Singers and Spoilers

Last Friday's Daler Mehendi show gave various things to various people: to the Municipal Corporation, a fat cheque; to several thousand s...

Last Friday8217;s Daler Mehendi show gave various things to various people: to the Municipal Corporation, a fat cheque; to several thousand spectators, a lively evening; to the MCM DAV College principal, a night of near-apoplexy; and to the malis and others who love the Fragrance Garden, a dismaying spectacle of mindless ruin.

The Daler Mehendi show also leaves us with two mysteries to contemplate: Why was the Fragrance Garden chosen as the venue when the city has many equally large, central and less carefully manicured grounds? Secondly, did the Municipal Corporation actively make the choice, or did it blindly rubber-stamp the choice of the organisers? Incidentally, how much money did the Corporation realise from the show? Was it enough to make the sacrifice of the garden worth it?

One was under the impression that, over the years, the City had evolved a policy of shifting heavy human traffic away from public gardens. As city population rose and the Festival of Gardens grew in popularity, the number of stalls and, consequently the crowds, became too much for the Rose Garden to bear, so from the early 8217;90s the UT Administration wisely relocated the avenue of snack-bars and sales-counters to the verges of Jan Path. Those who visit the festival to enjoy the sight of the flowers are effectively separated from those whose mainly enjoy gadding, gobbling and bargain-hunting.

Both types enjoy without hindrance. In retrospect, we see that the policy was not all that firmly settled. A few fashion shows and several performances of playback and ghazal singers have been held in Shanti Kunj, the Fragrance Garden and on the promenade of Sukhna Lake during the past couple years. Even though these shows did not draw extremely large crowds, it would have been a good thing if voices of protest had been raised when these shows were announced, just for the sake of establishing the quot;save the gardensquot; principle.

For that matter, even ordinary grounds deserve some care and respect. How often we have seen post-show venues littered with plastic cups and bags, the field dug up and despoiled. The organisers disappear and no one cares to clean up or repair the area. This is true not only of areas such as Rajendra Park, the Cricket Stadium, the Parade Ground, the Circus Ground and the maidan in Sector 34, but also of the scores of small neighbourhood parks. The impact of careless use is especially evident in winter 8212; the Indian mating season. Small parks are left deeply pitted by tent-poles, makeshift tandoors, and garbage middens that contribute shards of broken glass to the children8217;s playground.

No wonder people typically take so little interest in their local parks 8211; who will plant or tend an area that may any day be taken over and turned into a combination tent-city-cum-parking-lot? There may be a rule requiring those who conduct functions to clean up afterwards but one has never seen it enforced. If we value our city and our environment, we should insist on clean-ups. And obviously, those areas, such as gardens, where a function creates more damage than a simple pick-and-sweep drill can mend, should be off limits.