Thursday, March 10, 2011

Off to Delhi....

This is a tiny quiz for my Blogdosts - guess the city! Okay... let me make that easier for you. It's one of my favourite cities. Ummm.... let me just say it out loud - it's Pune. But you will have to tell me which part of Pune. Can you identify the place???
I am off to Delhi at dawn. I'll be in the Lawless Capital for just a day attending Penguin's Spring Fever. My session is called 'Friday Blockbuster'. It should be fun. Three authors reading from books in progress. After that, my publishers will sweetly wine and dine us, possibly at the Claridge's - which is one of Delhi's oldest and most charming hotels.
Strange, last night while watching an old Uttam Kumar movie ( he is so wildly romantic and dishy!), set in an old Kolkata hotel, I felt terribly nostalgic and mushy. They really don't make matinee idols like Uttam Kumar any more. He represented an era when there were real men in the movies - not these pretty boys ( and to hell with their six pack guts) running around with goofy expressions.
Tonight , on Arnab's show, the discussion revolved around young Radhika's murder in broad daylight on International Women's Day. Of course, it had to be Delhi where it took place. And of course, the Delhi cops are clueless. But at least the students aren't keeping mum - even if Sheila Dixit has conveniently passed tthe buck on to civil society by insisting it is the duty of citizens to come forward and support police investigations. In that case, darrrrrling, why bother to elect people's representatives in the first place? Leave it to citizens to run the country - we'll do a far better job of it.

36 comments:

चंद्रमौलेश्वर प्रसाद said...

A capital city full of rapes, murders and loot.... what a sham :(

Satrupa said...

Who the fuck says "Delhi Dilwaloon ka Seher hai". It is a city full of crooks, corrupt politicians and goons. A girl is never safe on the roads even in broad daylight.
Anyhoo .... I hope u njoy reading your book !!

goodluck said...

Colleges must employ security guards both men and women and these should keep a hawk's eye. Government can bear the cost as it is unable to provide proper force. And when a determined stalker decides to murder, he will find a way police or no police. And police cant be everywhere.
If a faceless woman belonging to labour class or a destitute is murdered, will these news channels start calling you and concentrate one full day to cover up? Why this bias only for one section of society? This lop sided priority is what creates criminals and criminal activities.

goodluck said...

Today there is a news of a 5 year old being raped, beaten with belts and bricks in the same Delhi. I feel this is more gruesome as it involve a small child so helpless and the way the child is tortured by a bunch a sadists. Hope this case is also highlighted and a large police employed not only to bring the culprits to book but also see that these are given death sentences along with the stalker who killed Radhika and other such helpless girls.
Why dont they employ a special force to deal with crimes against girls and children only?
Why dont they check boys and men who just loiter and in groups?
What makes Delhi so crime prone whether it is road rages, rash driving, possession of firearms etc.? Are these people have political protection of one party or another and whether they are used in rallies, bandhs, rioting etc.?
Why these politicians should have so much police force employed to protect them while the ordinary citizen is rather harassed by the police rather being protected?

Arjun said...

Hey all you people, get some sense please. What the Chief Minister said was that civilians must be equally vigilant, and make our police forces strong.
All of you almost sound as if every citizen of the country must be provided with a police escort !!!
The country will invest on superior security infrastructure in times to come. Surveillance cameras to keep check of all streets in cities and towns, and a monitoring center is gonna be reality in coming times. The nation needs to mature up as wise, disciplined, responsible citizens first and then demand by all means.
There's still a huge population that's been left out in more ways than one, and it'll keep coming back to you in some form and at privileged citizens who choose to turn away from that reality.
Why does it always have to be that the government must be the whole sole provider for all things big and small. There are many things that can be executed on public-private partnership, including strengthening civil security.
Not that I'm overly impressed by our government's performance report otherwise, its just that sadly our country's state of affairs is a true reflection of the half baked democracy we live in.

Prats said...

I think this is the stadium which hosted Commonwealth youth games in Pune? Built again by Kalmadi.

Ah Ram Lee said...

For me as a foreigner, I found it really strange that Delhi where should be supposed to be the safest city throughout the whole India as a capital city has had the highest crime rates. There must be corruptions everywhere in the world but it's very sad thing that many polices have engaged in abusing and hitting especially street children. Since there had been many social issues which are not taken care of by governments, NGOs and awaken citizens should move.
It's lucky that Delhi has many students who are contributing their energies and passion for solving these problems. Still not enough though,, and it's for me so good to meet those people here. That's how I felt working with Dil Se Campaign for helping vulnerable people and children on and off the streets.
Dear Mrs. Shobhaa. This is what I was trying to talk about! If they cannot handle all the problems then let us give our little hands to save more lives. I have been thinking that you are one of people who can reach and inspire people in many ways through your blog. I guess you are absolutely busy but please visit our blog and let us know. :)

Ashwini Sane said...

One thing is for sure Pune has changed a lot. It has given in to the developers, and lost its lovely climate, and beauty and green running farmlands.
As for Delhi, it is like any big cities of the world, New York for example? They are developed and they too have crimes, womens day or not. So I think we should not pan our own cities. Crime should be stopped but with greater awareness, and with the help of the people we stay around with in our locality and the police.

absorbing normalcy mybloganilkhanna.blogspot.com said...

watching old uttam kumar movie does signifies nostalgic trend.it is worth considering reading old popular books than reading now generations me-too books.baby-boomers were superior to generation x and millennials.

Anonymous said...

Shobha,

Though I do not have any regards for these so called representatives of ours. The less said about them the better.
I do believe that the people should take the responsibility and not pass the buck, else even Mumbai will go the Delhi way. In fact it is slowly...
Who is going to bell the CAT?

Take the fire at Four Bunglows, Andheri (W). The fire brigade personnel,nor the police could be held responsible for the mishap. It was the Society and each individual who should have insisted on a good safety system to prevent/snuff out such fires.
Of course it is a different matter if the authorities were informed and did not take action, due to you know what....

Cheers!

Norman

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Tsomo85 said...

Pune your fav city? Cool, one of my fav sridevi didi is also from pune/mumbai. She is too dham funny; mother of 3 kids and still makes fun on every single north indians & makes me laugh so hard. hahaha I must agree that those bengali male/female actors are super cute & talented. Their mannerism on screen are completely opposite to our younger generation film stars. I like Joy Mukherjee in Love In Tokyo! Shobha De, now I know why you married Mr.De..............It's the Udam Kumar ka side effect. :p

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Neeraj Shinde said...

That's balewadi stadium. Wish you a happy journey!

Unknown said...

ye hai delhi hai mera yar....!!

Unknown said...

Balewadi!

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