Capturing the spirit of street-life

Wildlife photography is my preferred genre and will continue to be so in near future. However, like many of my fellow photographers, the visual storytelling side of street photography also has a special appeal to me. This appeal is powerful enough to push me into venturing out 4-5 times during last one year to explore the streets of Delhi, specially the older Delhi. Called the Purani Dilli (Old Delhi), its streets are special. There is a treasure lying to be captured in the busy, over corroded, packed and often dimly lit alleys of Old Delhi. I wish I could go out often.
Staged or As Is:

Street photography is a large term. It actually has many sub-genre. The most common and popular on the social media is the staged street photography. They at time s look awesome. You find the perfect setting, find some actors who will gel with the scene, often pay them in cash or kind, and shoot. You get a near perfect shot for social media. But the form that appeals to me is the shoot as is format. You go out on the street and shoot a scene as it is with real people garnishing it with your creative framing and technical skills, and then present it to your audience with your editing skills. This way you capture moments. While the staged genre will continue to flourish, the moments genre will also hold its special place.

Concept:

It is always good to have a concept in mind to shoot before you step out. If you do not have a concept, then you may find the scene too chaotic. I have seen participants in these walks often trying to shoot what others are shooting. If someone is shooting an old man puffin a bidi, let me shoot that too. And when you see the shots shared later in walk group, you find majority of them crap as they were shoot without any plan or concept. Even if it is not staged, you need a plan and concept to shoot. You will have to find beauty and interest in clutter. You make or create an Image by seeing and capturing differently. Technicalities often takes back seat as you have to shoot fast. Given the general lighting, and your understanding of light and your camera requirement, you set out with a set of basic setting. If a scene appeals to you, aim and shoot framing it the best possible way.

I had tried to create a series of images with a concept of ‘Life In Between’. The images of this series do not require me to connect with the subject. I will come to the topic of connecting to the subject later.

Some bread earned

A Fistful of colours

Pondering

Poles apart....Life of two child

Equipment:

A mirrorless is the best equipment for street photography. This is true for India, at least Old Delhi.

So why a mirrorless for street? I currently own two full frame Canon bodies. For the street outings, I have used the smaller Canon 6D Mark II body with Canon 17-40 F4 lens. Smaller is a relative term. Even the 6D2+17-40 combination looks fairly large as compared to the mirrorless combos. I had found that Canon 6D2 fails you when the light is low and scene has predominantly darker tones. You will come across many such scene once you are inside the labyrinth of narrow alleys of Chandni Chowk like the Kinari Bazar where only natural light you find are wafting through narrow openings. Either you need a F2.8 or better lens and definitely a better body in such places. A cropped body with 18-55 kind of lens is a disaster for those narrow alleys. The other option therefore is the mid-level mirrorless targeted at the prosumer photographers. As they are targeted at prosumer segment, the output is tweaked to be quite good. They boast of an exciting array of lenses. In the last walk, I found that Fuji 18-55 kit lens is a 2.8 at wide angle. This comes a s kit with XT-20 body. The combined size and weight of a cropped body mirrorless is much lesser than my Canon 6D2+17-40. You can easily put them into your bag and carry everywhere. These cameras being small in size, the average people on street will ignore you as a novice, amateur or tourist having fun. The bigger SLR often attracts unwanted attention. These makes you a bigger photographer trying to make money of images of poor people on street.

As I am currently exploring Sony and Fujifilm series for making my next acquisition, I will come back and update this space soon.

Technicalities:

Once out on the street, the technical aspect of camera setting will be least on your mind. Your eyes will be scanning for interesting scene. Rarely you get a second chance. Therefore you have to set your parameters before you start walking. Read the lighting scene and set your Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO. Reading the available light scene will come from experience. As you will be shooting handheld, you need a minimum shutter speed of 1/60 to get decent frames. Once you have basic settings right, review first couple of shots. Change settings if required. Of course, you will fiddle with settings later as you shoot, but no point changing it after losing a moment. So, get it your initial setting as right as possible. This is true for wildlife also. You need to read the lighting scene and get your first setting as correct as possible.

Ethics:

One important aspect of street photography is to connect with subject. If you are shooting people close up, then you must talk and connect to get the best result. If the subject refuse then simply walk away. But more often than not, the subject is likely to cooperate. Keep in mind that do not try to create a scene of trying to make money of someone’s misery. Sometimes they may ask you for money or help after posing. These are poor people trying to make a living on street. The call is yours. Listen to your conscience. If you ask me, I had done it couple of times by buying a cup of tea or biscuit. I am presenting here few images where we had connected with the subject. Compare these with earlier series of ‘Life In Between’.

