First edition of TOI after independence

Dt:17 Aug 2011

On the occasion of 64th independence day celebrations the Times of India team published a copy of the newspaper published on 15th August 1947.

 

There were many interesting aspects that I observed after going through this edition. The first thing being that the price of the paper was just 2 annas .today its 5 rs.[80 annas].From an economic point of view the value of the newspaper has inflated by 4000% in 64 years.

But apart from that there were some interesting articles covering Pandit Nehru's historic midnight speech .Jinnah's ascent as head of Pakistan, an article from the then Mayor of Bombay wishing India a happy independence and thanking India for letting him continue as Governor  till the end of that year.Also highlighted on the left corner is a list of ministers appointed to the first cabinet--most prominent of that being Dr.Ambedkar as Law minister.

Also highlighted on the first page was an economic settlement between England and India which ensured that Britain had access to India's funds till the end of that  year.Settlement stated that 35 million pounds from India's existing balances would be available for expenditure in any currency area and 30 million pounds were to be available to India at the disposal of The Reserve Bank of  India.

Also to be observed that Mr.Gandhi was fasting on this day to celebrate Independence[or may be to repent partition].....well history has its controversies...but what a great day for this nation.
 

Vande Mataram.Jai Hind 

Chalo Dilli

Dt: 29/07/2011.

The flight was scheduled to reach Delhi at around 0755 .But by the time I was out of the airport it was still 0750 hrs .I had booked an office accommodation at Vasant Vihar in Delhi and had earlier planned to check in there before going for the interview.The interview was scheduled for 1115 hrs  and as such I had nothing to do till then.

The first thing that I looked out for when I reached Delhi was an eatery as I was hungry by then.SpiceJet does not offer food on its flights unless you are not ready to pay for it  :p.And I avoided the airline food .So just outside the domestic terminal 1D I had a veg burger from a Fast Food corner .I was the first customer and had to wait a bit till my burger was done .In the mean time I kept wondering  as to what would I do with so much spare time left with me before the interview.The burger was good with a sachet of tomato sauce.I finished it up and then took one of the many empty seats outside the terminal.

Friends had advised me to avail the prepaid taxi service once at the airport.I went over to the  prepaid taxi counter and enquired about the cab to Chanakyapuri.The man at the counter told me that I would reach there in 30 mins  .I asked him if he could arrange for a small Dilli darshan around Chanakyapuri which he bluntly refused saying that they only do single point services.Well that would leave me with a lot of free time .Confused about how to spend a couple of hours in between I decided eventually to stay put at the airport waiting area itself as I did not wish to  get lost in a new city just before the interview.

Just like any other mode of public transport, to my amazement I found that the airport also can be a place where you can find different characters.For the first half an hour I was almost alone staring at the arrivals list .I made a note that most planes were on or before time except for one Bangalore flight which got cancelled.Slowly as more planes touched down i got more people for company.There was this Gujju family which apparently was waiting for someone to receive them at  the airport.Then there was another guy who had a placard with the person's name he was supposed to receive.He came up to me and asked if the flight info was mentioned in the placard.He didn't understand English and wanted me to help but unfortunately there wasn't any flight info on the placard.

[pic:aerial shot of terminal 1D at IGI airport,Delhi]

After spending more than an hour at the airport I decided to take a prepaid cab to Chanakyapuri.The taxi was an old OMNI and the moment I entered in I realised that the Mumbai taxis are way better than these.What a stark contrast to the early morning Meru cab.I managed to strike up a conversation with the taxiwala .He offered me a full Dilli Darshan in 8 hours for 800 bucks and when i told him that I didnt have dat much time he was quick to offer me a MINI darshan for  500 bucks.I reached the interview site quite early and had to wait for my turn for half an hour.In that time I came across a lot of people IT engineers,students,religious people etc .The interview went as scheduled and I was done by 1300 hrs.

Chanakyapuri can be called a consulate adda.Almost all the foreign consulates were  present here.I came out of the consulate and inquired the rickshaw walla for a place where I can have some food.He directed me to the Malcha market on the Malcha marg .A few minutes walk from there and I found a chinese restaurant {Lotus Garden}.I had VEG fried rice[it was a Tuesday....] and a mocktail{Lotus Delight }.The mocktail was surprisingly quite good but the food was bland.I partly agreed with it after I saw a lot of foreigners enjoying their meal there.

Once out  of there I decided to visit the India gate {the nearest attraction I could find on Google maps}.By this time the climate had turned very pleasant with a cool breeze and a light drizzle.I fancied a walk for some time to digest my food and asked a Taxi walla for directions.He gave me a surprised look and asked me "Aapke paas kya hai".I said 'Kya'.I realised that he was asking me if I had a vehicle.I said I plan to walk to India Gate .[Just to get a fair idea about the distance] .He laughed at me and said 'Yaha se left lo aur seedhe seedhe chalte jaao 6 km hian'.He must have expected me to immediately hire his cab after hearing that.But I had other plans.

Destination:India gate

Having done the usual long morning and evening walks over the years.I knew that the one hour walk[6km/hr] would end sooner than later  and that would give me some time to spend with myself..to introspect.But for that it was necessary that  I took the Akbar Road throughout.But I went on a round trip instead and slowly the 6 km walk turned into a 10 km walk .How long is the dream run in marathons?.Anyways..after going past  many circles I was beginning to get a bit irritated with my decision.The people of Delhi were helpful and were at all times guiding me with directions .What irritated me was that it was well  over an hour now since I had started walking. By this time I was walking on  Janpath and had reached  Motilal Nehru Palace[Shiela Dixit's residence].

I pondered about hiring a cab now as the walk was beginning to tire me down.One last stretch before I give up I told to myself.I asked a senior citizen whether I was heading in the right direction just to be sure.He pointed across to a garden and told me to cross it and take Akbar road.I asked him how much more time.He said only 5-10 mins.I wondered if he was right.I kept walking. In a few minutes I came across the All India Congress Committee[AICC] office.There were some reporters outside the office doing a story.I realised that I had come very close to my destination.

There it was standing in all its glory.Watching the Amar Javan Jyoti on TV for so many years ,you always felt the aura surrounding the  place.I always wanted to be here and experience it for real.Now the day had come I was in Delhi surrounded by the India Gate,Raj Bhavan,The Parliament House,The Rashtrapati Bhavan and other historical places.It was a feeling of excitement n joy never experienced before.I was tired by the walk but overwhelmed by the destination.This is complete  path of my WALK.

Once I had absorbed the moment I started repenting the fact that I was travelling alone and had no one to click pictures.Luckily I found this guy who helped me with this photo.Few years back when we had clicked a group photo at the Gateway of India the end result wasn't as great as this one and the service was not prompt as well .This photographer seemed to have a printer nearby and he actually even gave me a choice from 4 different poses.Now that's cool ;-}.

Tried best to pose for the cameras.This is the best I could manage.

Well that wraps up the Chalo Dilli part for you .I missed Chandni Chowk but theres always a next time ;-} .If you liked this part then keep watching this space for the last leg of this journey.