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The Kathmandu Post intro for the following story: Our New Delhi correspondent finds his bearings in a new city [Here is the PDF version of the Op-Ed page of the Post dated 10 December where this article appeared after it was first published in Kantipur.] I live in the third floor of the pink building on the left- Jangpura Extension “B 19, Jangpura Extension,” I told the cabbie soon after landing at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi a month ago. In 45 minutes we were in JE looking for the B block. Four minutes later, we were in B block looking for house number 19. And soon I was in front of the building whose third floor is rented by Kantipur Publications, the publisher of Kantipur and The Kathmandu Post, for their New Delhi Bureau office and residence for the bureau chief. As the cab came to halt, I stood in front of what would be my home for the next several months. I didn’t think that finding a house was that easy in New Delhi. The credit goes to the efficient naming and numbering system that makes the city navigation as easy as finding a dance bar in Kathmandu. The Nepali capital also has similar naming system in place, thanks to the European Union, but it is not as effective as it seems to be in Delhi, whose population cannot be compared with Kathmandu. Delhi, the capital of India and one of the world’s largest metropolises, is home to some 13 million people, which is equal to more than half the total population of Nepal. The roads are wide; double lane and grand flyovers have been built at several locations to tackle the ever-growing traffic situation. The situation is only getting worse due to the ever increasing number of cars. Drivers struggle to park their vehicles, and because of the way houses are built (even in planned but old residential blocks) there is hardly any space for parking. Therefore, many people park their cars on the street near their residence. Imagine what will become of the city when Nano hits the road. Nano is the much-hyped ‘Rs One Lakh Car’ that the Indian industrial giant Tata is working on, and which he claims will be the world’s cheapest car. Uncle Mehra, my 75-year-old landlord, joked that they will need a crane in each colony so that the cars can be lifted and parked on the top of the houses. If there is ‘thin traffic’ in Delhi, then it has to be the traffic of FM radios. In terms of radio waves, Delhi is primitive compared to Kathmandu. The Indian capital has only 13 FM radio stations compared to around two dozens in a valley of 3,50,000 people. The private stations here cannot broadcast news (only the state-owned All India Radio does that) which might sound monopolistic and grossly undemocratic to a Kathmanduite or any Nepali for that matter. The world’s largest democracy doesn’t allow private radios to broadcast news. I also miss the BBC World Service in Delhi as Kathmandu has a dedicated frequency that brings the BBC brand of news from around the world 24 hours a day. Smoking in public places like restaurants and offices is banned in India. Since the ban came into effect in October, puffing has become a challenge for many smokers. I was recently in Khan Market with two Indian friends who had to make sure that no policeman was around before taking out cigarettes. They did not flout the rule as they smoked on the street but India the functioning anarchy is not an ideal