Debanish Achom

Journalist, photoblogger, midfielder. Delhi. @debanishachom on X and Instagram

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Redlands Row: Good Old Banal Human Incompetence As The Demolition Squad

The Manipur government owns the Rajbari plot in Meghalaya's Shillong; the Manipur Planning and Development Authority made the detailed project report (DPR) on the request of the Art and Culture Department; the Planning and Development Authority is also the implementing agency, and Manipur-based Meitei Construction Ltd took the contract in 2023.

Initial criticism pointed at Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, and Manipur Governor AK Bhalla because Sangma visited Manipur around the time workers demolished the Rajbari in Shillong, and Manipur is under the President's rule. But that turned out to be the happenstance of being at the wrong place at the wrong time. There is no evidence they had anything to do with the demolition.

The facts, however, point to a comedy of errors at many levels, especially in the Planning and Development Authority.

The time lost in chasing the ghost of conspiracy theories could have been used to see whether the fault came from inside the house before shouting at neighbours.

A picture is beginning to form after talking to sources in the departments concerned. Work on the Rajbari in Shillong began even before Manipur came under the President’s rule. Some who are involved closely in the project went to Shillong often in the last few months to check on the work.

The latest Manipur government statement said: “As a first step, dismantling of a dilapidated part of the building was taken up. However, there was an apprehension that the remaining part of the building may collapse due to instability and weakness of the structural elements. Hence dismantling of the whole structure was necessitated and done manually with due care. The dismantled structures like wooden doors, windows and wall plates, etc have been properly stacked and stored for reuse. The old structure has been properly documented by taking photographs and videography.”

The picture is that the officials made a technical call as they went along with the project, and did not consider it necessary to consult others, not due to any ulterior motive, but as a matter of habit and maybe due to ignorance and incompetence.

That is why many leaders expressed the same surprise as the public when reports came that engineers had razed the heritage bungalow in Shillong.

No grand design or conspiracies played any part in the comedy of errors that the reliable, dependable, good old banal human incompetence produced.

The deed has been done, we cannot turn back time, and a government committee of experts has been formed to monitor the reconstruction.

“The committee may engage or co-opt heritage conservation experts for ensuring maintenance of aesthetic integrity and heritage value of the historic structure,” the government said on Monday.

The only relief can come from the authorities making the new ‘old’ building so good that it encourages the public to let bygones be bygones.

For more reading: This piece by the journalist Pradip Phanjoubam explains it better.

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Another autumn comes, Delhi

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Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: Why Shaheen Bagh Is A City Story

This post is from January 3, 2020

A 2-km stretch in south Delhi's crowded Shaheen Bagh stays barricaded on both ends. There are tents somewhere in the middle of this stretch. Hundreds of women, some with children on their laps, sit in front of a podium where posters criticising the amended citizenship law are pinned on bright cloth. Some women are in burqa.

The voice of an angry man fills the air. On the podium, waving his hand, he says, "Don't be afraid. Allah will protect you." After some time, he asks people if they wanted to go for namaz - it's Friday. "You can pray behind the tents," he says. The next speaker introduces herself as a teacher from Jamia Millia Islamia University, whose students faced the Delhi Police's full might a few weeks ago during a protest.

Except for the tents, the entire stretch at Shaheen Bagh is mostly empty. Some children are playing cricket. Others in white kurta and skull caps are pushing cycles. A large drain clogged with plastic waste cuts the road underneath. The odour stings.

The sit-in led by women at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA has been going on for over three weeks now. The amended law seeks to fast-track the process of giving citizenship to persecuted non-Muslims from three neighbouring countries. The government says the CAA doesn't affect Indians, including Muslims. But critics say the law divides people on religious lines.

People from across the national capital have been visiting Shaheen Bagh. A large crowd pulled an overnighter to usher in the New Year, with songs and dinner amid the biting cold.

Three days later, some people who are probably directly connected with the protest at Shaheen Bagh tweeted they are folding up so that politicians and goons cannot hijack their cause.

Shaheen Bagh is a city story.

Except for the women - and the local men and children - who have a stake in the cause, Shaheen Bagh is a safe place for the people of Delhi, the visitors from gated colonies, to let off steam and give reality to their fantasy of a protest without getting hurt. Because they know the police will not shoot them here, unlike in small towns and border states, where people go out to protest at great risk to their lives.

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'Pigeons' by Adele Renault, Delhi

Belgian street artist Adele Renault, 31, is known for her murals of very large pigeons. Ms Adele's work is immediately relatable. Her interest in people and pigeons stems from the commonality that no matter the city, each can be found in abundance.

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Gupt Dwar by Yok and Sheryo, Delhi

Singaporean street artists Yok and Sheryo took inspiration from Indian matchboxes and playfully encrypted a few hidden messages in the mural. A mention has to be made here of another Singaporean artist, Yip Yew Chong, whose work at Lodhi Art District is my favourite.

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"Gracious Heritage" by Majili Art Forum, Delhi

Delhi-based Majili Art Forum's 15 artists came together to create their first large public mural. Mindful of the pockets of greenery in Lodhi Colony and Delhi at large, the artists created a mural using the trees in front of the wall to create a forest-like image.

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Nizamuddin, Delhi.

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Sound check. Old Delhi.

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Road Trip: 6,000 Km, 7 States, 2 Plates Of Kolhapuri Chicken, And 1 Orange

A short highway drive led to this blog post. Three of us drove down from Delhi to Goa via Udaipur and Mumbai. After getting sunburn for three days in Goa, we drove onwards to a town near Mangaluru to see the beaches.

No one gives a samosa these days, so this post will omit annoyances like scenery, sunset, wanderlust, the mountains-are-calling, and I-love-travel nonsense.

