The Hindu : New Delhi News : Inside Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jan 10, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Inside Delhi

Unequal ways

While some roads in Delhi are re-laid almost every year -- despite there being no need for the costly makeover -- others remain neglected for years on end and their users have to bear the jerks and bumps with a grin. Though people are left wondering why this is so when the Capital of the country should at least be showing the way in equal treatment to all, no answers are forthcoming.

What makes matters worse is that the condition of roads near some of the major markets also remains really bad. A case in point is the Ghazipur wholesale fruit and vegetable market in East Delhi. The biggest wholesale market in the region, it continues to suffer from neglect.

The Delhi Development Authority may have drawn up grandiose plans for the market, but a visit to the place reveals that the treatment is not even step-motherly. The road that leads to the market from National Highway 24 is broken at many places. Also, it is not properly laid and there are huge stretches with only stones and mud. A number of potholes along the route make the journey very bumpy.

Also, while there are no streetlights -- ostensibly because these markets are only supposed to remain open during daytime -- the stretch of road right outside the market has no tar on it. While this road also provides a major link to the highway from the main road leading to the Anand Vihar Inter-State Bus Terminal, the authorities continue to neglect it.

Most of the road users are retail and wholesale vegetable and fruit sellers and casual buyers who go to the market looking for some reasonable purchases. However, proper upkeep of the road can make it a busy thoroughfare as it provides a fast connection to the U.P. border from the Anand Vihar side and also has a few malls and commercial complexes to attract people. It is the coming up of these establishments which is now giving people a ray of hope as the authorities almost always come up with ways of pleasing the rich and famous.

-- Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

A dogged fight

Dogs in a Mayur Vihar colony in East Delhi suddenly decided to take on a bigger enemy recently. Not content chasing cats like in popular cartoon shows, they took to hot pursuit of the much bigger, mechanical armoured "animals" in the colony: motor cars. The local motorists found that they were chased down doggedly every time they drove in or out of the colony.

Having lived in the area for years without any special attention, a resident was intrigued enough to solve the mystery of the dogs taking all this special interest in the cars. Determined to get to the bottom of it all, he took the first step towards solving the problem -- he asked around.

Turning to the eyes and ears of most colonies -- the guards -- he found that the dogs had a legitimate reason for targeting cars. A puppy had been run over by a car and the dogs had decided to take their revenge. With the battle still to be won, the dogs seem determined not to give up without a fight.

-- Mandira Nayar

Child prodigy

He may be a multi-talented boy from God's Own Country, but Bhagyanath goal in life is to become a full-fledged magician. A Class VI student of St. Shantal School in Thiruvananthapuram, Bhagyanath has acted in Malayalee teleserials and is also said to be the youngest artiste to have anchored television programmes. But he is more at home staging magic shows.

Bhagyanath, who was here in the Capital recently to receive the Global Pravasi Achievement Award, has his feet firmly planted on the ground. He knows that all the fame and adulation coming his way is mainly due to his ability to perform magic.

"Though I have acted in teleserials like "Varsham" and in Murali Nair's film "Arimpara", I want to pursue a career in magic," says 11-year-old Bhagyanath, who names figures in Limca Book of Records for performing over 1,000 magic shows across the country.

"My favourite magical trick is to cut a person into two with my sword. The floating duck is another technique in which I hypnotise a person and slowly remove the table from under him. The person floats for some time and then I put the table back."

With his father Naath being a professional magician, magic is in Bhagyanath's blood. Recognising Bhagyanath's extraordinary talent, Naath has passed on the trade secrets to his son.

-- Madhur Tankha

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