Some two and a half years back, I had enrolled myself in a club at a posh
colony of Gurgaon. At that time, the club promised of ambitious facilities
like horse-riding and squash courts. Since learning squash had been one of
my dreams (which it even remains today), I had paid the registration fees
of fifteen thousand rupees, out of which ten thousand was refundable. At that
time, since I was out of liquid money, I had borrowed the money from a friend
of mine and had paid more than fifteen-percent interest. In the two and a
half years of my association with the club, instead of fulfilling the promises
that had made me enroll, things have gone downhill. The first sign of this
degeneration was visible last June when a major portion of the boundary wall
was broken down. On making inquiries, I came to know that the wall stood
on encroached land and hence was broken down by HUDA authorities. The broken
wall was not the only casualty. Along with it, the changing rooms for the
swimming pool also came crashing down. With no changing rooms, the recreation
of swimming, especially in the scorching sun, became a difficult proposition.
The crowd waned, as no one was ready to use the makeshift rooms that did
not have even a latch to offer.
The next casualty was an ill-designed tennis court that had to be used for
new changing rooms. The gymnasium, badminton courts and basketball courts
too were relocated. All these changes meant that the architectural integrity
that the club once boasted of was completely lost. All that remained were
ad-hoc designs and incomplete amenities. Instead of the squash court, what
is there is a twenty feet trench. Adjoining the trench is a blue board indicating
"Squash Court", that some future generation may get to use. No horses are
seen yet.
And if this damage was not enough, one day I found the parking lot encircled
by a fence, and the entrance marked as that belonging to certain school. I
wondered how entry to a commercial club could ever be through a school. My
fears proved to be true as the school-gate too was closed, leaving the club
with no parking space. The rear entrance was then used, along with the narrow
lanes and vacant plots, to park cars of the club-goers. The single lane was
inadequate to hold the parked cars resulting in major traffic snarls. Then,
a part of broken school-wall came to everyone's relief. Till date, the broken
wall is being used to park cars, presumably in the school's compound. The
day is not far when this portion too will be sealed, leaving everyone back
to using the vacant plots and single lanes for parking cars.
Tired of the deteriorating facilities and the shadiness that went along,
I decided of withdrawing from the club membership. Promptly, I gave an application
to the in-charge for refund of my security deposit of ten thousand rupees.
One week later, when I went to inquire about the status of my application,
I was asked to sit. In the meanwhile, the lady in-charge feasted the dhoklas
that one of her friends had to offer. Some five minutes later, I was told
that it would take three months to get my refund. The comment made me furious.
This was the same club that had sent its executive to my office to get me
enrolled. Now, when the work was offer, and it was time to pay, I was told
that the rules of the game had changed and that I had to wait for three months
to get my money back. The encroached boundaries that were eventually broken
and the dubious parking lot do not inspire lot of confidence. Especially in
the present days when one banking scam after another has become the norm.
God wonders whether I will get my money back?
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Continuing with the previous topic, I have come to know that Indians are
not good in forming associations and fighting together. History is littered
with cases of betrayal, the classic example being the divide and rule policy
of the Britishers. In the present case, if there had been a club members association,
that could stop paying annual fees, the club owners could not retort to such
dubious practices. But alas, that is not to be and so one has to contend
with what is offered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In my life I have seen bad politicians and pathetic politicians. There have
been few good ones too. But our prime minister belongs to a different genre.
I wonder if there has been ever a strange leader than the one that presently
rules the country. Two remarks are pertinent here. One, he says he should
have settled scores with Pakistan just after Parliament was attacked in December.
Two, during a Parliamentary debate, he said he thought about removing Modi
but did not do so in the fear of a backlash. A man is not known for what he
thinks he will do or what he should have done, but what he actually does.
And if such a man is the Prime-minister of the country, God save us.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere I was reading that thousands of Indians die or lose their limbs
while crossing railway lines. The accidents could easily be avoided had these
people used the overhead pedestrian bridges made for the purpose. This is
not the solitary example. In another story, I read a mother lost her life
when her year-old kid fell into an open manhole near which she was sleeping.
The police refused to lodge an FIR stating the case as frivolous. Hundred
of Indians die for strangest of reasons. A high-tension wire falling and killing
a bus full of marriage participants. Forty die somewhere by consuming illicit
liquor. My point in citing these examples is that when the denizens of this
country do not value their lives, do we have a moral right to lament killings
by militants? Loss of lives in India is partly due to our own recklessness
and partly due to bureaucratic apathy. The rest is filled by a weak and defunct
judiciary. Given this, external killings form only a small proportion of accidental
death or death due to negligence. Will someone take these into account? Most
importantly, will someone affix the blame behind these deaths?