In twilight zone!


DELHI AT DUSK 
The city in the evening can be a sheer beauty or a bare bane...

An endless grey-blue sky with a tinge of orange from the setting sun. Add to it the sound of chirping birds. Really, Delhi, at dusk, can be a breathtaking vista. When the starry skies shine on monumental relics like the lit up India Gate, the Jama Masjid, the Red Fort and the Lotus Temple, Delhi becomes a mesmerising beauty. No wonder, hundreds throng these places in the evening to immerse in their loveliness.




However, now that it is touched by the mega city bug, Delhi can be also be a modern-day nightmare with endless high rises blocking a clear view of the evening sky. Withhonking cars, crowded public buses and Metro trains, numerous people milling about everywhere, and of course itsincessant pollution, it becomes worse by the end of the day. Hindi poet Vimal Kumar rues the loss, “Due to increase in population and limited space, there are no places left to enjoy in the city. Very few parks and open fields are to be seen in colonies these days as they are often surrounded by multi-storied buildings. Living in cities, one is often not able to enjoy the sunrise and the sunset as we are busy with our hectic lives. It becomes worse as the sun hides behind the tall buildings.”


True to this impression, the city roads in the evenings are often filled with people, their faces tense, clad in formals returning from work, now caught in noisy traffic snarls. “Generally, during the evenings, people are in a hurry to get home after the day's work. However, most of them don't have proper knowledge of traffic rules, so they are unable to drive in lane and create a mess in the process. Due to heavy flow of traffic we are not able to prosecute the violators,” says a traffic policeman at a busy Connaught Place intersection. As we chat him up, he comes out with this one, “As cops, we get mentally stressed handling this mess day after day, we have no time to rest.” Braving the odds, we soon pay a visit to Birla Mandir, also known as Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, for the evening aarti. Little shinny bulbs light up the temple in the evening, giving it an exquisite look. We are joined in the prayers by hordes of devotees and tourists too. A serene experience.


Walking down the road that leads to Gole Market, we come across Virginia, a tourist from Spain. She likes Delhi at dusk. “It's breezy and more relaxing during the evenings compared to the humid mornings which become hotter and often crowded,” she says. Due to high pollution, Virginia says, “I prefer to wear a mask here to cover my nose.” As the evening grows on you, so arrives the time for the city's glitziest to get ready to go clubbing, pubbing and letting their hair down in their designer outfits. Says fashion designer Nitya Bajaj, “It's quite nice to meet friends in evening parties. During the mornings, I am busy with shoots and meeting models and business people. So in the evenings, I prefer to be in a relaxed mood at a pub with friends.” Well-known sociologistT.K. Oommen adds another dimension to the city in the evenings. “A vast majority of middle class people in Delhi like to spend their evenings sitting at home and watching soap operas on television. People also prefer staying at home because of the increasing crime rate in the Capital, especially after sun down.”


To these aspects of Delhi, one can add yet another. Along with the partying crowd and the rabid tele-watchers, there live some people looking for a shelter for the night, a morsel to call it an early dinner at the evening hour. A city of extremes.

In the Dustbin of Time...

With computers, typewriters have made a vanishing act. However, there are still some left who eke out a living from these metal boxes..

Not too long ago, there was a time when typewriters were the only means of typing words. Journalists, writers and office clerks particularly were among those who regularly used these square boxes with metal hands tipped with an alphabet each. Remington was the first company that introduced typewriters in India. The clat, clat of a typewriter soon became a familiar noise in many office establishments.




But in today's scenario when newer technology has opened a whole new world of typing gadgets on super-fast mode, many youngsters would admit not even having seen a typewriter. With the advent of computers, the ubiquitous typewriter suddenly vanished from the scenario. The Godrej group was the last manufacturer of office typewriters in the world.


Milind Dukle, General Manager, Godrej, recollects, “The era of 1991-92 was the peak time when typewriters were in huge demand. Around 50,000 typewriters were sold per year then. We used to export these machines to many Asian and African countries as well. However, we have stopped manufacturing them now because of falling demand from customers.”


Like the big players, many small and typewriter dealers gradually shut shop due to the advent of computers. One such firm is Delhi-based Universal Typewriter Company, which remained in the business for about six decades. Even though it stopped manufacturing long ago, the stock left from then on is being sold in the market even today.


