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By Sandeep Joshi
The December 13 terrorist attack on Parliament House has changed Delhi's perception of security and safety. The terrorist attack not only shook the nation's conscience but also made people understand how awareness and cooperation were a key to restrict further incidents.
There have been welcome changes in the Capital as far as the security scenario is concerned. The immediate impact of the attack could be seen at all places, including those where threat perception is usually not so high as compared to the other vulnerable spots.
While security has been beefed up at all Government establishments, shopping complexes, hotels, and other important places, private security guards are visible at almost every building -- residential as well as commercial. Similarly, barring some important Government buildings where para-military forces are in charge of security, most buildings now have private security personnel or they could be seen assisting cops and home guards.
Notably, employees at parking lots in major buildings and other important places can be seen religiously taking down registration numbers of vehicles moving in and out. Similarly, checks of vehicles at entry points of buildings has now become routine.
However, the positive aspect of the entire proceedings is active cooperation and readiness from common people in ensuring foolproof security. For, they know that ``whatever is being done is for their safety and that of their countrymen''.
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No fire
By Lalit K. Jha
The speech by Congress(I) Councillor from Shastri Nagar, Shalu Malik, at the MCD House budget deliberations today came as a big disappointment for the press, other Councillors and officials who were expecting a fiery and focussed talk raising serious issues.
Instead, it was quite unimpressive and reflected she had not done her homework properly. No doubt, the former president of Delhi University Student's Union referred to some facts and figures, but those were mixed up in her speech which could have been more apt for a street-corner public meeting.
Ms. Malik, it is learnt, prepared this speech for the past few days. ``She is known for giving better speeches. We do not know what happened to her today,'' commented one of her fellow colleagues.
In fact, as she stood up to express her views, the Leader of the Opposition, Ram Babu Sharma, said she would be the future Mayor. And so the entire House became attentive to listen to her speech. However, it soon erupted into laughter and promptings from the treasury benches.
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Honesty pays
By Pranab Dhal Samanta
Not many stolen goods return. And if the incident were to occur in Delhi, the best advice one gets is to simply forget about it. After all, peace of mind counts! But something very odd happened with this person in the first few weeks of this New Year.
The cellular phone was a recent purchase and the excitement over it had not quite died down. However, an urgent need to recharge the gadget compelled him to leave the phone with a known dealer in one of the posh markets of the Capital. An hour later, when he returned the mobile phone had disappeared and the bewildered shop-owner embarrassingly said the gadget had been stolen.
A few weeks later, the person received a call from the shop-owner that the phone had been recovered. He rushed to the shop and to his surprise, it had indeed been found in just the same condition as before. The story that unfolded was equally, if not more, astonishing.
A boy, who had been gifted a similar gadget by his parents, had lost the phone. Knowing well that his father -- who is a low-ranking government official -- had probably sacrificed much to get him this gift, he went to the particular dealer's shop on that eventful day to find a replacement. One of his friends noticed a similar gadget being charged in a discreet corner of the shop. He quietly slipped it into his pocket, gestured to his friends, and they fled. The replacement had been done.
Days later, the father realised that his son's original number was not working, so he queried. The son said he had changed his sim card. The father inquired where he got the money for it. The son stuttered with his answers and ended up narrating the truth.
The father did not waste any time. At around midnight, he woke up another shop-owner in the same market and told him that the mobile phone must be returned to its rightful owner. This shop-owner got in touch with the mobile phone dealer from whose shop the phone was stolen. And the dealer returned the phone to its owner.
As for the owner, he was left wondering that despite all the lampooning it gets, honesty does at times have the final say.
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Photo images
By K. Kannan
As part of its professional outreach programme, the Visual Arts Gallery of the India Habitat Centre, in collaboration with Max Mueller Bhavan, organised a 10-day workshop on the ``Changing Image of the Professional Photographer'' last week. The workshop was conducted by Swiss photographer, Beat Presser.
An internationally renowned photographer, Presser's career has taken him across the globe not only in the pursuit of his ``perfect photograph'' but also conduct workshops in Africa, South America, nationwide in Switzerland and now to India. His artwork is currently on display at the Max Mueller Bhavan.
The workshop, held from January 11 to 20, at the India Habitat Centre was titled ``Digital Revolution''. The aim was to explore the possibilities of digital technology with reference to photography, scanning, overlaying, inclusion of text with images, colour changing, juxtaposition of imagery...
As many as 20 participants representing a wide cross-section of society participated. They varied not only in terms of age and profession, but also skills and experience, from those who had little to no experience of photography to proficient persons who sought greater expertise in the field of digitisation.
The theme to be worked upon was ``music'' and their own personal interpretation. What resulted was a refreshingly diverse and personal visual idiom that was all the more intriguing for its adaptation and employment of technology.
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