Delhi supercop pens survival guide

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 3: quot;It would be a tall claim to call it a storehouse of common sense,'' writes Kanwaljeet Deol in the foreword to...

NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 3: quot;It would be a tall claim to call it a storehouse of common sense,8221; writes Kanwaljeet Deol in the foreword to her book 101 Tips to Survive the City. Apt 8212; as the additional commissioner of police traffic is modest in her ways.

You catch her for a few minutes in between appointments and meetings. 8220;It isn8217;t such a major thing,8221; she explains when you ask her why she did not have a book launch. Her book published by Penguin is in the series of guide books which was kicked off last month by Ritu Beri8217;s 101 Ways to Look Your Best.

While that book launch was graced by the Who8217;s Who of Delhi8217;s social circles and Madhuri Dixit, Deol said that her book does not need that kind of publicity8217;. Surviving and succeeding in what is traditionally a male bastion, probably takes up all her time.

The book is a kind of ready reckoner which tells you how to be stay safe in a metropolis. It is full of tips on sundry things like securing your home and other belongings, and the bestway to deal with the police. 8220;Things that I have just picked up in my 22 years of service. It is not just a do-it-yourself but a part of taking responsibility for your own safety,8221; she said, adding,8220;when that does not happen 8212; crime occurs.8221;

So is it a part of acknowledging that city life is becoming so dreary that we need help surviving? She smiles before she slowly replies: 8220;We need survival guides because we are no longer capable of controlling our environment in metros 8212; so people require a higher degree of skill and thinking.8221;

But she denies that it is a 8220;scare book8221; in any kind of way. 8220;We have tried to do a balanced job with it,8221; she assures you. So while she tells you that it may be wise to get yourself a beware of dog8217; sign even if you do not have a canine member in the household, she also tells you the hierarchy of the police to let you know that they are within reach.

8220;After all the role of the police is always to control aberrations and not to make them disappear,8221; shesaid.

Story continues below this ad

The book, she tells you, takes on a larger perspective than gender-based issues. 8220;Although it deals with gender-specific problems like domestic violence, as a police officer I have developed wider outlook to things,8221; she says. No male-bashing here, folks.

Although this is the first literary venture on the police officer8217;s part, she does not rule out a memoir, but 8220;only after I retire!8221;