Rahgiri - means walking in streets and early on a Sunday morning from 6 til 9am, is what happens. Sunday is rest day for most. Many of the markets are closed. Connaught Place is open but not until after ten or later. The space that surrounds the inner circle, where the vehicles park is vacant Sunday morning. The inner road surrounding Central Park has minimal vehicular traffic but much foot traffic.
This area becomes public recreational space. Around each block various activities are in action. Some attract the hip youth, males with mod haircuts - shaved sides, hair reaching skywards. Packs of them goading each other on. Others out and about in track pants, dressed down and relaxed. Families are about and the elderly. Multiple games of cricket and badminton are under way, with games intersecting each other at times. A walking club keeps brisk pace. There are groups doing morning exercises. Bright green and pink Frisbees fly past skilfully reaching the intended catcher amongst the activity.
There are no food vendors, chaiwalas or such. It is not time. Most will go home and take breakfast late. The only business out are the shoeshine boys, carrying their boxes or satchels containing all the necessary for their business. They too are more interested in the games than profit.
Today is International Science Day and there are many science based activities to be involved with. Workplace health and safety would have a field day here. The most attracted activity is making, and then launching, your own rocket. A couple of trestle tables are crowded with people making a rocket out of paper, card and tape. The components have been prepared so it is just a matter of assembling together. A card shaft, pointed cone and fins are all bound together in either red or green tape with some wonderful variations in the mix. The propulsion is compressed air, so need to make sure it can hold the pressure. Inserted over the tube the pressure is released and the rocket performs, or not, as the case may be. Some reach a great height and distance, others, distance, some get stuck in the trees, yet others fizz and flop off the end. There is laughter and wonder with each attempt. Away from the launch youths clammer, jump and push each other to catch their prize and if undamaged return it for another fly. Any unsuspecting bystander could end up with a projectile hitting them, there is no supervision or designated 'no go' zone.
There are a series of bathroom scales that are tuned to give you the appropriate weight on he planted in our solar system. It is fun watching the reactions of those who just thought it was to check weight as they go from one to another complaining that the scales are wrong. Several skill games were in play, from catching ping pong balls in plastic strainers, simulating weightlessness, to favourite, throwing hoops over representations of planets; the reward, another couple of throws. Everywhere, selfies. Selfie sticks in use, one in frame or a group. It has become a huge fad here. Selfies of every activity, selfies to check out the hair, selfies to impress. I feature in many and wonder who will see and where they will end up.
In amongst all this are the shoeshine boys, eager and enthusiastic, ragged and dirty, wide smiles on their faces or a grimace as the rocket pressure is released. They had huddled their shoe shine boxes together for safety, occupying space in the middle of the throng. These ragamuffins draw the short straw almost every-time - status, caste, snobbery whatever one calls it, they are pushed to the back. The boys persevere though and got a turn amazed at simple things that spoke of magical wonder and fun.
The inner circle and street had yet to be cleaned and the sweepers, garbage men, move in at nine am, before the day starts, a small army creating mounds of debris from this morning and yesterday.
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