Locked in the park

Hi. Do you know the number to call the police in Delhi? It was my wife at the other end.

I wondered if someone had got away with my Dad's car, that we are borrowing currently. Or maybe broke into our house.

It was something more serious. My wife and the little one were locked in the park near our house. Three Iranian kids were also trapped inside the park.

The park is owned by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and they generally don't lock up their parks. In fact, they have never locked their parks - for years, allowing ready access to men, women, children, cats, dogs, cows, buffaloes.....some of them even choosing to s**t on the not-so-green lawns!!

The park is surrounded by spike-grills, so climbing over and escaping was not an option. With darkness setting in, spending the night seemed a realistic possibility unless someone could open or break the lock.

But no one around seemed to know who had the lock - and, more importantly, the key - to the park. They could only smile at the predicament of the five individuals trapped in the park.

An old man, passing through, suddenly remembered. Mr Kapoor.....in Number 51.....he has the key to the park. Mr Kapoor happened to live several houses away from the park and had taken ownership of the park. If someone wanted to use the park, he held the key.......But Mr Kapoor wouldn't respond to the ringing bell. In fact, he let loose his dogs fearing he was under attack.

That is something so interesting about Delhi and India. Almost everyone accepts things on face-value. If someone challenges this thinking, they smile or laugh at his/her idiocy. Worse still, they advise him/her against turning a non-issue into an issue. But if this challenge is successful in changing things, they applaud and lament why more people don't stand up more often and fight.

When my wife raised her voice, one of guards - smiling all this while - remembered where the key was. He had borrowed it from Mr Kapoor for his employer's kids to play in the park. He went inside the house and got the key.

Why did you lock the park? my wife thundered. Ignoring the question, he said: I am now opening the park, aren't I? Do you want to come out or stay inside? My wife said the police were on their way and maybe he should wait until then. The guard laughed at what he saw as an empty threat and turned around.

Suddenly, as it happens in films, the cops arrived with the siren blazing. The guard's face went white. His employer suddenly found the time to come out as well.

Mr Kapoor was still safely inside the house. His dogs were still barking at the top of their voice.

Who locked the park? one of the cops demanded to know. The employer said: Sir, the park is locked to make sure that no unsavoury characters come into the park. The cops seemed satisfied with the answer......Until my wife asked: Isn't this a public park? How can someone own it and put it under a lock and key?

Yes, you must at least put a notice - the cop helpfully suggested. My wife clarified that that wasn't the point. The point was that there were five people in the park and the person locking the park hadn't bothered to inform them. If those kids weren't trying to get out, we wouldn't even have found out that we haven't been locked.

The three Iranian kids were in the 7-10 year range and probably belonged to family working at the Iranian Embassy. When the cops were reminded that this such things would not only damage the country's reputation but could blow into something bigger, they were a bit more serious.

Mr Kapoor would still not come out of his house to explain the situation. And his dogs were barking harder.

The cop worked out what the solution was. I am taking away this lock. He then suggested that my wife forget and forgive the incident.

My wife was in no mood to forgive. And rightly so. The aged/retired owners of the houses in Anand Niketan love the money/prestige that the young foreign tenants bring - but would like them to be restricted to just the house. The parks are for older folk to soak in the sunshine and socialise. After all, what need does a kid have for a park?

The little one was excited by the action around her. Mum, we must teach them a lesson. She had heard her Mum saying she'll teach the perpetrators a lesson.

The employer explained the situation. The local residents have only recently invested 40,000 INR (£550) in the swings and the rides. We don't want these destroyed by older kids.

My wife wondered whether this was a serious comment or a comment made in jest, as a much older maid - accompanying the kids of the employer - was enjoying the swing without posing any risk to its stability.

The employer opened up a bit further. Those kids have come here before and had to be discouraged from using the park. So, the guard locked the gate and walked away.

Then, as if he was doing a big favour, said: What can I do for the time you spent trapped? I have already said sorry.

My wife blew a fuse: What do you mean by sorry? First you say this was done on purpose. Then, your guard sat here acting as if he didn't know who locked the park or had the key. You yourself only come out when the police arrived. This is a public park, and if only to prove a point, I will bring my child to play here all this week. Just try locking the gate again.

The little one beamed seeing her Mum shut up a "naughty uncle". And related the entire story to whoever she spoke to - in the evening - and to me when I got home.

She was certainly proud of her Mum. And I am too.

Mr Kapoor? Well, he was still shielded by those barking dogs and the main door.

A visit to the Children's Park

A friend remarked today - "Do you plan on keeping busy with the landlady, washing machine and PAN card or will you have other social interactions as well?"

He is an old and dear friend, who has seen more of me in Delhi through this blog than in flesh and blood.

My apologies if I have given that impression. Even though all the above have taken a lot of my time, we have still had time to invite friends or go over to their places.

As of this weekend, we started acquainting ourselves with the family-friendly Delhi.

The first stop, on Sunday was the Children's Park. Located next to India Gate, it is definitely ones of most well-resourced and spacious park for children in Delhi.

It has been a big draw for the city's children. The lure of spending some time running around in the park, having a go on the swings and slides, followed by a picnic on the India Gate Lawns has been too strong.

I hadn't been there for more than two decades, but thought it would be a good place to introduce the little one to.

At the turn of the millennium the maintenance of the park was overtaken by a major Indian automobile manufacturer. It has modernised an upgraded the park - including an amphitheatre, a library, a science centre and other new additions like musical fountains and theme-based water works on the Jungle Book.......And it still doesn't cost anything to enter and use the park.

My Mum-in-law, who is visiting us these days, decided to take a siesta in the park, while the little one and I went ahead to explore the park.

The little one has always preferred the swing. It requires minimum effort on her part and doesn't involve the unpleasantness of jostling for space on a slide or monkey bar or climbing frame. The latter being very important on the day as busloads of school-kids had come to enjoy the park.

It was both sad and overwhelming to see the excitement these kids had about the park. Sad because even after all these years, Children's Park is the only free option for kids from different parts of Delhi. Overwhelming because kids love being outdoors given an option.

For a few hours, the park resembled a dust bowl as kids ran from swings to slides to monkey-bars to climbing frames in search of excitement. They did what kids do - push others to have a go on their favourite thing; tug at each others' shirts and trousers to scare each other and wanting to use every second of their time in the park productively.

Amidst all this, the little one retained firm control of the swing as her mother and I took turns at pushing her.

After a few hours of play, it was time for lunch. We hadn't brought along picnic, so the next best option seemed to be Andhra Bhawan. It is walking distance from the Children's Park and has a fantastic canteen.

The canteen offers eat-as-much-as-you-can lunch on the table for 80 rupees (or one British Pound). The food is fresh, tasty and filling and the place attracts strong patronage. Even India's prime-minister-in-waiting Rahul Gandhi is believed to be fan.

It being a weekend day, we had to wait for a little while before a table got free. But the food was well worth it. My little one couldn't get her favourite 'idli' (steamed rice-flour cakes), but did enjoy the fresh yogurt and rice - while we devoured the lentils, vegetables, sambar, rasam, pooris, rice, pickles and sweets.

We haven't decided where we'll go this weekend, but I'll keep you posted.