Rewinding in Delhi by Puneet Rajhans

You got to give to the city the choices it offers. Choices the political establishment throws up; choices the working class seeks and the ones that we are confronted as we step out. You are spoilt for choices and all these situations look good as long as the evening doesn't set in. A late evening outing could be as painful as hitting the jungle terrain with no safety kits. Looking back the city's transformation isn't all that a sweet deal as the beast is on the prowl. A tinker with possibilities could be promising or a drain on your thoughts depending on how compatible you are with the surroundings. Time to do a rewind.

Once upon a time in Delhi

- the much-revered JRD Tata sweating it out at Jt Secy's office when licence raj was the norm.
- when Dhiru bhai came to the city and all the big politicos in attendance to have a word.

- the much-respected Ratan Tata pitching tent in Delhi to secure an alliance with S'pore airlines only to be thwarted by sinister elements.
- the traffic was nearly proportionate to the number of people residing in the city.
- the city was witness to Ambys and Fiats sharing space with the much-desired DTC buses. The DTC buses of that make are visible on the Delhi-Ajmer route alone these days.
- you could possibly reach DU (North Campus) from your place of residence in just under 10Rs; nowadays it sets you back by at least 40Rs. JNU could also be reached in just under 5Rs.
- the DTC tickets priced at 25, 40 and possibly 60 paise with 12.50 Rs bus pass the most cherished possession.
- you could enter Parliament from C Sec side and exit towards Vijay Chowk with seamless ease.
- you could possibly see Indira Gandhi's convoy of three to four Ambys coming from Sunehari Bagh Road side and proceeding towards 1 Saf Road. The windows had just curtains and there was no such thing as tinted glasses or taint tailing a leader. The last time you saw the leader of that calibre was Narashima Rao as his convoy passed through Krishna Menon Marg with pedestrian movement not restricted to the scale that is visible now.
- your access to the picture of Super Star of '70s and '80s peeing off in the bushes of Willingdon Crescent Road.
- the Illustrated Weekly of India having a cover story "Finished?" following a series of misses from AB. The star had his comeback opportunity with "Hum".
- AB marking his presence in J N Stadium in '82 Asian Games and the crowd going berserk when he left.
- AIR in the evening news bullettin confirming AB's resignation from Parliament in the summer of '87 as the cesspool of politics was too much for him.
- a boy (barely in his teens) going to Ajmer (his maiden visit)with a prayer to Khwaja (as he put the 50 Rs note in the big vessel placed on the right side in the Dargah) that he could make it to the film industry only to be rudely told that vacancies weren't there for the next 10 years.
- India Post and Business and Political Observer newspapers hitting the stands in '87 only to fold up later.
- the Jat leader from Haryana giving his piece of mind to A Shourie on a landline and the entire conversation (all expletives included) carried in toto the next day and this setting in place an entire new tribe which couldn't do away with abuse.
- the Human Rights concert taking place in J N Stadium in '88; the tickets for which could be procured from Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg (TOI).
- the Vijay Chowk wasn't the den for Journos to spell out the rights of every child to free education in India, Pak And B'desh.
- Salma Sultan and Raman taking to news bulletin reading on Doordarshan, with none leaving the chair until the exercise was complete. Nowadays the likes of Ka Se do a disappearing act (for a while) while sharing space with another anchor in the 8 pm news slot. Still the Sena tigress/airport gatecrasher takes the cake on thoughts tears and prayers (day in and day out). Govinda Willing would root, pray for Ka Se for entire life (Aug.to Dec. to be carried in 2011 as well)

- enamoured by the success of India in '83 World Cup, Indira Gandhi and a host of others visited Feroshah Kotla Stadium only to witness the mayhem that Malcom Marshall had unleashed as he ripped apart Indian batting lineup in the India-Windies Test match.
- the flicks like Chashme Buddor (Farooq Sheikh waiting for a bus right opposite Embassy of Nepal) and Burning Train (Dharmendra speeding with his machine in the city) showed the breathing space that city roads were blessed with.
- the Delhi Cantonment Station having metre gauge trains going right up to A'bad'; and there were no such trains with which you could return from Ajmer the same day.
- the Delhi Mumbai sector having not more than four flights a day with Indian Airlines having the first and last mover advantage.
- the landline being the sole mode to connect, we were years and years away from the cell soaked conversations that is as pathetic as the innumerable TV debates. The scene from “Jane Bhi Do Yaaro” where Naseeruddin Shah is all hooked up to a landline conversation with his opponents sums up the invincibility of this machine.
- the city theatres like Kamal and Archna playing host to flicks like “Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyo Aata hai”and “Return of Bruce Lee” have metamorphosed themselves to commercial enterprise of a different order.
- the city's airport/station/bus terminals were more of an isolated spots. Nowadays you are assailed by bunch of thugs as you step out from theses places of never-ending commotion. You haven't been through with one battle; the second is staring you right at your face.
-the rude contests were few and far. Now there aren't good tidings that you can emotionally connect to.
- the seat of power Parliament didn't face as much disruptions as it sees today. The Finance Minister is on a short fuse and this is his third foray (this year)in that direction.