The Hindu : New Delhi News : Inside Delhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Mar 22, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Inside Delhi

Looking for links with the past

More than just politics, the Walled City of Delhi was alive with emotional fervour as the Musharrafs came visiting this past week. And this walk down the memory lane for Zarin - mother of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf - also brought to the surface memories that had been buried long ago by the older generation of Delhiites.

For one 80-year-old lady, it revived memories of her days in Sheikhupura near Lahore: the streets and bazaars she used to visit, the buildings that used to stand tall and the vehicles that were on the roads. The food, the fashions and the flavours of the city still live on in her memory.

And, of course, the memories of the fateful day she escaped with nothing more than just the clothes on her back. "Our neighbours warned us that there might be trouble. And we just ran away. I jumped over the wall of our house, never realising that we would not be going back. I was not even wearing my slippers,'' reminisced Raj Chawla, a resident of Saket.

Even though crossing the border in 1947 meant giving up all that she had grown up with, there seem to be no regrets now. In fact, barely a few years later in 1962, this lady readily donated two gold bangles - she had escaped with six - to the Government of India's war fund. The Government of India certificate is still safely tucked away in her trunk.

While the 50-odd years gone by have seen several highs and lows at the political level, it seems all that this generation is looking for are small links with their past, like Ms. Musharraf's visit.

Pharmacist with a difference

They may have been in the news for all the wrong reasons in the recent past, even holding patients to ransom when it came to proving their point, but the Capital still has pharmacists who don't mind going the extra mile to help an ailing person.

Used to the usual lot of pharmacists who simply shake their head to say a particular medicine is not available or prescribe them a medicine with a similar composition, this particular Delhiite was in for a surprise when she walked into a pharmacy shop in Chittranjan Park the other day to buy two syrups prescribed for a two-year-old. Unable to find one of the medicines, the pharmacist promptly called up the dealer concerned to find out if the mentioned medicine had been supplied recently in the market.

With the confirmation done, the pharmacist casually told the woman to leave her address so that he could get the medicine delivered at home. Needy that she was, she gladly accepted the offer. Only, the man seemed to have suddenly remembered something and returned to his cupboard to take out two bottles and returned to the phone yet again. This time, it was a call to the doctor who had prescribed the medicine, as the young pharmacist wanted to know if a similar medicine by another company could be given. And to further ensure that the customer had no doubt, the man made her speak to the doctor too, who said the medicine was a good replacement for what he had prescribed.

And while not all pharmacists may not make the effort of cross-checking, the fact that there are still some ready to go that extra length is clearly good news for the city.

The uncanny witch

For residents of North-West Delhi, it was like living in Lord Voldermort's reign for all of this past week. Terrified of a "witch" believed to have escaped from Rajasthan's Balaji temple, they were getting a real taste of the "Harry Potter'' experience.

While no one had ever seen her, the story doing the rounds was that she visited homes, asked for an onion, and, once someone gave it to her, she would brutally kill the person. People believed that the only way to ward her off was to put a palm imprint outside the house. Triggering off a panic reaction, the rumour resulted in a rash of bright yellow palm imprints appearing outside many doors.

And cashing in on their fear, "sadhus'' started going around houses offering to do "pooja'' to keep her away.

The Indian Rationalist Association, sounding the lone note of reason, has issued a statement asking people to stop spreading superstitions. "There are no witches roaming around to kill people. It is a baseless superstition,'' says Sanal Edamaruku, who had earlier exposed the "Monkeyman Legend" and "Ganesh Drinking Milk Miracle''.

Mr. Edamaruku asserts that there have been no suspicious deaths in Delhi that would fit the profile of the story in circulation. "No one has seen the witch, everyone has only heard about it from others. Witches stories are interesting, but they have nothing to do with reality. To ward off fears, all one has to do is to get active the critical faculties of the mind and develop some common sense. Many of us simply believe what is heard. This gullible approach is the key to the spread of such stories,'' he says.

By Anjali Dhal Samanta, Lakshmi B. Ghosh and Mandira Nayar

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