India and Pakistan may not be talking to each other, but leading Bollywood singer and Pakistani national Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan had his Indian fans go into raptures at the Jawaharalal Nehru indoor weightlifting stadium on Saturday evening.
Shafqat, at home in Bollywood and India, had his fans swaying when he sang Jaidev and Lata Mangeshkar’s bhajan in the film Hum Dono “ Allah tero naam, Ishwar tero naam .”
More importantly, he first took turns to invite young men and women to sing with him. And surprise of surprises, all of them knew his songs, and almost all put up creditable performances.
With around a thousand people in attendance, Shafqat played the quintessential diplomat and communicator in getting through to his audience. One young woman just started crying when he came up to her and asked her to sing.
There’s little doubt that the power of music and song – which official India and Pakistan can do little to curb – can melt even the most hawkish of hearts. Shafqat and his music demonstrated that.
Out of control
A drill for fire control conducted in the Delhi High Court compound recently revealed several shortcomings in the system including difficulty for fire tenders to enter the premises because of the haphazard and disorganised parking of vehicles. Even after entering, the fire tenders could not manoeuvre properly and the entire exercise had to be called off.
Delhi High Court Bar Association vice-president Jatan Singh says the failure of the drill was alarming. The agencies and authorities, which have to act efficiently to manage disasters and mishaps, are not in a position to act swiftly to prevent or manage crisis situations. A multi-level automated underground parking facility has since been made free for the Delhi High Court lawyers. However, since the cars of lawyers and litigants are still parked in a disorganised manner near the gates of the High Court and on the road adjoining its boundary wall, emergency situations are difficult to manage.
Their way on the highway
Mayhem rules on the city roads after 10 p.m. when the ban on entry of heavy vehicles is revoked. Cars, three-wheelers and motorcyclists are put at a risk of being hit by these motorised giants as they do not allow them to ply even in their specified lanes. With most of the Delhi Traffic Police personnel off duty by that time, these vehicles have a free run straddling on all the lanes. A few of the personnel who are on duty are seen busy at the barricades, looking out for “bad characters” and flagging down some of these vehicles to collect their own tariff, caring little about whether positioning of the barricades needs to be widened at times.
The heavy vehicles ply in the middle and in the right lanes demarcated for two-wheelers and cars. Drivers of light vehicles are seen looking for a way out of the maze of these dinosaurs. While some manage to find way and press ahead, most of the time, they have no option but to just tail them.
(By City Bureau, Mohammad Iqbal, Nirnimesh Kumar)