place for rules to be applied (or followed) strictly. One can see people smoking precisely in those places where it’s prohibited. “Arey, bhad main jaa yaar rule,” (To hell with the rule), said another new friend of mine as he lit his cigarette. As far as I have seen in the past four weeks, liquor sale is strictly regulated. One can’t find beer or whisky as easily as mineral water in a kirana pasal as is possible in shops across Nepal. I am not much of a drinker but an Indian friend took me to a nearby ‘sharab ka dukan’ in Jangpura Extension. My friend introduced me to the shop-owner as a guy from Nepal. “Arrrey, I worked there,” said the man on the billing desk who remembered his days with a beer distributor in Kathmandu. “Liquor is available everywhere there!” When I mentioned that the government was planning to regulate the sale of alcohol in Nepal, he said, “Then many people are going to lose their jobs.” Old folks at the Block-B park in Jangpura Extension. The gray-haired man facing camera is Uncle Mehra. For me, trees are one of the best things about Delhi. If put together, they will probably make a jungle as big as our Shivapuri National Park. A quick search on Google tells me that there are several books on the trees of Delhi and one of them, Trees of Delhi: A Field Guide by Pradip Krishen, has received many accolades from reviewers. There are around 252 species of trees in Delhi, said the author, whose wife, Arundhati Roy, is better known to the world. Seems like Delhi has been living with the slogan “ek ghar, ek rukh” (One house, One tree) and dwellers find it hard to keep track of the names. Uncle Mehra who has been living in the three-storey house for the past 55 years did not know the name of the tree that is almost attached to front entrance and is as tall as the building. These trees are home to numerous monkeys that are notorious for sneaking into people’s houses, and as Uncle Mehra recalled, even taking bananas out of refrigerators or attacking anyone who tried to stop them. A Nepali drama performed by students of GEMS school and Sarwanaam Group at the international children festival of performing arts in Delhi last week highlighted the importance of trees in our lives. After all, we are from a country whose national slogan used to be “Hariyo ban, Nepal ko dhan” (Green jungle is Nepal’s asset). Trees are Delhi’s lifelines, providing oxygen and greenery to its residents in the midst of pollution, traffic and noise. People here still remember the pre-CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) years when the buses and autos ran by diesel and petrol. Now that most public (and some private) vehicles use environment-friendly CNG, the city has become far more tolerable. “It was difficult even to breathe,” said a Nepali who has been living here for the past 12 years. “What you see now is revolutionary improvement [in air quality].” Another hallmark of the city is its recreational parks which we don’t find in Kathmandu. A distinct culture has built around them. People go there to jog, walk around or just relax. Here in Jangpura Extension, every block seems to have a park and the one in my block is guarded by a Nepali from Far West. “My real name is Harka Bahadur but here it’s Shyam Bahadur,” he said. “Deshi le chindaina.” [Deshis do not know my name.] ‘Deshi’ is a term for Indians in many Nepali villages. The Indians whose cars Harka Bahadur washes and whose property he safeguards and who sleep soundly as he stays awake all night call him “Bahadur”. Although it literally means ‘brave’ in English, ‘Bahadur’ sounds a bit derogatory. There are many “Bahadurs” in Delhi and in the rest of India. Nepal’s poverty is to be blamed for this. (The writer is the New Delhi bureau chief of Kantipur Publications, the publisher of the Kathmandu Post, Kantipur, and owner of Radio Kantipur. This entry was posted on this site on 10 December.)
