Visitors to Delhi’s Connaught Place will rarely miss the sight of an old man with his neatly ironed clothes and bag full of toys there. Almost a regular at the buzzing commercial hub of Delhi, P.M. Sahay claims to have retired from an American Company as a manager and comes from Rohtak. He, however, refuses to take any personal questions and is most reluctant to explain as to why a man of his training and age should be selling toys at CP.
Though he is uncomfortable speaking about himself, word has spread about this old man, who according to some people sells puppets to earn a livelihood.
One of the shopkeepers at CP, speaking about Mr. Sahay said: “Some say he had invested his life’s saving in his son’s (who was a chartered accountant) business. His young son passed away in a tragic accident. Mr. Sahay now supports his wife, his married daughter and her children.”
Stating that Mr. Sahay rarely speaks about his family, the shopkeeper added: “But everyone around here takes care that he is not troubled, gets his evening tea and is safely dropped back to the nearest Metro.” He buys these puppets from a wholesaler and sells them with for a very less profit margin. He hardly makes Rs. 10 ($0.05) as his profit everyday. One of the members of our Facebook page Rakesh Verma from Madhya Pradesh also came to know about him and wanted to help him, so he transferred some money to my bank account asking me to give him which I gave today.
If you are in New Delhi help him and others like him in any way you can, the least you can do is spread his story around so that those who can help him may step forward.
L-G takes the lead
The uncertainty over government formation in the Capital continues. Both the political and the bureaucratic circle in the city is abuzz with the urgency with which Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung has been taking prompt decisions on issues that were treated as hot potatoes even by the previous elected governments. While the LG office is discussing the option of regulating traffic mess in the city by allowing vehicles on streets as per the series of their registration, other decisions like making helmet compulsory for all women driving two-wheelers have also caught the attention of the people.
While the political parties, especially the Aam Aadmi Party has been repeatedly demanding fresh Assembly elections to put in place a popular government, the regular interventions and monitoring by the LG has kept even the bureaucrats on their toes and with regular raids being conducted for ensuring better delivery of services.
Stereotyping lessons
During a special Interactive Review Meeting on the security of north eastern people in the Capital, two Joint Commissioners of Delhi Police shared their own experiences to tell the audience that cultural differences often make people feel isolated and perceive his or her adopted home as hostile. JCP (Training) Robin Hinbu who hails from Arunachal Pradesh said the very first day he arrived at Delhi, he was subjected to stereotyping at the Railway Station itself. His colleague, JCP (Eastern Range) Sanjay Beniwal shared his experience of serving in Arunachal and Mizoram and said that for quite some time after he joined, people continued speaking in the local languages. Both, however, said that such experiences helped them in understanding the other culture better and one should take such situations in one’s stride.