My mother is used to hearing unpleasant, unexpected things from people about me. When word reached her that I have decided to drive down south thousands of kilometres with some people from Delhi, with the possibility that I may drive back home alone for a few thousand kilometres more, she tried to change my mind.

"No, no, no," she said on the phone at night, far away from Imphal. "It's very dangerous. What if you get hurt in an accident, or worse?"

"Accidents happen all the time," I said. "But we will be fine," I told her, not entirely sure about that. Who can predict the future? After a while she agreed she would be cool about it.

Mothers are like that. But they will let you go eventually. They know that you, too, have been collecting years.

We set out for Udaipur from Delhi at 6 am. A lab in Jaipur, a city that falls on our route, agreed to take samples for COVID-19 test. Any cop at state borders could ask for an RT-PCR report even if you are fully vaccinated. Whatever the cop says is final when you are travelling by road, so we decided to be well-prepared. The only chai-paani I like is the one I have myself.

We reached Udaipur at 9 pm. For dinner, we ordered Rajasthani laal maans. This drive across seven states - Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka - opened up infinite possibilities of tasting the best food in each state.

We entered the Gujarat border at 10 am. A police officer stopped us to check documents and asked, "Carrying any daaru?" We said no, of course, and he let us through.

Next came the Godhra bypass, a state highway with a smooth surface and proper markings that made driving quite fun. The state highways in Gujarat are better than some national highways.

Baroda, Surat and hunger followed soon. We drove past dhaba after dhaba with "only veg" and "pure veg" signboards, until we found one with a poster that showed an omelette. This, we blamed the Bengali in the car.

Over 13 hours of driving put us right on the doorstep of Navi Mumbai. Pushing and fighting your way inside a coach in Delhi's busy Rajiv Chowk metro station is way easier than entering Mumbai during evening rush hour traffic.

There are two main routes from Mumbai to Goa. The first is a twisty old highway that passes through ghat roads, and the second is a straight run on the plains via Pune and Kolhapur. Many prefer the second route because why not? The old highway is full of potholes, back pain and feelings about taking a U-turn for home ASAP.

We stopped at Kolhapur bypass for Kolhapuri chicken. See for yourself in the photo below.

The road from Nipani in Karnataka all the way to the Goa border is narrow. But it was on this stretch that we liked stopping for tea and filter coffee.

We reached Goa at night on Day 3 after we drove out from Delhi.

Some days later we prepped for the ride to our next destination - Surathkal, a clean, green, and quiet beach town 20 km from Mangaluru in Karnataka.

Fish thaali in Karwar, on the Karnataka-Goa border, and filter coffee in Udupi really charged up the drive to Surathkal, where we reached in no time and stayed at a friend's house, just a 10-minute walk from a white, sandy beach.

We chilled at Surathkal for two days, visited Mangaluru and enjoyed ghee roast chicken and gadbad ice-cream.

When the time to return home came, a small but not an entirely unexpected problem presented itself like magic. See, I drove down with two friends all the way from Delhi, but they flew back to attend a wedding. A stern message came from home that either I find someone to ride shotgun on the return leg, or I give the car to Agarwal Packers and Movers and fly back. I cannot drive back alone, the serious people at home said.

The only person who came to mind was an old friend from school, who in Class 12 taught me how to drive a motorcycle wrong and wreck it. By now we go back a quarter of a century. I dialled him and presented the plan - he would fly down to Goa, stay for a day, and drive back with me to Delhi with a night's stop each in Mumbai and Udaipur. "You can eat anything you like, stop anywhere you like," I told him. It did the trick. He took a flight to Goa within 24 hours with only a small backpack.

The return leg did not play out any different than how we had come. We traced back the same routes. The Godhra bypass had excellent reflective markings that made driving at night safe. The Rajasthan-Gujarat border near Udaipur had similar safety features. These two stretches helped a lot in improving night driving skills.

That's all people. And about that orange, I forgot where I had kept it for the entire trip. When I finally reached home, it tumbled out from the magazine holder of the front seat.

Fin.

The fine print:

Vehicle: Maruti Suzuki Ignis 1.2 petrol manual, stock tyres upsized by 20 mm to 195/60/R15, Continental UC6

Total toll cost: Rs 5,210 (as per FASTag statement)

Total fuel cost: Rs 28,000 (approximate)

Best roads: Udaipur to Gujarat border, Udaipur-Jaipur highway, Godhra bypass, Mumbai-Pune expressway, Udupi to Surathkal highway

Worst roads: 30 km from Amboli ghat to north Goa border, exit from Navi Mumbai to Thane, Gurgaon-Jaipur highway (road surface is relatively smooth, but it's really bad for night driving due to absence of lane markings on the road; you can get blinded with oncoming headlights and not find directional help since the white lines on the road are missing)

Recommended dhabas and restaurants: Shree Mahalaxmi Seafood Restaurant, Kolhapur bypass; Shetty Lunch Home, Mangaluru; Cafe de Voyage, Margao; Laxmi Family Restaurant and Bar, Morjim.

Thanks to Ira, Jayashree, Munmun, Stella, Rajib, Smitha and Jayant for the company during the road trip and taking these photos.

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Views from Delhi-Kolkata Rajdhani Express

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Ahead of Durga Puja, in Chittaranjan Park, Delhi

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Manipur's 'Meira Paibis' (Those Who Hold The Torch)

Meira Paibi - 'someone who holds the torch' in Meiteilon, the language of the Meitei people - is an all-women institution in Manipur. Meira Paibi evolved from the 'Nishabandh' movement in the 1970s, when groups of women patrolled their neighbourhoods to stop alcoholism and drug abuse.

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Varanasi

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Monsoon, Delhi

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Outer Ring Road, New Delhi

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Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

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A boatman in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.