When you connect with your subject

Special mentions:

This exploration of city had made me venture out to different old Delhi with various people during last one year. These are Nizamuddin West with Hazrat Nizamuddin dargah and walled city from Turqman Gate to Chawri Bazaar with Asif Khan Dehlvi of Delhi Karavan. These were story telling non-photo walks. As Asif hold the group together with his story telling, I kept exploring with my camera. This continued with exploring the famed Chandni Chowk area from Parantha wali Galli to Dariba Kalan, and Khari Baoli to Sadar Bazar with Sundeep Bali and Fujifilm team. Sundeep is a brand ambassador of Fujifilm who had done a lot of work in old Delhi areas. It was a great experience learning with him.

And finally, this series of images were viewtifully edited on the ViewSonic VP2468 monitor specially designed for photographers.

Note: The author is ColorPro partner for ViewSonic. His and other ColorPro professionals' work can be seen at ColorPro Partners of ViewSonic. The latest series of ViewSonic monitors for Photographers can found at ViewSonic

#ColorPro #ViewSonic #VP2468 #FujiFilmXIndia #Street_Photography #Delhi6 #LifeInBetween

NCR Colour code for autos and taxis

One more news on free movement of autos and taxis between Delhi and NCR areas have come. All commercial vehicle with NCR permit will have a blue, green and white stripes in this order. Sizes of bands will vary depending on type of vehicle.

Permits for these across NCR vehicles will be issued from 16th Feb onwards. Hopefully they become operational by next month. It is now more than two months since the first news of agreement details had been published. (Read the original details of this agreement here)

Free movement of Taxis and auto-ricksaws across Delhi and NCR areas

The days are not far when you will be able to hire a taxi or auto to Noida or Ghaziabad or Gurgaon from Delhi. The much awaited Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement among Governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh for unrestricted movement of taxis and autos in the National capital Region (NCR) has finally been signed and published as gazette notification on 11th December, 2008. It was published in national dailies like the TOI on 13th Dec, 2008. For your reference the gazzette notification no. is PCO(STA)/DTC Cell/06/07/pt.II/482It took almost a year since the news about such an agreement was first published. But anyway, it is better be late than never.

What does it mean?
Take for example I live in Kaushambi, which falls in Ghaziabad district of UP. One side of the road around the Anand Vihar ISBT falls in Delhi and the other in UP. Kaushambi falls on the UP side of the road. Thus taxis and autos available from Delhi airport or railway station will not ply to my residence across the road in UP. I had to hire a taxi or auto to Anand Vihar and then get into a cycle ricksaw to reach my home. While making the trip to airport or railway station, I either have to reach Anand Vihar or hire a taxi from a local operator in this area which charges a hefty premium. Further they use private cars for this business, which is not only illegal but also unsafe.

Of late Easy Cab had started operating to NCR areas. But hey charges about Rs15/- per KM. This is OK for summer as taxis are AC, but much higher than the pre-paid taxis operated by Delhi Traffic Police. In the police operated pre-paid taxi counters at Delhi airport, you might observe a notice saying taxi to Noida not available from here. Fortunately you have Easy Cab now. Earlier you had to use the similar tactics used by me. I am lucky that my house is less than a kilometer from the border. But for places like Noida or Indirapuram, it certainly is tough.

The catch:
The details published in news papers on 13th December, 2008 had few catches as under:
1) It is not free for all situation for autos, i.e., not all autos will ply across border. Only the ones holding special permit for this will ply. However all taxis can ply across border in NCR areas. I had assumed this as there is no mention on no. of taxis being allowed.
2) All such vehicles have to be registered in NCR areas. The definition of NCR encompasses a large area, e.g. it includes even Meerut.
3) No. of autos for this mutual agreement is fixed, e.g., registered in Delhi but allowed to ply to UP NCR areas (like Vaishali, Kaushambi, Indirapuram and Ghaziabad) is 4000. Another 4000 from UP can ply to Delhi. I think 8000 autos altogether is a good number. Same is the no. agreed between Delhi and Haryana.
4) The autos and taxis registered in NCR and plying across border will be given a colour code and logo for easy recognition. There no mention what these indicators it will be. So one need to look out for this.

Anyway, almost a week has passed since gazetisation of this agreement. But no taxis or autos have started to ply yet. It may take few more days, may be months for this to materialize into practical reality.

Update on train cancellations to Delhi

Railways has made available the list of affected trains online. You can access these details at the following links :

1) IRCTC news flash
2) Northern railway news flash

Canal Road : Faster access of ITO from East Delhi

While the South Delhi has been strugling with the botched BRT corridor, it was a pleasant experience for me (and many East Delhites) while going to office on Friday. The newly constructed Canal Raod, constructed parallel to the Vikas Marg, has been finally thrown open to public the previous evening (24th April, 2008) by Delhi CM Smt Shiela Dixit. In fact, this is the second official opening of the road. It first thrown open to the public on February 14, 2007 by the then Delhi PWD Minister Sri A.K. Walia.

