The Subway Which Can Heal (part 2)

Surprises Galore…

Meenakshi Ji’s every response hid in itself a story that made me realize the tiny things in life that we take for granted, the importance of living in the present which we don’t do, the gifts of nature that we have forgotten, the value of peace in life which we strive for but are unsure of the ways to achieve and many other things.

Following multiple failed attempts to develop the subway which was a den of drunkards, bootleggers, criminals and an ideal place of mischief after dark the Government authorities handed the tough task to Meenakshi Ji’s team, her husband and she along with support from New Delhi Municipal Corporation and Handicrafts and handloom export Corporation of India took this humongous and difficult task to curate the place and started devising strategies to make the chaotic place into something that would be safe, appealing, and a memorable destination for commuters.

In their quest to find ideas for the beautification of this place, they first roped in nature by getting people from different tribes involved and developed a NOMADIC HAAT which is as magical as nature could be, you will find Pure Ghee, Organic honey, bee wax lip balm, natural oils etc. but this is not it, the magic is that all the products being sold here are edible and the concept behind this is the nomadic idea which believes that anything and everything which can be applied to the outer body should be suitable to the insides too, if this ain’t magic then what is !!

One uniqueness of this place is the collection of hand-made artefacts and their price, which is “No fixed price”, One day she asked someone to self-quote an amount for a wooden piece and give it for Rs.1, and on another day someone bought an article by paying an amount between a range of two amounts, this practice does not simply create a chain of happy customers but a beautiful connection with the space which lasts and reminds people to be a little unpredictable and easy at times just like a very good friend of mine from Delhi whom I would like to take to this place ASAP – difficult to find this kind of a store, right?

Just to give you an idea about the type of connection that I’m talking about, when a customer or rather a patron offered some assistance, can you imagine what he asked for as help? to take care of the cleanliness of this place and you know what, He didn’t hire some cleaning guy to do it but instead started visiting the place daily to sweep and mop the place just like some of you and I would take care of our ‘Home sweet Home’, for many of you I’m not sure.

The stairs to and out of the subway are decorated brilliantly and give a very traditional and aesthetic vibe where did those excellent artists come from? Many of us won’t be able to guess, A group of school students who were working on a project and had to do some kind of a social service for their final submission were invited to do this, and no doubt we noticed a ‘job well done’.

That’s about it when it comes to the subway, but meeting Meenakshi ji was much more than just a pleasant surprise, she is an excellent living example of the phrase ‘More than meets the eye’, in one meeting I got to know someone absolutely down to earth by nature, filmmaker by profession, humanitarian by heart, philosopher by thoughts and a Samaritan by actions. Most of us would be familiar with the concept of ‘मोक्ष‘ but the way she described it as the moment when one is living entirely in the present without even briefly straying from what we call ‘now’ was nothing short of brilliant for me and I hope it makes sense to you all as well and the importance of this idea in this materialistic and chaotic lifestyle that majority of us follow nowadays.

I didn’t get the chance to meet Vinay ji but the way he was present in her every story and the regular use of ‘We’ instead of ‘I’ gave me the impression that he must have played an equally important role in this successful assignment and their other accomplishments as well, of which, one is a recently released short film ’27 September’.

I wonder how many Delhiites would have visited this place, how many of those would have found this place as fascinating as I did, how many discovered the peace and calm there as I did, how many got to meet Meenakshi ji and learned about the story of this subway, how many got to know about the man’s selfless service to keep this place clean, how many got to know that natural ways are still the best ways to be healthy and happy and lastly I wonder how many are wondering such things just like I am doing.

At the same time, I hope that everyone reading this will visit this place at least once & remember it; that you find this place as interesting as I did & enjoy it; and that you find your share of peace and calm just like I did & cherish it; that you get to meet Meenakshi ji and get inspired by her outlook on life and her actions to improve everyplace & appreciate it; that you learn about the cleaner guy and the volunteer students directly from her & consider volunteering like them someday & practice it; that you learn about nature’s power and its offerings & accept it. Eventually, I hope you start wondering about such things as I do and sharing them.

Connaught Place is the first place that comes to mind when someone hears the name “CP,” whether they are in Delhi or elsewhere. It is as happening a place as there could be but hidden in all this dazzle and glare is this subway making a mark not just because of my opinion that the curators have exceeded commuters’ expectations in their attempt to curate the space, as evidenced by the commuters’ immediate interest in the surroundings after stepping into the subway but also because this subway takes you to Bajrang Bali in the Pracheen Hanuman mandir, which is a place you ought to visit when you’re feeling lost and worn out after discovering the darkness under this dazzle and glare.

DHANYAWAAD for reading 🙏🏻

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