''Inside Delhi''

Ragging time

The action begins here -- You are asked to do a sizzling dance number in the middle of the road or go around asking for alms. Weaving in more dramatic elements, you even go through ``Pheras'' and get bound in marriage, albeit only for five to ten minutes and later even nurse your dying husband. No, this isn't any movie in the making but a glimpse of a ragging scene in the Delhi University Campus.

What surrounds ragging is the perennial Hamletian dilemma -- ``To be or not to be.'' While for some, it is the realisation of the new emancipation, for others -- it is a nightmare they would love to forget. But then the first day in college is not only marked by the latest Calvin Klein range, hottest cars or the whackiest college lingo but also riches getting down to rags, through ragging.

While ragging has been banned legally in colleges because of in the past, where the students had to bear the consequences of an enjoyment that cost them dear. Students have been suspended on charges of molesting and even hitting freshers. The worst incidents take places in hostels where colleges authorities are negligent about what takes place under the garb of seniority and protection towards juniors.

Be that as it may, ragging still continues to be the most awaited event. Chirps in Madhu, a fresher in Hansraj College, ``The first day of my college, I was searching for my seniors who could rag me, but unfortunately, the day was slack because of the police bandobust in the North Campus. It was a boring day, worth forgetting''.

What makes ragging popular is the sheer fun that goes with it. But the fun remains as long as it doesn't cross the limits of decency. With the opening of colleges, both in South and North Campus, the air becomes charged. Ragging can be fun, if played in the right spirit.

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Golden touch

HOW often have we all heard of a golden opportunity knocking at the door. Only this time, it was literally so for five men and women -- some young, some young at heart -- who were invited by Lipton Taaza to participate in a golden contest -- a pick and walk away contest. The five winners arrived in the Capital to participate in the one-minute gold loot contest. Not the ones to look a gold horse in the mouth, they all walked away with everything that glittered.

The winners included Ms Anita Sethi from Delhi besides others from Varanasi, Patna, Lucknow and Agra. All that they had to do was to enjoy a one-minute thrilling access to gold ornaments. And whatever they laid their hands on turned out to be gold.

Talk of these with a Midas touch! Earlier, like all customers, they had to look out for the lucky coupons in the Taaza tea packs with the Din Dahade Loot symbol. Once Lady Luck smiled even as they prepared their beverage, they knew that now with tea, gold will come calling. And that was how it turned out.

Incidentally, in addition to the dazzling prizes won by the five lucky ones, there are 500 coupons that can be redeemed at Taza outlet for a glittering 10-gram gold chain. And waiting round the corner are 50,000 winners who can claims unique silver pendants.

Now you know that it pays to sip a cup of tea. The only thing to do is it ensure that there is no slip between the cup and lip. And you may well end up with a golden chain around your neck for your efforts!

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Cell hooked

Delhi's rich and famous no longer hold the monopoly over cellphones. Lately, it has become ubiquitous and sweetmeat vendors, `paanwallahs' and even young children brandish it with finesse.

With a billed handset costing Rs. 3,500 or even less in the grey market, and mobile phone rentals as low as Rs. 295 a month, the cellphone has become an almost inseparable companion of the common man. And by the way things look, it seems that it is here to stay.

The omnipresent cell phone has its benefits. Most businessmen and officegoers swear by it for helping them keep in touch with clients and business associates while on the move.

Many girls also claim that it allows them conveniently to keep their parents informed about their whereabouts.

However, a large number of young people tote their phones simply to look `hip' and to be popular with the opposite sex. For these ostentatious youngsters, it is an ultimate fashion statement, to stand out in a crowd with the persistent, loud ringing of their mobile phones, especially in cinema halls and other `hang-out' joints.

Several college students also find the short messaging service offered by airtime cellular service providers an important tool for carrying out clandestine relationships without the knowledge of their parents. There are instances of young people gifting cell phones to their loved ones so that their communication is not rendered ineffective by parental interference.

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Narrow minds

The furore over ``Gadar'' just refuses to die down. This intolerance in the name of culture, religion or history seems to manifest again and again.

Some self-appointed guardians of morality and culture do succeed in raising a hue and cry whenever there is an effort to get out of the rut and give a new touch to social mores through the medium of art. But protests are lodged not in a democratic or reasonable way.

For centuries Indians have lived in mutual harmony irrespective of their faith, calling or creed. It is only in the past few decades that these vistas are narrowing. A shining illustration of this is an old and nondescript temple in one of the busy roads near New Delhi railway station which shares its boundary wall with a mosque. The two places of worship have never witnessed any incident between the followers of either religion, even in the wake of Partition or communal riots soon after.

May be it is time to return to the past to learn a few lessons of peaceful co-existence and break the self-imposed sectarian barriers.

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Section  : Other States
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