Zara Sochiye was a short TV program Doordarshan showed in my teenage years. It'd be mostly aired when a movie-break was due to finish and would be short enough to catch many eyeballs--certainly of children of the house who were done with their quick house chores of laying dinner tables and keeping school bags ready … Continue reading Poor civic sense in Indians…Zara Sochiye!
Category: Life
Views on life experiences
Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon
Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park in Sector 52 Gurgaon is one of the few public parks in the city that gets some noticeable--albeit inadequate—attention from the city administration on its upkeep. A walk around this 2 acre park gives a clear impression of someone’s best intentions on its design and purpose but its poor upkeep … Continue reading Tau Devi Lal Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon
Paradise Lost
I’ve been a Gurgaon resident for close to 17 years. The first 7 years were spent in an apartment that we’d booked way back in our youth with dreams for a ‘clean and green life South of Delhi’ – our apartment builder’s catch phrase to attract young Delhites to this suburban city. The struggle of … Continue reading Paradise Lost
Birding as more than a passing interest
I started looking at birds closely about 14 years ago. I can estimate this time somewhat accurately as I still remember my first focused birding walk of that long ago. It was in Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary on a wintery morning when my son, Kabir was just over a year old and we were ill prepared … Continue reading Birding as more than a passing interest
Renewing Driving Licence in Gurgaon
For more than a year I'd been repeatedly checking the expiry dates on Kishore's and my driver's licence and worrying about the pain we'd have to endure for their renewal. The dates were only a few weeks apart so--like many things in our married life--we considered ourselves somewhat fortunate on having to work on this … Continue reading Renewing Driving Licence in Gurgaon
Election and Power are Directly Related in Gurgaon!
I'd dreaded this time's election not only thinking of its mismanagement in Gurgaon but also because in the weeks leading up to it, suddenly we had electricity almost all our days and nights. As a result, we acquired the bad habit of being in a cool house and seeing our appliances work at all times. … Continue reading Election and Power are Directly Related in Gurgaon!
Voting Blues in Gurgaon
The hour I spent at the Chiranjiv Bharti School in Sushant Lok, Gurgaon earlier today washed away any feelings of patriotism or civic sense that I'd summoned to cast my vote. The 3 stalls outside the school building were full of anxious people crowding around 2 officials posted at each stall. It took me some … Continue reading Voting Blues in Gurgaon
Flowers to Tickle your Bone
Ever since we've owned a small patch of green and been gardening, we've acquired some scattered knowledge of the varieties of flowers and grass that can grow in the trying soil and weather conditions of Gurgaon. Most of that knowledge has been initiated by the local maalis (gardeners) or nursaries (plant shops) and we've accepted … Continue reading Flowers to Tickle your Bone
Gurgaon Traffic – there’s still hope
Today I attended an emergency meeting of Traffic Observers (TOs) at Gurgaon's Mini Secretariat that houses offices of some DCPs of Gurgaon. The meeting was called to introduce the new ADC Mr. Praveen Kumar and it had him and Mr. Satyendra Gupta, DCP/Traffic addressing us. The new ADC gave instances of our possible support to … Continue reading Gurgaon Traffic – there’s still hope
Gurgaon Administration – An Unsolved Mystery!
In my 12+ years in Gurgaon, I’ve seen the city landscape change dramatically but its inherent problems have continued to exist. They haven’t been addressed cohesively in all these years, and where we’re fortunate in seeing any corrections taking place, they appear so ad hoc that we wonder if any long-term planning is going into … Continue reading Gurgaon Administration – An Unsolved Mystery!