This 2.9 kilometre long road, connects the Marginal Bund Road (Pushta Road) near Geeta Colony with Karkari Morh. Constructed for Rs 102 crore, it has come up over an old canal, which now serves as a drain and carries sewage and rainwater. This is a brillinat concept of creating a parallel road over an old canal. However you will have to bear the stench of the sewage while waiting at the traffic light at the karkari Morh on return. If you are travelling from Anand Vihar side, then the cut down is available from the middle point on the Karkari Morh flyover. Therefore, instead of taking the Vikas Marg by turning left at the point where the flyover has started, one should continue on the flyover and then turn left. The cut on the flyover is on the Karkari Morh - Jagatpuri side, i.e., on the Preet Vihar side not on the Karkardoma side. Once the the Yamuna Bridge at Geeta Colony is completed, the time of travel between Karkari Morh to Shanti Van will be reduced to just 20 minutes. This is suppose to provide signal free travelling from Karkari Morh to Kashmere gate ISBT. As of now, for going to ITO, one is required to turn left at Geeta Colony and get lost into traffic at the ITO bridge.

This new road has cut short my brief journey to office by at least half a kilometer. More importantly the time required was cut by about 15 minutes. Ever since the work on metro started on the busy Vikas Marg about a year back, one had to avoid the Vikas Marg becuase of the heavy traffic, specially during office hours. But this road has brought cheer to all of us in the office.

Vanishing open spaces : Tale of a park

Open space have become a scarcity, even in Delhi. Given my location in Delhi in East across the Yamuna, there is only one such place – a park one can visit for a family leisure break and inhale some fresh air. This palce closer to where I live, is the Millennium Park or the Indraprastha Park or the Nizamuddin Park as we refer to it. I am leaving out the Lutyen’s Delhi area as only place open for public are the India Gate lawns, which remains crowded on weekends.

The Millenium Park or the Indraprastha Park :
My first visit to this park was on a Sunday soon after had I started my second innings in Delhi two year s back. What was pleasing was the vast open space, lush green lawns and very little crowd. More importantly there were very few, so called lovebirds who do not differentiate between love and lust. This was an ideal place for kids. The play area for kids double their joy. But that was two years back. I had visited the park a few times during the last two years.
Last Sunday, I had paid my most recent visit. I got my first shock when parking was full. Inside the park, it resembled a mela. Even though there were vacant spaces for one to sit in the lawn, it was crowded. I had avoided growing to India Gate only to avoid the crowd. But the same crowd had followed me to this place which used to be a happy place with very little crowd. A new structure by the name World Peace Stupa has come up on one side of the park. But the peaceful ambience one used to enjoy here was gone. The so called Lovebirds were seen in all look and corners of the park, many of whom turned a blind eye to the crowd while displaying their lust thereby making it embarrassing for family crowd. 95% of the equipment in children play area had been damaged making it unsafe for use. When it started to become dusk, caretakers of the park were seen blowing whistles and herding the lovebirds out of their cocoons. What surprised most is their announcement that the park is also getting close by 8 pm. Anyway, disappointed at losing a place to visit for some open air, we had already made our way back when some people were seen arguing as to why the park is getting closed so early.

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary

Sulatnpur is 65 km from Delhi and 15 km from Gurgaon. But we did not know its exact location. We had tried to find road directions from friends who had been there. The common answer was that they had reached there after asking here and there. Nobody could tell us exactly where we should leave NH8. All we could find was that it is on Gurgaon – Jhajjar road.

Thus our journey continued beyond Gurgaon and we had even crossed Manesar. Asking locals on the way was of not much help either. We found that locals call it Sultanpur Jheel. So you need to add Jheel to Sultanpur to ask for road direction. If you tell Sultanpur National park or Sanctuary, most will draw blank faces. Finally we got one old man who could tell us to leave NH8 at the crossing about 3km ahead and take the turn to Panchgawan and then reach Sulatnpur Jheel via Farukhnagar. This point on NH-8 had a road sign indicating 7 km to Bilaspur and 14 km to Dharuhera.

The old man was wise and correct. Yet we asked a family on the way and that man gave us exact direction. One should be careful while asking for roads direction in Haryana. One should avoid asking youths in groups. So we picked mostly old man or families. We had traveled through huge farmlands and villages for about 14 km and had even encountered a cavalcade going to the launch of a new party that day by Bhajan Lal. Finally we had reached Sultanpur. The tachometer clocked 87 km. To be honest, this unintentional detour was not that bad a road.

