Public vs private care

If you had to choose between a government hospital and a private one, which would you choose? Both options are daunting for many reasons Lack of equipment and infrastructure, overcrowded wards, multiple non-functioning OTPs, a single MRI machine that is being shared by several government hospitals, unavailability of ventilators and medicines, long serpentine queues and […]

Homing in on security

Many Russian girls come to Delhi on tourist visas to earn a living, find a partner and a secure family environment. Here is a look into their tryst with Delhi There are many Russians and Russian-speaking people in Delhi — especially in Paharganj and Ram Krishna Marg area.  A few also live in Saket, Malviya […]

Misogynist teacher

Students are protesting against Jamia’s Fine Arts Department head and demanding his removal In the session of 2016-17 when I first saw Mr Hafeez Ahmad shouting at two woman students in the Fine Arts Department, I didn’t make much of it. I was a student there, taking evening classes for a course on calligraphy in […]

Bespoke tailoring

In Connaught Place, you can still find tailors and drapers who specialise in men’s suits, though theirs is now a niche service More often than not, a garment is celebrated for its outer appeal and all the embellishment that goes in it. Be it the snazzy fabric, an exotic cut or the most sought-after label […]

The foam & the farm

Despite living near the Yamuna, farmers don’t touch the water; others think it will be drinkable soon Having spent decades toiling over a small plot of land they call their khet (farm), a grizzled Dharampal seems older than the 60 years he claims to be. About 30 of those years have been spent on the […]

Painful makeover

In a year from now, Chandni Chowk’s redevelopment will be done. Until then, however, the buzz in the bazaar is all about the inconveniences faced ‘As you sit stranded in a traffic jam, half-choked by rickshaw fumes and the ammonia stink of the municipal urinals, you see around you a sad vista of collapsing shop […]

In search of a paycheck

The lacklustre Directorate of Employment is hardly a place that can bring hope to the job seekers who knock at its doors On a long stretch of road is a building with all the vibes of a sarkari daftar. Its greying, crumbling walls giving out little hope that it can ensure job security. This is […]

THEY’RE OUT TO PICK POCKETS!

Busy Metro stations like Kashmere Gate, Huda City Centre, Shahdara, Central Secretariat and Rajiv Chowk are prime targets for petty theft, especially on escalators At Rajiv Chowk Metro station the other day, one of the men boarding the train grabbed another’s collar roughly and began a full-fledged fight, right there on the platform! Some of […]