Weekly Delhi Diary

After three warm days, winter began creeping back midweek with the temps dropping and the skies remaining occasionally overcast over Delhi. All in all, fairly dicey weather from the colds and coughs angle.

Winter annuals laid out in Lutyens Delhi's roadside parks and traffic islands have begun to bloom with the Calendulas and Dahlias taking the lead over the other varieties. The Chrysanthemums ( Mums in America), the first to bloom and spreading colour and joy the past month in private and public gardens took a beating when Delhi experienced sharp showers on January 9 night. They are now being removed and replaced by by pots of other winter annuals.
In my own home garden, the marigolds have begun to wither and pansy buds formation started, with just a few blooms peaking shyly from behind a thick cluster of leaves. These are, of course, the hybrid varieties from Sakata( Japanese) seedlings. The hardier desi yellow varieties are already in full bloom

Next week shall try to sprinkle my weekly diary with outdoor pictures taken from my digital camera to make the blog more colourful.

My namesake ( Anil Kumble) has brought a wave of good cheer all over India with the team's fantastic victory over the Aussies at the invincible Perth ground. Th tenacity displayed by each member of the team in the teeth of a fierce opposition from the Australian team was in my view, the key to the magic victory scored by us. The match by any standard was very interesting and watchable, restoring, to an extent, the waning appetite among Indian cricket lovers in Test cricket. More hard work and the same spirit may well see India levelling the Series at Adelaide.

Delhiites long expectation of faster commute to Gurgaon are finally set to become a reality with the official opening of the long network of Fly Overs connecting Delhi with Gurgaon and the IGI airport three days before( Jan 23) the Republic Day.
One listens almost daily to the woes of road users over the traffic snarls and increasing chaos on Delhi roads. But the solution, in my view, certainly does not lie in the attention this gets in the local print and electronic media.

First I would like to bring to the notice of the highly spoilt Delhi road users that the delays being suffered by them are nothing compared to the other Metros like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Calcutta.

Also, some credit is due to the city planners and the authorities in Delhi, whether in the Central or state Gov ts for at least thinking about the traffic needs of one of the fastest growing cities of the world in terms of power driven vehicles, in a holistic manner, though a couple of decades late , some planning is finally discernible!

Most of the blame for the chaos on Delhi roads is due to the utter lack of road sense on the part of the users and the almost total absence of enforcement of traffic laws by the Delhi Police.Insufficiency of numbers of Delhi traffic police may be contributing to this phenomenon, but is totally unacceptable as an excuse on the part of DP. I think better supervision and utilization of existing resources is called for.

Another thought on how we celebrate Republic Day. Yes we must be remember the sacrifices of our forefathers in achieving Independence and Democracy in a befitting manner, and keep patriotism and nationalism alive,no doubt. But the scale on which we spend and the rather repetitive nature of the elaborate processions and march pasts on Raj Path causing immense discomfort to road users over several days needs to be looked at again.Is the objective being achieved ?Is there no scope for a more imaginative and innovative approach , but to see India's rich and diverse heritage folk art and and dances performed by children floated past ??


Enough for this week, I think. Hey, this chance to share my thoughts on subjects of interest has whetted my appetite to continue writing this weekly.
How do you find it? Pl help me to make it more readable.
Best of everything in the week ahead