The exact location of Sultanpur is 15 km from Gurgaon on NH-15A. The road is also known as Gurgaon – Jhajjar road. I knew Sultanpur as a bird sanctuary. But it has been upgraded to a National Park, not sure when. Thus it probably is the second National Park for Birds in India. The other being Keoladeo Ghana National Park at Bharatpur (Rajasthan). The place has a resort of Haryana Tourism , which is located in a different campus right next to the park.

We had breakfast at the restaurant, which is the only eating facility around. So you have to drink tea @Rs.15/- a cup. This place is not accessible by public transport. So people who come here will come in their private vehicles and are so expected to be rich enough pay that much. After the breakfast we headed for the park.

Entrance fee is Rs.5/- per head and an additional Rs.25/- for still camera. I hate paying for camera. Video camera charges is Rs.250/-. These exorbitant charge for handycams is outdated and should be scrapped. Govt. of India should certainly do something about it. I had stopped carrying handycams as there is no point paying such hefty fees.

The park is developed around a natural lake where many species of migratory birds nests. An elevated track of mud and bricks built around the lake, which is not very close, the lake. The track is about 3 ½ km. One is required to take this trip on foot. The biggest disappointment one will face is that all the birds are in the lake and one cannot go very close to the lake. The lake is surrounded by swamps. There are two or three approaches built to let tourist go close to the lake. But birds prefer to stay from those places.

Despite all these you will be able to see some birds. And if you are lucky, you will see some of them from close. As we did. Three large cranes came hurtling above form the distance making loud noises while flying. I was in perfect position to capture those moments in my camera. Those few shots made my day.

We decided to complete the lap. It was a good nature walk where we could see many Nilgais in the wild. At one point of the track, I got off it to find whether there was any access to get close the lake. Suddenly I could hear something making its way out of the bush in front of me. I also ran to get around the bush to find what it was. A large bull Nilgai was standing just few meters from me. I was sure that it would not charge at me. I stood there calmly and took some shots. Shots were not that good, but those were real wild life shots. After looking at me for me moments, the bull went further into the swamps. That completed the adventure.

We got out of the park by late noon. The kids were also complaining after being made to walk the 3+ km track. We had a late lunch at the restaurant of the resort. There were playing facilities for kids in the campus. By afternoon many people had gathered in the campus. They appeared to be picnic goers from Gurgoan. This may be a happy outing ground for people living around Gurgaon. Even though picnics were supposedly not allowed in the campus, there was nobody to enforce it. The other option is to stay at the resort for a night and enjoy a round of the park early next morning. The location is far away from the maddening crowd and hustle–bustle of NCR. In case you want to book accommodation at the resort then here are their phone nos. : 0124-2375242, 2015670

While returning, we took the NH-15A. We had reached the center of Gurgaon town from where we took the road to Rajiv Chowk on NH-8. So it became clear that we should have left NH-8 at Rajiv Chowk. Thus the return was exactly 65 km for us.

Sultanpur National Park

We had a drive out weekend break this Sunday to the Sultanpur bird sanctuary which has been upgraded to a National Park. Reaching there was a bit of nightmare as we could not found any road directions. All that we could found was that it is 15 km from Gurgaon. But which side, where do we leave NH8 ? Anyway after asking some villagers, we could make it. The onward journey took 87 km though it was suppose to take only 65 km. Traveling through villages and fields, we also had to encounter a cavalcade going to the launch of a new party by Bhajan Lal. Anyway, it was a good outing. Details will be posted when I find time.

Shootout at Delhi

A shootout without guns, but with cameras. This was the name of today's photography workshop by Atul Kasbekar, organised by Canon India at The Park hotel. For many of us it was an opportunity to listen to the man who is one of the two brand ambassadors for Canon in India. The other one being Sachin Tendulkar.

Atul Kasbekar is a big name in Indian photography scene. He is the man who shoots the Kingfisher Calender for Vijay Mallaya. The tag Huer campaign with Sahrukh, Airtel campaign with Sachin, Citizen campaign with Kareena, Titan campaign with Aamir Khan, and the list goes on and on. Almost every cover of Cosmopolitan is shot by him.

He enthralled the small audience with insight into some of his editorial and cover works. He also explained some of the shots from the celebrated Kingfisher calender, specially where Photoshop have been used to enhance the images. Commercial photography can not live without photoshop, but according to him one has to be ethical and careful. If someone can point out that you have used photoshop, then you have failed. H also throw insight onto one his favorite technique -- use of fill flash. In one of the shots for Kingfisher calender, he made 11 am in the day looked like night by use of strong fill flash. That was amazing.

