Delhiwale: This way to Ramlila Maidan

The horses are paying no attention to the cricket match between three boys

The horses are paying no attention to the cricket match between three boys. They continue grazing on the monsoon-wet grass as a bright orange ball flies past them. Beyond in the field, partly littered with polythene packs, stands the white pavilion built for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in 1961. On the other side, the very tall Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Civic Centre rises over the ground.

Delhiwale: This way to Ramlila Maidan

It is an ordinary evening in one of India’s most politically charged grounds. Elsewhere in central Delhi, protesting crowds are gathered at Jantar Mantar. For long, Ramlila Maidan has served a similar purpose. Sometimes when demonstrations outgrow the other place, they move here.

The pavilion has witnessed some of independent India’s iconic moments. Lata Mangeshkar sang Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo here, bringing Jawaharlal Nehru to tears. Lal Bahadur Shastri gave the slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisan from the same stage. Jayaprakash Narayan urged the police, the Armed Forces and government servants to disobey what he called immoral orders, resulting in the imposition of emergency within hours. In our own living memory, the Maidan became the epicentre of Anna Hazare’s hunger strike.

Long ago, here was no ground but a lake called Shahji ka Talaab. After the uprising of 1857, the British filled the lake. The ground that replaced the lake became the venue for the staging of Ramlila, which had earlier been staged beside the Yamuna nadi. Hence its name.

The Maidan simultaneously belonged to the neighbourhood. Until some decades back, Walled City boys would play football and gilli danda here (now many drive as far as Ghaziabad district to find open grounds). Buffaloes grazed on the ground’s grassy patches; those belonged to milkmen living nearby (they were relocated to Okhla in the 1970s). It is said that travelling artisans would camp in the ground for months, selling knives, rifles and chickens.

The Maidan’s western border harbours budget eateries patronised by rickshaw pullers and daily wage labourers.

This evening, apart from the horses and local cricketers, Ramlila Maidan looks deserted.