Archit's Appa, & the Ride to the Railway Station

 

A year and a half since I had last been in this city. It seemed nothing much had changed. I could approach the metro the same way I did two years ago. The rain-washed white Connaught Place looked very much the same as it looked a year ago. I remembered, that day it had rained too. And I was without an umbrella! To me, an outsider and an observer of the city, things looked very much the same as it did earlier. However, to a resident and a chronicler of the city, things had certainly changed.

"In a bid to renovate and expand parts of the city and give it a fresh look, they have started destroying the ethos of the place!" surmised Appa as we drove down the IP Extension Road towards the highway. Appa pointed towards the extended track of road which the AAP has started remodeling, in an attempt to showcase 'development'. I was reminded of the conversation I had with Amma over a cup of coffee in the morning, about how the city is longer what it used to be ten years back, and that things have probably taken a turn towards the worse over these years. Appa showed me the school which has been created and showcased by the AAP as a 'model school' of sorts. 

I got to know something fascinating about the Delhi in the 1980s and 1990s. That there used to be U- special buses which would only be run for the Delhi University students studying in both the campuses, and which would drop the students to their respective colleges on time. Not only was this very convenient for a lot of people, but it would be a very good platform to make friends and know people from other colleges. These cross-class cross-region interactions would be in the true spirit of a central university that DU purports to be. Appa recalled a Bengali boy he had met, who wanted to become an archaeologist! He also remembers how his best friend happened to be a fellow passenger in the U-special bus.

In a few more minutes, we were driving through the central heartland of the city. Appa showed me the DDA office which has as many as 24 storeys and used to be the tallest building in Delhi in its time. Yet, the storeys are not lofty. The building has lost the competition to the modern "high-risers" and "sky-scrapers". Or maybe, quite true to its grace, the building never wished to scrape the sky and rise high up, really?

In the morning there had been a light drizzle. The roads were still wet and soaking in the fresh rainwater with its warmth. Very soon, monsoons will set in and Delhi will get its due share of showers. The recent rainfall in Himachal Pradesh has had its impact on Delhi.

 Appa showed me the office where Ajja used to work at one time, and the other important buildings in the city. We passed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants and the INSA. This was certainly the most happening part of the city, in terms of business, commerce and policy-making.

Appa has been born and brought up in Delhi, although he has its roots in South Kerala and Karnataka. Being a Dehlavi for the longest time, he has seen and known the city at the tip of his fingers. Their house in the IP extension, almost 20 years old now, is quite centrally located and convenient for several reasons. However, it has failed to keep pace with the growing number of cars and vehicles of its residents. A housing with a capacity to hold some 120 vehicles has now to contend with 250+ vehicles. For all practical purposes, Appa and Amma wish to retire down south, back to their native places, after retirement. The Delhi they knew 20 years back is no longer really there. They had had enough of the city and her people. Probably a breath of fresh air and some peace of mind is all they wish to have now.

In around 25 minutes, we had reached the Paharganj Gate of the railway station, from where I was to board my train. Appa has travelled widely and largely, across the length and breadth of the country, on account of his work. He remembers almost every particular train's scheduled time of departure. He would entertain me retelling his diverse set of experiences. Appa is happy and contended with his professional life, and how that had panned out in recent years. 

The road in front of the railway station gate was heavily trafficked as usual, owing to a bottleneck there. Appa dropped me near the railway station, and we bade farewell. I thanked him for all the love and care he had showered all this while. My heart was full. I told him how to teary and overwhelmed I was to look at the city, albeit briefly, once again, after a long intermission. Although my stay in Delhi was hardly a day long, I had learnt enduring lessons of love, loss and remembering. These I would shelf with care.

I knew Delhi has changed in all these years. It is changing every year. That is indeed how a city grows and metamorphoses. Some of these changes have been good and welcome. Some have been bad and unwelcome. Nevertheless, change has been there. In a few more years, Appa and Amma might actually leave the city and settle in Karnataka. Navya might be in another city, and Archit might be busy with his job. The city will miss its chroniclers and longtime residents. But the city will keep changing.