He opined that equipment should liberate the photographer. Photographer should not be too worried about the equipment. Well, for someone who shoots with an EOS 1D Mark-II with L lenses can certainly feel liberated. After a sumptuous lunch, a demo shooting session was arranged with a model. It was really amazing to see that almost every shot he took was good. Someone asked him about the lens he is using. The reply was : 85 mm f/1.2L II USM, which to him is one of the finest lenses Canon have ever produced. Sigh!! we can not afford a L lens, forget about a f/1.2

I understood that Canon keep organising such workshops from time to time in Delhi and Mumbai. An invitation was probably not mandatory. One could have hung a Canon DSLR on his neck and can walk into it. But Canon certainly spends a lot of money on such workshops which are normally arranged at 5 star hotels. Obviously, the hole that gets dug in your pocket when you buy Canon from its dealers sponsors such events.

Delhi outings: Humayun's Tomb

Fog in Delhi is a dreaded word in aviation industry. Dense fog sends every travel service for a toss during peak winter. Hardest hit are the airlines, followed by railways. Ironically, we had seen fog only in televisions, even though we live in Delhi. But on the morning of 31^st December I had a different experience. Munish had called the group for a photo session at the historical monument of Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi. The time frame was dawn to sunrise. The theme of the shoot was compositional technique like framing, abstraction, etc. and this monument provides a good opportunity for honing one’s skill.

Waking up very early in the morning at the call of my alarm ring, I looked into the sky and saw no fog around. The 4 km stretch upto the Nizamuddin Bridge was almost clear. But once I was on the NH24, a blanket of fog seemed to have appeared from nowhere. The more I went ahead, the denser was the fog. Soon I got engulfed by a thick envelope of fog. Visibility was as low as 20 mtr. It was scary. I seriously thought of turning back but there was no U turn until I had to cross the Nizamuddin Bridge. Thus I managed to reach the other side of Yamuna. I pulled the car to one safe spot and called up Munish to give an account of the situation I am in. Munish told me that nothing is visible even at Humayun’s tomb. He advised me to take some photos of surroundings and then go back. But my wife, who was accompanying me hoping for a morning walk, opined that as we had came that far getting up so early in the morning, we should try to reach our destination and so drove ahead. Surprisingly, once we reached the residential area around Ashram crossing, there was no fog. This explained why there was no fog around my house and why we have not seen any fog till now except in television. But once I turned right from Ashram and had crossed the Nizamuddin railway station, the envelope of fog reappeared. Tearing through the fog, I made it to the parking lot of the Humayun’s tomb. Once inside the park, we were at a loss. Nothing was visible in that thick fog. I rang up Munish to ask for direction. After wandering for few minutes, I found the ticket counter. Paid the 20 bucks entry fee and we were allowed in.

Humayun’s tomb turned out to be a magnificent monument. It is the mausoleum built by Hamida Banu Begum, wife of Humayun around 1572. The entire campus has many buildings and structure. However, the main tomb towering nearly 47 mtr, stands majestically on a platform of 12000 sq mtr. Humayun was the second emperor of the Mughal dynasty that had ruled Delhi. It is believed that the Tajmahal at Agra is inspired by this monument. The entire structure has more than 100 graves, thereby earning the name of ‘Dormitory of the Mughals’.

As we were leaving around 10 am, tourists had started trickling in. Most of the tourists are foreign tourist. Ironically, this monument is not covered in the local sight seeing tours. This is such an important monument in the history of Mughals and Delhi, and yet it is given a miss. Even I have seen it after spending almost 3 years in Delhi, courtesy this photo shoot. A tourist is taken to only popular and well known places like the Red Fort and Kutub Minar. But one should try to deviate from the regular schedule and explore other possibilities. The best way to travel in Delhi is to hire a car. The hiring charges for a local trip is Rs.500/- for 80 km and 8 hours. Spending about a 1000 bucks one can enjoy Delhi at his own pace.

We spent about 2 hours clicking around. For the first time I actually felt the need of a DSLR camera. Film is really outdated. I soon will be upgrading, probably to Canon 350D.

India International Trade Fair

The IITF (India International Trade Fair) in Delhi is finally over. So is the associated traffic jams around ITO area. To oblige my better half’s wishes, I also visited the fair last Friday. It appeared that whole of Delhi was heading there.

IITF is an annual event that is held at the Pragati Maidan, New Delhi every year between Nov 14 and Nov 27. This is the 5th fifth time I had visited the IITF in nine years. The experience has been going down from bad to worse with each visit. But this is certainly the last time. I swear not to go their again. Despite the heavy ticket price, it was so crowded that one could hardly walk on the streets. Any visit to a state pavilion would be agonizing and one would long to get out of it as soon as possible. God forbids, if some incidents like fire occur, it will be a disaster.

Ticket price on a normal working day is Rs.25/- and on weekends Rs.50/-. And yet at least 30 lakhs people have visited the fair this year. The Friday I went had at least one lakh people inside. I had the misadventure of visiting the fair on a Sunday 2 years back. Later I came to know, there were lakh people inside that day. To discourage people from using their private vehicles, parking charges are as high as Rs.75/-. And yet the whole Delhi seems to head there, as if not visiting this will be a disgrace.

