Park Politics

Roughly between 12th Main and 1st Main Defence Colony, Indiranagar, lie about 5 to 6 walking parks. There is no real explanation for so many of them being there, except that Bangaloreans..especially the retired old fogies in Defence Colony, love to walk..and thus seize upon any empty plot of land and convert it with vengeance into a park. This sort of wonderful thing goes on in Sadashivnagar also. The Sankey Tank park and the Sunken Garden there are at the height of landscaping achievements. But the park which has always been my favourite is the relatively humble BDA Park.

BDA park is famous all over Indiranagar for being one of the oldest parks around. It is also right next to Indiranagar Club and is thus frequented by Club goers, both young and old. In my first standard or so, we were taken out to BDA Park for a field trip or something like that. The park seemed like a wonderland to me. It was so big and green, the children's play area was so well equipped. Coming from an area that had no real children's park (that time I lived in the less prosperous but infinitely more exciting Gitanjali Layout), this park seemed to posses world class facilities.

We finally realised the Defence Colony dream in 2003 (in the middle of my 10th Boards) and the BDA park became a reality....a place which I could frequent! Of course, it seemed to have diminished in size and coolness, but it was still as beautiful and exciting as ever. BDA Park thus became the initial and consequently the most important step in my weight loss program, which has been running on and off for around 5 years now. I would go to the park everyday and 'power-walk'. Of course, I have an unfortunate habit of screwing up my face in concentration while doing this and striding very purposefully. Young mothers and maids would move their children/ charges out of my way for fear that I might send them flying as I crossed them. Park Veterans would glare at me, wondering how I dared to upset the equilibrium of the park with my thundering style. However, it was a great source of amusement for some of my friends/ snobby classmates who would see me as they crossed the park on their way to the Club ("I saw you walking in the part yesterday da. You looked damn determined", sniggers). Well, all these things happened and slowly but surely, I worked my way up into the higher echelons of park goers.

For BDA Park has a hierarchical structure. There are the Veterans who get the Right of Way and the Young Upstarts who make their Right of Way. However, if you are a Young Upstart and a frequent user, the Veterans do not mind giving you the Right of Way. The key ways in which to accomplish this are to come regularly and more importantly, come in the early mornings. The fact that you came in the morning showed that you were a serious walker and were willing to work for your walking status. I would come every morning at about 6:20 and walk rigorously for an hour; and this more than anything else, made the Veterans of the Park recognise me. As made my way up, I did not get smiles or nods or conversations in return..I hate walking with people anyway. But I got the Respect and famed Right of Way...I was a Young Upstart who had proved herself worthy.

The Park has always been a very interesting place to observe people. The crowd is primarily upper middle class, given the general demographics of the area. Out of these, nearly two thirds are senior citizens and middle aged people, while the young people of course children, young mothers and couples. One of the most interesting things to observe in the mornings was the Laughter Club. This club is more amusing for the onlookers than the participants themselves, I have always felt, and takes sometime getting used to. Mastering the natural reaction of laughing at the doings of the Laughter Club is an important sign that you are on the way to becoming a Veteran. Another interesting thing is to see how some people have continued coming to the park regularly for the entire duration of the 6 years for which I have been using the park, and perhaps even before! It is fascinating to observe routine in such a rigid, unchanged fashion, especially given our chaotic lives in law school. Another thing which amuses with unfailing regularity is the distortion of the Right of Way principle by bitchy women walkers. These women (usually middle aged) move in packs, blocking the whole path and gossip incessantly, while not letting you pass. Some of the single walkers deliberately walk faster, or come in front of you to prevent you from overtaking them. Earlier, I used to respectfully get off the pathway and jog on thhe grass alongside them, till I managed to overtake them. Now, after becoming a Veteran, I simply force my way through. And then, there is always the element of the odd and obscure..a man playing the flute once, a couple of Rastafarian foreigners (there are a surprising number of there in Indiranagar) another time and if you're lucky, an arguing couple every now and then.

BDA Park will always retain an important place in my life's history, not merely because I have immortalised its memory with this entry, but also because it gave me some early important lessons in social manners and decorum and also helped me lose weight. And it has always been a very pretty park! The incident which prompted me to write this entry serves as a fitting conclusion to the post: An elderly lady and her daughter (both obviously new to the Park) were walking around in the Park, and the lady for some reason, stopped over one of the flower beds and began to pick some flowers and leaves. From somewhere in the background noises of the Park floated a child's voice "Aunty, no picking flowers!" The difference between Veterans and the newbies was clearly established.