In last few weeks, two of Delhi's local attractions - Appu Ghar and Chanakya cinema have been closed down. Appu Ghar will make room for some of Supreme court premises and a new metro station while Chanakya will be converted into some multiplex project.
Though spending my entire childhood in Delhi, I must have visited Appu Ghar only once or twice. Reasons being first, family is not very enthusiastic about rides, second, I am fine with rides - I like them but not crazy about them and third, we thought we can always go, after all it is just half an hour from home. Not any longer though. I guess this just re-iterate the fact that we should not take life and anything for granted. Today, it is here, tomorrow, it might not be. I have visited its neighbor - Pragati Maidan umpteen number of times for various Book Fairs and Trade fairs.
Chanakya cinema, however is different. In my teenage days, it was one of the two theatre halls which would screen English movies - the other being Priya. I remember enjoying the Hollywood movies with popcorn and soda and my friends in these halls. When we were in college couple of years back, me and a friend, while having enough of the class lectures, decided on the spur of the moment that we needed a break and headed to Chanakya cinema, which was 1.5 hours from our college to watch "Disclosure". Speaking of movies, I remember couple of years later, in a different college and different friends, we again had a spur of the moment decision to watch a movie, which I think was "AirForce One". Since there was only 30 minutes for it to start and the theatre hall was 25 minutes away, we somehow managed to go, buy the tickets and seat ourselves a second before the movie started. I had a feeling that the trailer was getting too long and movie is not starting only to realise that in all the flurry, instead of getting tickets for "AirForce One", we got tickets of some cold war movie where US and USSR were at lock horns with each other. Ssomehow the movie did end or maybe I just fell asleep.
I am sure these places must be hosting memories for millions of people who have visited them. Closing them down gives a tiny pang of an era getting over. It also reminds me that I should short list the places I would like to see and start executing it as well. Life changes and many things may not remain as they were before.
5 comments:
ohh..is that so? i too have visited appu ghar only once but still it was a landmark of sorts...
Priya cinema is totally revamped now...i'm sure you must have seen its new avatar...
life changes, we change, what remains?
yup - sometimes we take things for granted and think that they will never change; and when we realise that we where wrong, most of the time it would be already late...
first time here.. and I can totally relate to this post.. I have never been to Delhi but have had this happen to me.. and I know the feeling !! :)
Oh sad to hear Appu ghar will turn into supreme court premises. I have been there once and probably would have loved to take the kids. Well how we take things for granted. Same with the 911, i was just reading yesterday that a NY court declared a 2751 th person as victim of the World trade center attacks.
TA: No I have not seen Priya in its new avatar but I can imagine it. What remains is friendship :)P
XH: Very well said.
Preethi: Yeah. We realise again that we have no control over life.
Sumana: Of all the attractions in NY, WTC is the only one I have visited! Sometimes, things change abruptly.
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