One of the major problems I observed is that of the composition in the crowd. Young boys in the age group of 12-18 years were a nuisance. Most of them were school kids in uniforms. The subsidized ticket price for them at Rs.15/- ensured that they come in large numbers. Often in small groups holding their hands together in the fear of getting lost in the crowd, they would crowd out the stalls. They neither buy anything nor allow others to buy. This helps neither the sellers nor the buyers. The IITF authorities should discourage this practice of subsidized tickets for kids in school uniforms or keep a different slot for them. May be a special day for school children can be thought of.

Delhi - UP bus impasse

The Delhi – UP bus impasse has entered almost one week. Buses from Delhi are not allowed into UP, including NOIDA. In retaliation, Delhi administration is not allowing buses from UP into Delhi.

Most buses to UP plies from the Anand Vihar ISBT and some from the Kashmere Gate ISBT. The road across the traffic junction at Anand Vihar falls in UP. To catch a bus to UP one needs to walk down the road instead of waiting in the ISBT. It is practical chaos there. Busses are creating traffic jams on the road leading to the Pacific Mall. Even school children have suffered as DTC school buses are not allowed into NOIDA areas. The height of political rivalry is that the impasse continues at the insistence of our leaders. UP is under SP rule of Mulayam Singh Yadav while Delhi is under Congress rule of Shiela Dixit. Once ally, Congress and SP are now sworn foes. It is one of those examples of our elected leaders holding public to ransom at their whims. Delhi government is now talking about stopping progress of Metro line to NOIDA.

As a traveler, one is advised to explore traveling by train to UP rather than trying to travel by those dilapidated UP Roadway buses.

Uneasy calm in Delhi

Following the SC verdict yesterday, the Delhi traders are out on the street again. The verdict came late in the evening yesterday. Monday being the off day for most markets, there was not much hue and cry last evening.

Schools are closed today. We also had decided to have a watch and decide policy. Nothing unusual reported till about 10 am. So we had started late for office and avoided the problematic Vikas Marg. Buses were plying till then. The protests normally peak during noon time. Yet it appears that it is under control till now. Or, it is just the uneasy calm before a violent expression of protest. The same uneasy calm prevailed on the first two days of that bandh. It finally exploded on the final day.

It was the involvement of political leaders and inaction of police, again at the behest of administration, that lead to violence last time. Had they tackled it tough, it could have been kept under control. This time SC has talked tough and has asked administration to get additional forces if required. With additional companies of paramilitary forces, it appeared that the protest is heading for bloodshed this time. But there is difference between making bloated comments like ‘Hum Jaan Deneko Taiyaar Hai’ and actually face the bullet. While the local Delhi Police might not shoot at the rioters, but the paramilitary forces would.

The resistance from trader community is quite apparent and widespread, covering almost all corners of Delhi. Honestly speaking this is a real test for administration. If they can pass it, then I am sure that anything can be done by the administration, like weeding out corruption or taking action against errant politicians, provided they has a will. Till now they did not have the will. So, SC had to keep intervening.

Delhi Traders’ strike turned violent again

It appears to be a repetition of last strike. The strike had turned violent on its final day. My office was located close to one of the most affected area – Laxmi Nagar. When we came we avoided the Vikas Marg and it appeared to be normal. But soon we started receiving worried calls from home after seeing the visuals of mob rampage in TV. Many colleagues living in areas like Mayur Vihar and Noida could not make it to office today as all approach to the Vikas Marg was blocked. Buses stopped plying after some buses were damaged and set on fire by the irate mob. Police had to resort to lathi charge and RAF was deployed.

Schools have also called up the parents to take back the children as buses would not be plying. It was practical chaos during noon time. As vehicles tried to reach NH-24 in order to avoid the Vikas Marg, they created jams in residential areas like ours. The relative calm of last two days had made most school open today. But it turned out to be wrong decision.

Looking from the top of my office building during lunch hours, which is slightly off the main Vikas Marg, we could see a burning dustbin. These hooligans (so called traders) appeared to have gone on mindless rampage. Smoke was seen bellowing from other areas as well. We did not go down to check. Such wanton damage of public properties should be severely punished. From tomorrow garbage will be dumped on the roads where they existed.

The update as of 05:30 pm is that buses are still not plying on the Vikas Marg. This probably has thrown the system out of gear. How will people return home? Small vehicles are however seen plying. People who had come from places like Noida and Mayur Vihar are worried as to which route they take for going back.

(Advisory: A tourist should avoid Delhi for the time being. Markets will mostly remain closed with erruption of unexpected violence from time to time. Traffic jams can hold you up for hours. It is certainly not the time to visit Delhi.)

