This was just waiting to happen. And it was just a matter of time before terror would have shown its ugly face in the national capital. The blasts in Connaught place, Greater Kailash- I, Karol Bagh and Barakhamba road have so far claimed 18 lives and I can only hope that it stays 18. These places have been the heart of Delhi. As a matter of fact my ideal weekend would start in Karol Bagh, afternoon at the M Block market in GK and then evening at CP. Most Delhite would be either of the 3 places on a weekend. And particularly when Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Bangalore have been hit, these three places where just waiting for their share.

Even though these places have been so critical from security point of view, the security arrangements at these places have been pathetic. The M block market had no security check points, few shops in CP had their own security guard, Karol bagh never cared about bombs and the Barakhamba road too had no preventive measures at place. The whole demographics of Delhi is such that implementing security at these places is next to impossible. The point is that most blasts took place on the roads, how do you secure your roads in a jam packed market? The high population density makes the task further difficult. As a matter of fact these low density blasts are nearly impossible to control in any place. How on earth do you keep track of all the dust bins and the cars commuting?

Update: Another live bomb has been recovered at the India Gate.
Photo from TOI

I moved to Gurgaon a couple of weeks back. And let me tell you that it has been a huge transition for me. Last year I was a college fresher, just out of college and i needed a place where I can forget about my logistics and concentrate only on work. This is what exactly happened. I was in the company guest house for more than an year and it the most memorable time of my life. I had everything at my disposal-food, conveyance, living etc, etc. I decided to buy a car in Chandigarh because of the smooth traffic. People in Chandigarh are law abiding citizens because of so many factors, money being one of them, and hence driving on the roads is a charm. Where else in this country you will find such magnificent round-abouts, so many traffic lights, greenery and separate track for rickshaw and cycles. The area of south Delhi, near 11 murti, would perhaps be the only competitor to the excellent architecture of Chandigarh.

Before I forget, one incident i would always remember all my life. I was new to driving, it has been just a week into it. Me and my friend decided to go for a ride. Even though I was comfortable with all the gears, starting was a serious issue for me- I would always leave the clutch quickly and the car would stop. So we started with hiccups. We had to stop at the round-about because of the cross traffic. As soon as the traffic stopped, everyone was eager to get past the round-about before the traffic builds up again. I was ahead on everyone and my car wont start. Start….1st gear….leave clutch and stop!! We were stuck for long enough to infuriate the rest of the cars behind me. My friend got so impatient that he suggested-

“Abe uttar jaate hai. Car ko dhakka maar kar side kar lenge. Phir to guest house phone kar ke kisi aise ko bula lena, jisko driving aate ho” (Lets get down here and push the car to the side. We can then call someone to drive the car back)

And I did consider that option! Suddenly the car started moving and I was quick to press the accelerator peddle and race ahead. The cross traffic had to suddenly stop because of seeing my car racing so fast. I didn’t even look back but I am sure there must have been few minor accidents because of my maneuver.

Thankfully I have now learned to start.

Traffic in Gurgaon is exact the opposite. There are no traffic lights even on highways. Everyone is at the mercy of rowdy taxi, truck, tractor, bullock cart, bullocks, cows, auto and tempo wallahs. It’s a complete mayhem.No one follows lane discipline, changing lane on the expressway at will and without signals. The taxi walahs are the biggest culprit-they park and drive at will. And it’s mostly they who are responsible for accidents. But the issues in the city geography has forced the corporates to be slaves of the whims and fancies of these taxi walahs. I hope the metro comes soon and eases life out here. The government here has completely failed, the city is devoid of basic amenities like roads, water and electricity. It’s the private builders who are making money, completely oblivion to the problems being faced by dwellers in their day-to-day traveling.

Moving into an independent flat, arranging for food everyday and having to worry about gas,electricity and telephone bill has been painful for me. Even though I have finally settled, the transition has been extremely difficult. Thankfully I had the cash power or else I would returned to studies once again.

The GPS application of mapmyindia.com has been a great help to me. It has saved me long hours of wandering without directions. It is perhaps my most worthy investment into a software! I would suggest this to anyone who is new in a city and particularly a city as magnificent as Delhi.

The list has been prepared by the Foreign Policy. And it’s called The List: The World’s Worst Olympians!

The country’s athletic ineptitude is so profound that a parliamentarian called for two minutes of silence to “lament the demise of Indian sports” after the squad failed to win any medals in Barcelona in 1992.

At his ripe old age, I do not expect Shri Advani to change his thinking. But for his sake and India’s sake, I urge him at least to change his astrologers so that he gets more accurate predictions of things to come.

Manmohan Singh in a speech after UPA’s win in the Parliament. The full text of the speech can be found here
Even though he has virtually been ‘womanhandled’ by Sonia Gandhi, the kind of maturity he shown is definitely commendable. His well articulated speech in the Parliament definitely proves this. He is not someone who would pander to the desires of cheap politicians and resort to gali galoch. I hope he had more freedom to perform.

Picture from HT