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दिनेश वाग्ले यो लेख आजको कान्तिपुरमा प्रकाशित भएको हो । पत्रिकाकै पन्नामा देखिएको स्वरुपमा हेर्नेभए यहाँ क्लिक गर्नुस् । एक महिनाअघि नयाँ दिल्लीको इन्दिरा गान्धी अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय विमानस्थलमा ओर्लिएपछि पि्रपेड ट्याक्सी चालकलाई मैले गन्तव्य बताएको थिएँ- ‘बी १९, जंगपुरा एक्स्टेन्सन ।’ करिब ४५ मिनेटमा हामी एक्स्टेन्सन आइपुगेर ब्लक बी खोजिरहेका थियौं । चार मिनेटमा हामी ‘बी’ मा थियौं- घरनम्बर १९ खोज्दै । दुई मिनेटमा ट्याक्सी त्यो घरअगाडि आइपुगेको थियो जसको तेस्रो तथा सबैभन्दा माथिल्लो तला कान्तिपुर पब्लिकेसन्सले भाडामा लिएको छ- आफ्नो नयाँ दिल्ली ब्युरो अफिस र ब्युरो प्रमुखको बासका लागि । ट्याक्सी रोकिनासाथ म त्यो भवनअगाडि उभिएको थिएँ जो सम्भवत अबका थुप्रै महिना मेरो घर हुने छ । दिल्लीमा घर फेला पार्न त्यति सहज होला भन्ने मैले ठानेको थिइनँ । सहजताको जस, माथि उल्लेख भयो, सजिलो नामांकन प्रणालीलाई जान्छ जसले सहरी ठेगाना ठम्याइलाई काठमाडौंमा डान्स बार फेला पारेजत्तिकै सजिलो तुल्याइदिन्छ । युरोपेली युनियनको सहयोगमा नेपाली राजधानीमा पनि त्यस्तै ठेगाना प्रणाली स्थापित छ तर तुलनै गर्न नसकिने जनसंख्या भएको दिल्लीमा जस्तो व्यापक चलनमा त्यो काठमाडौंमा भएजस्तो लाग्दैन । भारतको राष्ट्रिय राजधानी रहेको दिल्ली विश्वकै ठूला सहरमध्येको एक हो जहाँ एक करोड ३० लाख मानिस बस्छन् जो नेपालको जनसंख्याको आधाभन्दा अलिकति बढी हो । सडकहरू फराकिला छन्, चर्किंदो ट्राफिक जाम समस्याको सामना गर्न थुप्रै ठाउँमा रोडमाथि रोड (फ्लाइ ओभर) हरू बनाइएका छन् । तर सहरमा गाडीको संख्या बढिरहेको छ जसले ट्राफिक जामलाई नराम्रोबाट खराबतिर धकेलिरहेको छ । चालकहरूले कयौं ठाउँमा गाडी पार्क गर्न ठूलै संघर्ष गर्नुपर्छ । सानो ‘नानो’ आएपछि झन् के होला ? ‘नानो’ खुबै चर्चा गरिएको भारु एक लाखको कार हो जसलाई टाटा कम्पनीले विश्वकै सस्तो कारका रूपमा बजारमा ल्याउन खोज्दै छ । नानोबारेको मेरो प्रश्नमा घरबेटी ७५ वर्षे अंकल मेहराले भारतीय लवजको औपनिवेशकालीन अंग्रेजीमा ठट्टा गरे, ‘प्रत्येक बस्तीलाई एउटा क्रेन चाहिन्छ ताकि कार उचालेर तिनका मालिकको घरको छतमा पार्क गर्न सकियोस् ।’ जन र कार संख्यामा दिल्लीले काठमाडौंलाई माथ गर्छ तर जब रेडियो तरंगको कुरा आउँछ, भारतीय राजधानी नेपाली राजधानीको तुलनामा निकै पिछडिएको लाग्छ । दिल्लीमा जम्मा १३ एफएम स्टेसन छन् जब कि मुस्किलले ३५ लाख जनसंख्या भएको उपत्यकामा झन्डै दुई दर्जन । यहाँका निजी स्टेसनले समाचार दिन पाउँदैनन्, सरकारी अल इन्डिया रेडियोले मात्र पाउँछ जो काठमाडौंवासी या कुनै पनि नेपालीका लागि एकाधिकारवादी र व्यापक रूपमा गैरलोकतान्त्रिक लाग्न सक्छ । विश्वको सबभन्दा ठूलो लोकतन्त्रले निजी रेडियोलाई समाचार भन्न दिँदैन र त्यो ठट्टा होइन । दिल्ली आएपछि मैले थकथक मानेको चाहिँ बीबीसी विश्व सेवा रेडियोको अभावमा हो जब कि काठमाडौंमा त्यो २४ सैं घन्टा छुट्टै स्टेसनमार्फत उपलब्ध हुन्छ । भारतमा रेस्टुरेन्ट तथा अफिसजस्ता सार्वजनिक स्थलमा धुम्रपान गर्न मनाही छ । गत अक्टोबरमा प्रतिबन्ध भएयता धूवाँ पिउनेलाई त्यो काम गर्नु चुनौतीपूर्ण छ । हालै म न्युरोडको समकक्षीजस्तै लाग्ने खान मार्केटमा दुई भारतीय साथीसँग गएको थिएँ । उनीहरूले चुरोट पिउन चाहे तर सिगरेट निकाल्नुअघि वरिपरि पुलिस नभएको पक्का गरेर मात्र । बाटामा उभिएर खाएकाले उनीहरूले नियम उल्लंघन त गरेनन् तर भारत न हो नियमकानुन