Delhi traders' strike

My peaceful escapade to Lakshadweep from the harshness of Delhi is long over. Its time to face reality of daily life in Delhi. The three day strike called by traders in Delhi has started this morning. The breathing period in view of the Diwali has been over and sealings of illegal shops are to resume from 1st Nov. The memories of violence of the earlier strike has made common people think twice about venturing out. In fact this time the strike appears to have brought even shops like medical stores and those who are not likely to be affected by the 'sealing' drive. Most private schools have declared holiday today as they do not want to risk running school buses with children through mobs. I started a bit early for office and found that the traffic is thinner than usual. Everyone has predicted road blockades and consequent traffic snarls. Television channels have also advised people to stay indoors if possible. There was considerable rush in the local markets yesterday and prices have soared.

Rising prices of potato:

Believe me, I actually have bought potato for Rs.20/- a kilo the day before yesterday. Old crop were however selling at Rs.16/- a kilo. I have heard over FM yesterday the prices have now gone upto Rs.24/- a kilo. For some reason, onions are spared this time. If this is the situation in Delhi, there is every likelihood of it spreading to other states as well.

It is Dengue-3 virus this time

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has confirmed that the virus behind the current outbreak Dengue in the NCR Delhi is the Dengue 3 Genotype III. This strain sneaked into India from West Indies in 2003. Though this strain creates widespread fever, fortunately fatality of this strain is lower. The current outbreak is not caused by the deadlier Dengue-2 strain and so the fatality rate is very low. However, the Dengue-2 strain has also been reported by AIIMS and sources say it is a cause of worry. An outbreak Dengue often records more than one strain active, but one of them becomes more virulent than the others.

There are four strains of Dengue – 1, 2, 3 and 4. One is expected to be infected by the same strain only once in their lifetime as antibodies formed will protect him from that strain forever. Dengue-1 causes high fever and joint pain. Dengue-2 causes haemorrhagic fever resulting in spontaneous bleeding form skin and gums. Dengue-3 causes high fever and Dengue-4 causes DHF (Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever) with shock leading to un-recordable blood pressure. In DHF a person bleeds to death both internally and externally because of excessive lowering of platelets.

The 1996 outbreak was the most fatal caused by the Dengue-2 strain. Over 550 people died in the 1996 outbreak. Fortunately, this strain has not returned with that ferocity. But there is every possibility that it will make a comeback someday.

The update from Delhi is that there has been one more fatality reported in last two days taking the toll to 16.

Dengue update from Delhi

The Govt. of Delhi has decided against decalring the Dengue outbreak as epidemic for the time being. But it has called for a review meeting with officials from neighbouring states on 5th October to take stock of the situation. However, the causuality figure is on the rise with fatalities rising to 15 in Delhi. More than 500 people have been reported to have been affected. However these are official figures and actual figure may be more. Even the Rajasthan Government have confirmed at least 25 deaths from Dengue till yesterday.

Chickengunya outbreak in Kerala :
Living in the Dengue stricken Delhi, I was more worried with the news of another mosquitoes borne disease named Chikungunya which is reported to have assumed epidemic proportion in down south, specially in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. This illness is also spread by the same Aedes aegypti mosquito that spreads Dengue. I was relived to learn that it is less fatal than Dengue. I will be Ernakulum (Kochi) after 12 days on my way to Lakshdweep. Ernakulum district has also been reported to have been affected. I will be spending at least one night there.

I have confirmred the status with the resort office at Kochi and they have told that Kochi has not been affected till now. I wish it remains so. Anyway, I believe that if you are to die, you will die sitting at home. There are bigger worries in an island holiday like Tsunami or some storm. If you are to live, God will find a way to protect you.

Dengue scare in Delhi

Read about Dengue on :

Centre for Disease Control and Prevention website

WHO website

While I was enjoying the extended weekend in the pleasant climate of Dehradun, the tentacles of Dengue have spread to epidemic proportion in Delhi. With 11 deaths and 247 confirmed cases reported in Delhi till October 3rd, the Delhi Govt. is considering declaring it as an epidemic outbreak. Dengue is not new to Delhi, but this time the Dengue has been reported not only from places around Delhi but also from far away places like Lucknow.

Dengue [pronounced Den-ghee] is a flue like illness found in most tropical areas around the world, often after monsoon. This is spread by biting of Aedes aegypti mosquito. Dengue is common in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, Australia, and the Americas. It is widespread in the Caribbean basin.

