OPINION

The joke in the town is that Lord Rama has accepted prayers of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal as the high-speed winds somewhat cleared smog in Delhi a day after Diwali. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with his wife and cabinet colleagues had offered prayers at the replica of Ayodhya Ram Mandir built at Thyagraj Stadium in Delhi. The event was preceded by the usual publicity blitzkrieg and people urged to witness the event live.

That Kejriwal could have prayed for clean air in Delhi is unlikely, as the whole exercise is projected towards gearing up the preparations of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. It’s part of Kejriwal’s bouquet to entice voters of UP with his Ram Bhakti, which includes free trips to the citizens of Delhi to Ayodhya. 

Kejriwal had earlier visited Ramjanambhoomi and Hanumangarhi in Ayodhya to reiterate his Ram Bhakti not being of any lesser degree than that of the BJP leaders. Incidentally, on the evening Kejriwal went live with his prayers at Ram Temple in Thaygraj stadium, at least 12000 families in Delhi were forced to live with a ‘Black Diwali’.

Early last week there was a very interesting report in The Morning Standard, which mentioned that the dengue cases in the national Capital had breached the three-year mark. Surprising, the report about the spike in the dengue cases in was missed by almost every other newspaper.

Through the week, the readers on the contrary were served with the ‘news’ of Delhi chief minister promising a free trip to Ayodhya to the senior citizens of the national Capital, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia holding consultations with a minister from Maharashtra on ‘Desh Bhakti’ curriculum for the schools and finally the Minister ‘at large’ Raghav Chadha serving a notice to Facebook.

In between came in the serological report for Covid 19 which said that 97 percent of the city’s population had anti-bodies and the ‘threat of the virus’ was almost over. The timing of the report was interesting as it soon led to the announcement of opening the cinema halls to full capacity.

The past week saw Delhi respire some fresh air. This was thanks to the rains from the receding Monsoon clouds. While these clouds played havoc in the states of Uttarakhand in the north and Kerala down South, in Delhi it cleared the air of suspended dust particles.

However, despite the nature being balmy, Delhi Government kept deployed deployed its machinery and monies in a project called Yudh Pradushan Ke Virudh (war against pollution). Hopefully, at the end of the campaign, its managers do not end up justifying the fresh air that the city inhaled last week was an outcome of their project.

This is a case of publicity driven government priorities, which often end up in being misplaced and misdirected as far as the public good goes. For example, the government went hammer and tongs about ‘revolutionised’ healthcare in the city through the Mohallah Clinics and also showcased some ‘international’ awards to reiterate its claim. How good are Mohallah Clinics and to what help they were for the residents was all too evident during the first and the second waves of the spread of Corona virus.

Coming to Yudh Pradushan Ke Virudh (war against pollution), Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the press briefing to launch the said anti-pollution campaign, claimed that pollution in Delhi in the past five years have come down by 25 percent. He must be having a data base to back his claim. But for the citizens in the past five years, breathing during the autumn months has become progressively strenuous.

Navratra are Ram Leela time in the national Capital. Given the Covid-driven restrictions the dramatic presentation of the life story of Prince of Ayodhya remained a low-key affair this year too. The Covid-restrictions may have reined in the dramatization on the stages but there continue to enough theatrics on the streets.

Political parties last week locked horns for allowing the festivity of Chhath. The said festival is still about 20-days away, to be celebrated six-days after Diwali. Delhi’s festivity calendar so far been known to have Diwali as the major landmark after Dusshera but the events of the last week showed that Diwali is being given a go by for Chhath.

If there are restrictions in place, they would first have to go away for Diwali and then only for Chhath. Diwali festivities in Delhi is best known for the multiple Diwali melas held across the city but nobody really seems to be missing them.

The restrictions last year did not allow the melas, and the chances of the same returning with the same robustness is unlikely this year too. To add to it are the near ban on the bursting of the crackers, which is so closely identified with Diwali but nobody is complaining, and rightly so.

“It’s better to have a live-in relationship rather than having a divorced life!”

This is common refrain in the favour of live-in relations in the world. Live in relationship are not new for western countries but of late the concept is getting rooted in east also. The word “live in” is found to be controversial in many terms in eastern countries.

As Indian society is witnessing a drastic change in its living pattern, people are slowly and gradually opening their minds towards the idea of pre-marital sex and live-in relationships. However, this change has been continuously under criticism and highly discussed as such concepts lack legality and acceptance by the society.

Unlike marriage, in live-in relationships couples are not legally bound to each other but live together under the same roof that resembles a relation like marriage. In other words, we can say it is a cohabitation.