One good thing about Delhi is it has plenty of parks. The city must have the distinction of being one with the maximum number of jogging parks, next to Pune. Running or jogging for atleast 30 minutes in a park will easily burn out all the extra calories I have accumulated all these while. Instead I choose gym and wasted one hour, and in return, I have lots of appetite. Huh! Dreams of 6 packs – a distant dream.
It must be around 7.30pm-my gym time, one of friend ask me to accompany her upto a shopping mall nearby. She was asked by her landlord to pay their monthly rent there in the shopping mall gate. When I asked, why didn’t he turn up by himself at your room and collect the rent because he knows his tenants are ladies? She explained something which I didn’t agree. While returning back, we were stop by a police officer in uniform. Without any connection he asked, “do you know me?” I said yes, and in brief, I explained how I know him. After a brief conversation, he politely, in a very concerned tone, requested us to attend meetings conducted by Delhi Police for the safety of North East People. His last line was “If anybody teases you, or abuses you, or any autorikshaw driver who refuse to go at your desire destination, please call me at my number.” But he didn’t give his number, and I didn’t feel the need to ask, as I already have the mobile number of the police inspector in charge of my locality.
I always show this police officer in a motorbike roaming here and there in my locality. Several times, I show him yelling at vegetable vendors at roadside, or those motorbikers without helmet or 3 sitters. Atleast thrice a day, we met though we didn’t exchange words or greetings. But he never mentioned anything about such a special meeting of north east people in an around of my locality. Yes, I remember a meeting of such in 2010, but after that I never attend or hear of any such meeting. I ask myself, why all of a sudden, that too when I am with a lady from north east! Are they really concerned about North East people?
It must be around 10.30pm, after having dinner, one of my friends suggested about going for a movie. All six of us went to PVR Anupam for an 11.25pm show. I can’t remember when did I get the chance to go out for a last show movie at Imphal! The crowd was good. Most interesting was the number of female moviegoers even at that hour. Most of them were at strings and shorts, nobody cares. Of course mercury was soaring these days. Who says only North east girls wear shorts and strings or say western outfits?
It must be around 2.30am when the movie ended. While returning, I saw two police officers, with no guns, only truncheon/baton [as a symbol of authority], were checking every vehicle entering our locality. I was surprised, this checking happens only when there is something wrong in the city, or in the month of August before 15 or in January before 26. I checked internet instantly, but nothing as such reported in any of the web pages. When our turn comes, they didn’t ask anything, just let us go. One of my friend jokingly said, they let us go without any words because we are mongoloid or North East people.
Are we already marginalized group again marginalizing in this city? Or just that we are peace loving people, so they don’t feel any danger from us? If the answer is yes for the second one, then why is there ASFPA in Manipur? May be they are charged up from the instant report of increasing crime rates in Delhi. Or may be the death of Richard Loitam in Bangalore, and the suicide of Dana Sangma in Noida make them feel insecure of detaining north east people at roadside. Whatever, but why waiting for something wrong to happen to charge up? Why not taking precaution beforehand and alert all the times?