“Godrej Prima models are still being bought by people and both Facit Remington 2000 and Remington Superwriter models are sold as second-hand machines in the market. Generally, the demand is in government offices, typewriting institutes, colleges and courts,” says Vineeta, a worker in Universal.


Earlier, many young people had to take training in typing skills in order to clear tests for certain government jobs. So, learning how to type fast many an edge in the job market. Deepak Jain from Delhi's Jain Typewriters reminisces, “Earlier, students used to come in large numbers to our institute to learn typing as it was needed in the commerce stream and also in vocational studies, besides recruitment tests in government jobs. But for the last four years, the number of students has declined due to the government's decision of taking typing tests on computers instead on typewriters.”




However, typewriters are still a means of livelihood for some. They are often spotted near local courts making legal documents for a fee. “All my life I have used typewriters to prepare legal documents. I am not used to computers; I feel it will be time consuming for me. I can roll out a document on a typewriter much faster. I also cannot afford to pay the electricity bill,” says Deen Dayal, a typist in the city's Tis Hazari Court. For now, people like Deen Dayal can have a way, but one wonders for how long.

Where are the Voice Bubbles?

With the advent the Internet, videogames and TV, comic books may well be on the way to the museum...

There was a time when kids hid their Phantom, Mandrake and Archie comic books in their school bags and text books just to unfold the thrilling suspense created by their favourite popular heroes. They did this even when the elders frowned and told them it'll ruin their English. Sadly, this marvel got lost somewhere down the road when television, videogames and the Internet made their entry.

“As a kid, I was a huge fan of comic books, which helped not only to kill boredom but also improve my vocabulary and reading habit. My favourites were Chacha Chaudhary, Champak, Pinki and Billu. They gave me a whole new dimension of thinking and I was always fascinated by their characters, which were funny and imaginative. Animals that could even talk grabbed my attention instantly,” says Mohit Gupta, a student.




Filled with melodrama, action, romance and legends, these comic books were very popular and entertaining. Clever pricing encouraged readers to build up their own collections of Archie, Wonder Woman, The Adventures of Tintin and X-Men. Among Indian comics, Chacha Chaudhary, Raj Comics, Indrajal Comics and even Spider-Man: India and were well received by readers. Indian comics were not only entertaining but also inspiring, containing tales from the Ramayana and adaptations from the Mahabharata.


“I have been a lifelong fan of comic books and comic strips, especially Indrajal Comics. I loved reading Phantom, Mandrake, Peanuts, Laurel and Hardy, Flash Gordon and Archie comics. The list is endless. When we were kids, we eagerly waited for the new issue and there was a craze among us to find out about Mandrake the magician and who he had hypnotised,” says Renu Shukla, a fashion designer. “I still retain my love for them and whenever I go through them I get nostalgic,” she adds.


Pran, one of the most successful Indian cartoonists and the creator of Chacha Chaudhary, received his fame, and later on his other characters like Billu, Pinki and Raman were also enjoyed by readers. Diamond Comics and Marvel Comics were the two publishers whose comics were the most read and sold.


Gulshan Rai of Diamond Comics says, “During the early 90s, we could expect to sell around three to four lakh copies of comic books per month. But the period between 1997 and 2003 saw a decline in sales and shrinking readership due to the advent of television and Internet. But there are those who still are huge fans and interested in reading comic books while travelling or passing time or even those passionate about collecting these.”


Alternatives to these famous superhero comic books are found in the new Noddy comics, Harry Potter books or even Mills & Boon for adults. Some might even say that increasing pressure of academics and tuitions offers no time to read anything but syllabus books. Another reason behind the dwindling readership is the latest trend of Webcomics available on the Internet, attracting youngsters and fast gaining momentum. Voicing the same concern, Yash Pal Satija of Ajanta Book Sellers says, “Earlier there was a huge demand among kids for superhero comics that they once knew and loved. But because of new means of entertainment there has been a drastic decline in readers. Archie, Diamond and Raj Comics were the most sought-after but now these are all available on the Net and even on mobile phones, so there is lesser demand.”


Events like the annual Comic Con International in the U.S., which brings together comic book artists, enthusiasts and popular celebrities from the world of film together, are a welcome step in reviving comic books or at least creating a hype. The thing is, such events are far and few between.




RIDHIMA SHUKLA


http://www.hindu.com/mp/2010/08/14/stories/2010081450841300.htm