Majestic Bhopal

by Dewanshu Pande

As the FIFA fever has reached the highest level with the finals on their way, Bhopal too gets a taste of the high Adreline sporting action with restaurants and cafeterias with special screening of the semi finals and the final matches for the local public.

As the FIFA world cup began…Bhopal too got colored with the South African fiesta, as one could see, young soccer enthusiasts at every corner and empty lane trying to juggle and dribble the ball just like their favorite football stars. Play grounds across the city , flooded with young boys as they made their way every evening towards the center, for the kick-off. As one strolled down the pathways, it was a pleasant sight to watch the boys run for the ball, dribble it across the opponent and try to score. