New Delhi

Inside Delhi

For a bump-free ride

The road outside the Delhi High Court has changed for good. As many as three improperly designed speed-breakers have been removed and one has been modified as per the stipulations laid down for construction of such road infrastructure.

The development has got many wondering if this is just the beginning of the way speed-breakers are made in the Capital city.

The restructuring of speed-breakers is also welcome news for citizens who had been suffering due to the mushrooming growth of ill planned and very big and high speed-breakers that more than reducing the speed of the vehicles ensured that they had a frequent change of the shock absorbers.

Though as per the law a speed-breaker can be constructed only after a panel comprising senior Delhi traffic police officials, representatives of the Transport Department, and the Public Works Department clear the proposal, the guideline was seldom followed in practice.

As such at most places, the speed-breakers do not conform to the norms which state that a speed-breaker can only be up to 0.1 metre high (that is 10 cm, or 3.937 inch) and 3.7 metres (or 12.139 ft) long. Also, a survey had found that only nine speed-breakers in the Capital were legal and this had thus revealed that about 9,000 other speed-breakers in the city were non-conforming.

So while three such irritants have been removed from outside the Delhi High Court, it remains to be seen if the drive will continue and the rest of Delhi will also be able to enjoy a bump-free drive.

-- Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

Still a taboo

That the three-letter word is still a taboo topic in Indian society is well known. But for those who had actually begun to believe that things are changing, this incident will perhaps give a reason to change their mind.

Talking about the birds and the bees to children may have never come easy to Indian parents or school teachers, but as the first day of the Capital's only environment film festival, "Vatavaran", revealed, even watching them do it seems to be a tough affair to go through for Delhi's teachers.

At one of the films being screened as part of the festival at India Habitat Centre on Monday morning, the Western Ghats were the focus of attention. And while the lush green habitat was obviously the focus of the film, what it also showed were mating shots of a certain species.

While the children giggled away -- more out of surprise than perhaps shock -- the school representative accompanying them was clearly going red in the face. Realising that the children were not taking the film seriously either educationally or in terms of good film-making, the teachers instead of asking them to keep quiet, got up and asked the children to follow them out of the auditorium.

Sadly enough, the real message of the film -- of conservation -- came up after the students had left. And while their much older and sensible escort from school was perhaps happy about saving the children from the "bad" influence, the losers in this case will clearly be the students, who missed one more chance of keeping themselves informed.

-- Lakshmi B. Ghosh

Sikh relics

on display

A one-of-its kind exhibition, "Relics of the Sikhs", displaying rare and religious items associated with historic Sikh figures is on at present at Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in New Delhi.

The precious relics include turban, kucchera and bedsheets used by Guru Gobind Singh and shoes worn by Mata Sahib Kaur. Also on display is a low-seated wooden chair used by Guru Gobind Singh, the tawa on which food used to be cooked for him, besides metal utensils -- pitchers, plates and bowls -- handwritten hukumnamas, wooden slippers, musical instrument, handwritten letters and kirpan.

The task of locating, cataloguing and photographing the relics belonging to the Sikh Gurus and other historical personalities was taken up by the National Institute of Punjab Studies to mark the Khalsa Panth's tercentenary in 1999. The relics, which have been in the private collections of various families who have been religiously guarding them for generations, are now displayed at the ongoing exhibition.

Rare Guru Granth birs from the Bhai Vir Singh Sahitya Sadan collection including a mini Guru Granth Sahib prepared for Sikh soldiers during World War II and the rare Bahowali Pothi are also on display.

After the curtain falls on the exhibition on November 29, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) will undertake appropriate scientific restoration of the relics to ensure they last for decades within the community for future generation.

-- Madhur Tankha

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