout our journey to the F1 circuit. We zipped past Noida into Greater Noida – the location of the BIC – Buddh International Circuit!
I was in complete awe of the progress our country had made, economically and socially, in the last 60 years, after being left in a near-dilapidated condition by the British, thanks to their unscrupulous plundering. Over the years, I have come to realize that it’s done a full circle now and we are slowly, but surely, regaining the lost wealth and glory! While I was ruminating my thoughts and ideas on our socio-economic progress, our taxi headed into an exit within BIC, where all vehicles were expected to park and take the chartered buses to the F1 circuit – 16km away.

Known as the “park and ride”, we thought this was a good idea till we came face-to-face with it. There were no volunteers or representatives from the BIC. To add to it, there was no security cover at all. Chaos reigned supreme and atleast 100 people were seen to take the 20-seater mini-buses to get to the circuit, with many climbing to the roof-tops of these buses. The drivers were not aware of what to do and the people knew just one thing – Push and barge in!

My thoughts around the socio-economic progress in India quickly transformed into a feeling of helplessness and disgust – looking at our people behave like hooligans and scavengers – many of them belonging to the so-called educated elite! Some of the foreigners I saw there were visibly perplexed and had no clue on where they were or what awaited them, next. My wandering thoughts led me to a line of thinking that said – Are we capable of hosting a world event and more importantly, are we deserving of one? Or are we just playing to the hands of west, which need a small excuse to downplay the phenomenal progress we have made over the last 50 years? I could see the foreigners taking their taxis back – Will this be the first and the last F1 we would host? I wanted to get the organizers to see the disaster they had created. How could they not have anticipated the crowd and mismanaged the first leg of the event?

Eventually, we got into one of the buses that would take us to the circuit – at a painful speed of 20kmph! We took about 45min to reach the venue – it was already 2.30pm. The practice sessions were about to start at 3pm. By now, the whole crowd was annoyed, angry and impatient. We got down from the bus, only to realize that there are circuit shuttle buses operating which would take us to our gates (1-30). The buses were overcrowded and were plying at an angle theta to the horizontal – and there were no volunteers or security in the bus, to guide us. The drivers had no idea as to what was going on inside and that the session would start soon. We took 2 rounds of the circuit, not knowing where to get down and finally got down at gate 1. Walked a good 10 min to get there and got our tickets checked – while there was a crowd fighting it out with the organizers.

We rushed to the circuit to witness the practice session – thrilled to witness it.

But my feeling of disgust was there to stay – we had to head to Metallica show from here – a good 80km of distance. We packed off from the circuit at 4pm, presuming we would catch the bus back to the “park and ride” stop. What we got was a state of pandemonium where people were shoving themselves into buses not knowing where they were heading. We again took 2 rounds of the circuit in anticipation of spotting the “park and ride” buses, but to no avail. To top it all, people were not allowed to get out by the people wanting to get in. This was it! A complete lack of common sense on people’s part coupled with my sense of disgust at the whole event – I shouted on top of my voice at the fellow passengers, asking them to get down or get out. I was looked at, with surprise and fear – don’t know why, though. People got down and we did too. Took a walk and gave a piece of my mind to 3 volunteers – who, incidentally, were also searching for “park and ride”. I took them to task and told them to get us to the bus. They did call others and gave us the directions. By the time we got to that place, there was a queue for the buses – and the queue ran into thousands!

I dropped off the idea that we would get to Metallica show. Both my passions seemed to dwindle. While the F1 organization was a disaster on Friday, I could not fathom that I would be missing out on my favourite band, all thanks to this disastrous organisation. It was purely a marketing gimmick to club Metallica as an inauguration program for F1 – when the venue was 80km away! Senseless stuff. Anyway, we stood in the queue for whatever remained of the day – tired and defeated. We tried calling our taxi driver and he said he would be allowed into the circuit now, as Meru had a deal with BIC. This was great news for us! A big relief. We eventually spotted the taxi and headed to Gurgaon for the concert. It was 5pm and it all depended on the traffic snarls now, for us to get there in time. While in taxi, our hearts went out to people standing in those long queues – God knows when they’d get home! It was a pitiable state for us all – as a nation trying to prove ourselves in the eyes of the west. A complete disaster!

Nevertheless, we got to the concert venue at 7pm (gates opened at 4pm) only to realize that Metallica have cancelled their show! We talked to some people getting out of the venue and were informed of the violence inside. I could not believe it! I had travelled all the way to Delhi to witness Metallica and F1, after selling my tickets for the Metallica show in Bangalore! Seemed like I was jinxed to see Metallica perform live. We headed back to the hotel with a sunken feeling, tired, worn-out and disgusted with the way events had shaped up that day, in the capital of India. By now, I was sure we didn’t deserve to host such events with such a lackadaisical approach to organization, security and coordination.

We had a peaceful dinner at Chicken-Inn at Pandara Market – a place we used to frequent, in childhood. The negativity that engulfed us through the day slowly transformed into positivity at this restaurant – with the food tasting exactly the same way it used to, 20 years back. Met the proprietor and told him the same! It was a very good feeling to end an otherwise forgettable day.

