Delhiwale: Flyover trekking

Pigeons occupy the bronze statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, plus the adjacent traffic lights, and every ledge that can hold a bird

Pigeons occupy the bronze statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, plus the adjacent traffic lights, and every ledge that can hold a bird. The flyover begins near this statue at Barakhamba, from which it takes its name.

This humid evening, an elderly labourer is pushing a cart loaded with long iron pipes downhill a Central Delhi flyover. (HT Photo)

Most Delhiwale experience the Central Delhi flyover through a windshield. That is a mistake. It is best experienced on foot. And this infrastructural utility is truly uncommon, for it links New Delhi and Old Delhi. The walk takes barely half an hour. Yet, the city changes steadily under your feet.

Traffic here never stops. Cars, motorcycles and autorickshaws stream past. Mixed among them are handcarts loaded with pipes, rods and sacks of cement. This humid evening, an elderly labourer is pushing a cart loaded with long iron pipes downhill (see photo). Because of the slope, he pauses every few steps to keep it from rolling away. Breathing heavily, he introduces himself as Rajthani and says he is 70 years old. He still does this work because, he says, it is the only way he can earn a living. Then he leans into the cart again and slowly goes down the slope. Behind him rises the many floors of a five-star hotel.

Each stretch of the flyover opens a different view before replacing it with another. A giant statue rises above a wall of trees, so well hidden that many people commuting across the flyover probably never notice it. From this distance, it is difficult to determine just whose statue it is.

Farther ahead unfolds a deceptive drama of two landmarks. Towards the flyover’s other side, an unfinished high-rise appears on the skyline. While on our side of the flyover stands a permanently leafless tree. For brief moments, thanks to the illusion of a distorted perspective, the two entities seem almost side by side. The tip of the dead tree’s highest branch appears to almost touch the top of the unfinished building. A few steps later, the alignment disappears.

Then, through a gap in the trees, another tall landmark appears. The grey stalagmite of Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre rises in the distance.

Whatever, the birds seem to enjoy the bridge more than the humans do. Crows perch on the trees beside the road. One crow is stationed on the painted parapet, boldly watching the muggles speeding along in their cars.

As the flyover begins its descent, the citizen swiftly returns to street level, the city closing around.