- authorparminderksh
Guest post – My New ‘Old Delhi’
I thank Mrs Anuradha Nehra, who on my request, spared her time to write this guest post for my blog. I am blessed to have met many ‘Iron Ladies’ both in my family and outside . She is one of them. Synonym for strength, courage, wisdom who overcome all challenges of life with her ‘Happy go lucky’ attitude. I Wish her best of everything in life.
Yesterday, I went to meet my childhood friend who still lives in the same area of old Delhi.
I have such beautiful memories of our… ‘chhoti gali, badi gali Mai ka ghar, Phatak’ .
When i used to come back from school in winters I will find my mother, Taiji, alongwith other ladies of neighborhood sitting in ‘badi gali’, knitting woollens or cutting vegetables and sharing their day to day problems of life. Even elderly old ladies will be sitting their giving their valuable advise, children playing with their friends under the watchful eyes of their mothers or kaki or aunty.
But yesterday was different.There was no one in the gali at 2PM in winters in beautiful sunlight.
It looked so barren. When i asked my friend about it she said, “what are you saying ? It doesn’t look nice to sit in gali gossiping like illiterate uncultured women! ”
This incident made me think about the pros & cons of this so called ‘modern culture’.
There are some practicalities to see also. Now -a-days women too are working. i myself have chosen to work in an office even after retirement. But what about the elder ones who are not going out and children whom we are leaving behind with care takers / maids. who come for a small sum of money with no personal touch, love or affection. Even psychologists says that societal needs are as basic as food.
In these high tech times even after office hours we prefer to know more about far off things about which we can flaunt / boast instead of doing small talks with our elders or children or neighbours or with that single old lady living in the corner house.
Why not pause for a while and give a thought to what is happening around us along with the global issues ??
Do share your views …