There are two forms of Dengue --- the Dengue fever and the Dengue hemorrhagic fever. While the first one relatively harmless, the second one may be fatal. Most dengue infections result in relatively mild illness, but some can progress to dengue hemorrhagic fever. With dengue hemorrhagic fever, the blood vessels start to leak and cause bleeding from the nose, mouth, and gums. Bruising can be a sign of bleeding inside the body. Without prompt treatment, the blood vessels can collapse, causing shock (dengue shock syndrome). Dengue hemorrhagic fever is fatal in about 5 percent of cases, mostly among children and young adults.

How does it feel to live in Delhi:
Honestly speaking, Dengue has not created panic here. Delhi had received more than twice rainfall this year as compared to the previous year. This has resulted in abnormal growth of mosquitoes, even in the locality I live. Fortunately, there has not been any Dengue case reported from this area. But we have taken pre-cautions to keep mosquitoes away. People living in slums and other low cost congested areas are at much higher risk as people there has very little civic sense. It was quite surprising to observe that one of the death reported this year was from the posh Vasant Vihar locality. Ironically, both the parents of the victim were doctors. Other such high profile fatality was ythe death of an MBBS student of the All India Instt. of Mediacl Science, which is the cradle of Indian medical education.

Keep Delhi out of your itinerary for next 10 days

Delhi is on the boil. The sealing drive by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has taken an ugly turn yesterday. 3 people had reportedly died in police firing on unruly mob protesting these sealing. It was a different matter that rioters and hooligans had taken over from the genuinely affected traders. There is so much unemployment and spare time to indulge in such banal things. The cumulative destructive energies built in their devil’s workshops erupt causing lots of pains to fellow human beings. It was clearly seen from television clippings that hooligans were on rampage damaging any public property came on their way. They went on to pelt stone and damage those state of the art Metro coaches as well. Roads were blocked all across Delhi and vehicles were damaged, including private ones. The pelted stones do not know whether the vehicle it is landing is a private or public one. It is one of the serious problems I have observed in Delhi. If you see a mob, it is better steer away. This is specially true in low cost and juggi jhupri areas. These people vent their frustration on anyone passing by. You can not simply do anything rather than be a mute spectator while your vehicle is hit by some lumpen elements in the mob. Such rampant damage of public and private property is highly deplorable and no amount of clarification can justify them. The problem is that these lumpen elements of society do not pay any taxes and so the public properties are not erected out of their hard earned money.

It is a different matter the sealing of shops has turned life difficult for both the traders and customers. In India, we are used to shops on ground floors. In fact a property by a main road had its value for the opportunity it provides to indulge in commercial activity. However in many cases such shops had grown into full fledged markets and being unplanned construction without any associated parking, etc. they become necessary evils. They were the root of most traffic jams. We had a full fledged market at Madhu Vihar in the area we live. It was a good market for the residents of Patparganj as most of the things were available at reasonable rates obviating the need to go to bigger markets. But this entire market has been closed down last week as it was one of those ground and first floor markets in residential buildings. It was the cause of traffic jams every evening at the Madhu Vihar chowk. But now there is neither the jam nor the market. And we are forced to look for far away markets. For many traders, it will be a black Diwali as lakhs and lakhs of rupees invested in their shops has gone down the drain.

Hopefully a solution will be arrived and we will have better Delhi.

(It is advisable to avoid Delhi for next few days, specially going to the markets like Karol Bagh, Lajpat Nagar, etc. Situations may turn violent any time and you may get stuck in unnecessary traffic jams)

Car central locking failure kills a family near Delhi

Technology are god. But they may be bad as well. Ever wondered what wil you do, if you are stuck inside the car as the power system has failed throwing your central locking and power window inoperable. Exactly this has happened to the family of Dhanesh Jindal and family last night. The bodies of Mr. Jindal, his wife and two children were found this morning in the car they were travelling at Faridabad, near Delhi. Stuck inside their Santro car with system failure, they all died asphyxicated. To make the matter worse for them it was really raining hard last evening in Delhi and its adjoining areas.

When I was deciding to purchase my car few years back, I really appreciated one piece of advice from some expert on these high tech features. Ask yourself -- if no what. Power window is one such feature. If it is not their, the car will still run and give you a nice ride. But if for some reason, you foregt to wind up glasses before leaving, you need to get in and start the engine to wind up the glases. If it fails for some reason, you cann't even leave your car. And if it fails with you inside the car, ou imagine what can happen. Issues like mileage, suspension, brakes, etc. should be more important than power windows, defogger, rpm meter, etc.

Last night's rain had given me a scare as well. I had to travrse a heavily waterlogged area at the entrance of the EDM mall in East Delhi. Once out on the main road, I was driving slowly, may be around 30-40 kmph. Because of heavy rain, visibility was very poor and also there was a thick flim of rain water on the road. On arriving at a traffic junction, I had applied brake. But to my horror, the barake did not took effect immediately, and the car came to a halt with jerk after 10 feet or so. Fortunately, the car ahead was some distance away.