धुवैंमा उड्छन् । हुँदैन भनेकै ठाउँमा चुरोट खाइरहेको थुप्रैलाई देख्न सकिन्छ । ‘अरे भाड मे जाए यार रुल,’ दिल्लीमा मेरो अर्को साथीले भन्यो र चुरोट सल्कायो । रक्सीको बिक्रीवितरणचाहिँ कडाइसाथ व्यवस्थित गरिएको रहेछ । नेपालमा जस्तो जहँतहीँका किराना पसलमा मिनिरल वाटरझैं बियर या हि्वस्की देखेको छैनँ । म खासै पियक्कड होइन तर आफ्नै उत्सुकता र अर्का एक भारतीय साथीको आग्रहमा म जंगपुरा एक्स्टेन्सनकै एउटा ‘सराबका दुकान’ मा पुगेँ । साथीले पसलेसँग मेरो परिचय गराए- नेपालबाट आएको मान्छे । ‘अरे, मैने वहाँ काम किया हे,’ बिलिङ डेस्कपछाडिको मान्छेले प्रफुल्लित हुँदै काठमाडौंमा बियर वितरण कम्पनीमा काम गरेको बताउँदै भन्यो, ‘इन्के वहाँ तो सराब जहींतहीं मिल्ते हें ।’ -मैले त्यहाँ काम गरेको छु । उता रक्सी जहींतहीं पाइन्छ ।) नेपालमा सरकारले रक्सी बेचबिखनलाई नियमित तुल्याउने अघिल्लो दिनको समाचार मैले उल्लेख गर्दा पसलेले भन्यो, ‘तो काफी लोग बेरोजगार होंगे वहाँ ।’ (त्यसो भए थुप्रै मान्छे बेरोजगार हुने छन् त्यहाँ ।) दिल्लीको उत्कृष्ट पक्षचाहिँ यहाँका रूख लाग्यो । सबैलाई एकै ठाउँमा राख्ने हो भने म अनुमान गर्छु, यहाँका रूखले शिवपुरी राष्ट्रिय निकुञ्जजत्रै जंगल बनाउँछन् । फुत्त गुगल सर्च गर्दा थाहा भयो यी रूखबारे थुप्रै किताब लेखिएका छन् र तीमध्येको एउटा प्रदीप क्रिसेनको ‘टि्रज अफ दिल्ली- अ फिल्ड गाइड’ ले समीक्षकबाट राम्रै प्रशंसा पाएजस्तो देखियो । दिल्लीमा २ सय ५२ प्रजातिका रूख भएको र त्यो ‘न्युयोर्कका यस्तै १ सय ३० जति’ भन्दा बढी भएको लेखकले एउटा वेबसाइटसगको अन्तरवार्तामा बताएका छन् । (अँ, साँच्ची, क्रिसेनकी श्रीमतीचाहिँ विश्वभरि अरुन्धती रोयका नामले चिनिन्छन् ।) सडक किनारमा जहींतहीं रूख देख्दा दिल्लीले ‘एक घर, एक रूख’ नारा लगाइरहेजस्तो लाग्छ अनि यी रूख दिल्लीका बाँदरका घर (र अफिस) हुन् । दिल्लीको समाजमा बाँदरको प्रतिष्ठा उति राम्रो भएको मैले पाइनँ । तिनीहरू अनुमतिबिनै मानिसको घरभित्र छिर्छन् र अंकल मेहराले सम्भिmएअनुसार पिजमा राखेको केरा झिक्न या तिनलाई त्यसो गर्नबाट रोक्ने दुईखुट्टे समकक्षीलाई आक्रमण गर्न बाँकी राख्दैनन् । रूखको कुरा गर्दा अघिल्लो साता दिल्लीमा आयोजित अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय बाल प्रस्तुति कला महोत्सवमा काठमाडौंको जेम्स स्कुल र सर्वनाम समूहले देखाएको नेपाली नाटकले हाम्रो जीवनमा रूखको महत्त्वलाई उजिल्याएको थियो । उसो त हामी पनि त्यस्तो मुलुकका हौं जसको आदिवासी रूख-नारा छ- ‘हरियो वन नेपालको धन’ र हामीले अरनिको राजमार्गछेउ भएका अलिअलि रूखलाई पनि भटाभट गिँडेका छौं । रूख दिल्लीका जीवनधारामध्येका हुन् जसले अनेकौं प्रदूषणले व्यस्त सहरका बासिन्दालाई निरन्तर अक्सिजन दिइरहन्छन् । मानिस यहाँ अझै सीएनजी-पूर्वका वर्ष सम्भिmछन् जतिबेला बस र टेम्पो (अटो) पेट्रोल-डिजेलबाट चल्थे । अहिले सार्वजनिक (र केही हदसम्म निजी) यातायातले वातावरणमैत्री ‘कम्प्रेस्ड नेचुरल ग्यास’ (सीएनजी) प्रयोग गर्न थालेकाले सहर सहन सकिने भएको छ । ‘सास फेर्न पनि गाह्रो थियो,’ बितेका १२ वर्षदेखि यहाँ बसिरहेका एक नेपालीले भने, ‘यो त (हावाको गुणस्तरमा) क्रान्तिकारी सुधार हो ।’ सहरको अर्को गहना यसका मनोरञ्जन पार्क हुन् जसको वरिपरि एउटा छुट्टै संस्कृति अडेको छ । मानिस त्यहाँ गएर समय बिताउँछन्, दौडिन्छन् । जंगपुरा एक्स्टेन्सनमा प्रत्येक ब्लकमा एउटा पार्क भएजस्तो लाग्छ । सबैभन्दा नजिकको पार्कको ‘चौकीदारी’ सुदूरपश्चिमका एक नेपालीले गर्छन् । ‘खासमा घरमा मेरो नाम हर्कबहादुर हो तर यहाँ श्यामबहादुर’ उनले मेरो एउटा प्रश्नमा भने, ‘देसीले चिन्दैन, जे भन्दे पनि के भयो र ?’ सही हो । देसी अर्थात् भारतीय जसको गाडी ऊ बिहान धुन्छ, सम्पत्तिको रक्षा गरिदिन्छ र सुमधुर निद्राका लागि रातभरि पार्कमा पहरा दिन्छ- ती ‘देसी’ उसको नामको ‘श्याम’ बिर्सेर ‘बहादुर’ मात्रै भन्छन् । त्यो सम्बोधनमा प्रशंसा होइन बरु हेपाइको झल्को पाउन सकिन्छ तर त्यसमा ‘देसी’ को साटो नेपाली समाजमा व्याप्त गरिबी दोषी छ । लेखक कान्तिपुरका नयाँ दिल्ली ब्युरो प्रमुख हुन् ।