Next day’s newspapers were replete with F1 success story and the Metallica fiasco. There was a small article on the angst experienced by the F1 enthusiasts at the “park and ride”. So much for the conscious media of this country – busy selling the market of F1 and Metallica while completely ignoring the travails people underwent in getting to the venue. To add to this, Delhi times had a photo of James Hetfield with a caption “Metallica performed yesterday in Delhi” (http://twicsy.com/i/Nkn9R)! Talk about proactive journalism!

We decided to take it easy on Saturday the 29th. We headed out to Kalkaji to see the first house we occupied in Delhi, way back in 1986. It was a DDA flat and is still pretty much the same, with the markets and playground nearby. It was a fantastic feeling to be in front of a house I grew up in, and starting going to school from.

We then headed to Sarojini Nagar from there, to see the house we stayed in, in 1987. The house is still the same and so are the surrounding areas. An old, rusted Premier Padmini with an old registration plate (not the DL-xC style) still takes prime space in the area! We then headed to our schools – Air Force Bal Bharati on Lodhi Road and Delhi Tamil Education Association on Lodhi Estate.

They remain largely unchanged. We could see our classrooms from afar. I was completely overwhelmed at the sight of an institution that shaped me, for whatever I am today. We had never thought that we’d get to this place, after so many years.

In the evening that day, we decided to take a walk to Shahjahan Road to experience the chat place that is now being operated by the 4th generation of the family. I talked to the owner and told him that his dad had served me the same chats 20 yrs back! He was very proud of his family business and that they have not compromised on their values and ethics – serving chats using traditional ingredients rather than adulterated, artificially flavoured ingredients .
We then took a walk to Khan Market to meet our childhood friends – we all grew up together in Pandara Road – a meeting made possible by Facebook! We met up at Barista and had a great time, reliving the cherished memories of our childhood. That’s when I realized that the overwhelming feeling I had on Friday with respect to revisiting my childhood – these guys had the same feeling and they have a sense of belonging in Pandara Road and Khan Market, the places that we all grew up in. It was fantastic to meet up after such a long time, and still share the same wavelength in terms of our thoughts and actions. Our thanks to Facebook, without which, such a meeting would have been inconceivable, let alone possible! It was a very good day, well-spent with relatives, friends and unforgettable memories of our childhood.

The next day was dedicated to the race. We left early, at 8am and headed to the circuit directly. We hired the same taxi driver, Amar Nath, to take us to the circuit and from there to the airport in the evening, to get back to Bangalore. On the way, we saw many vehicles headed there. It seemed like the whole of Delhi is going to witness the event. We also saw some of the constructor crew-buses – Red Bull and Sauber. We comfortably reached the circuit (no hassles of the bus rides this time, thanks to the agreement between Meru and BIC) and spent loads of time in consuming the location and the culmination of a world event. The arrangements were much better than on Friday, with security and volunteers guiding every citizen to appropriate place and extending help as and when required. An air of positivity loomed med over the venue. We finally settled to watch the race at 12.30 and met up with fellow Bangaloreans and Chennai folks in the stands. The race was thoroughly enjoyable and full of excitement. We witnessed the highest speeds the circuit had to offer. We witnessed the sunset at the end of the 60-lap race and hoped the sun would never set on Indian GP or our nation.

All of us were in awe of such a precise and perfect organization and execution of the event – Fantastic job by the Jaypee group!

We then headed to the final lap of our stay in Delhi – to get to the Airport. We left at 6pm, had underestimated the traffic and were stuck in a series of jams on our way to the airport. Our flight was at 8.45pm and this was turning out to be a typical Hindi movie ride. We reached the airport at 8.30pm! We thanked our driver and headed to the gates. The gates for check-in were already closed so we proceeded direct to security check where we were asked about medicines etc. While I headed to the gate of departure, my brother followed 5 min later. We ran to the gate and to our good fortune, we saw people still boarding the flight. We were the last to board and the flight eventually took off, after 15 min! A perfect way to end an action-packed, emotionally charged visit to the beautiful city of Delhi.

While I sat down in the flight with a bottle of water, I was a very proud Indian and the feeling of progress and success was reinstated in my mind. We are the oldest civilization in the world and are inching towards our lost glory. The developed world is in awe of our country – its development, capability and capacity. Delhi, a city that has witnessed various historical events in Ancient, Medieval and Modern India, stands tall as a “phoenix”– regaining its lost splendor and welcoming millions of people in its arms. A city that is now called the “power corridor” and aptly so , a city that has numerous government quarters to house the officials in a nearly unchanged layout, since 1940s, a city that has the best of Infrastructure the world can imagine. All in all, a city that says “change is inevitable” and that “nothing is permanent but change”. This is sure to be a turning point in the history of this nation – a turn towards greater socio-economic development in this ever-growing, populous country – and we being the fortunate generation to witness and be a part of this growth. Waiting for more to come our way…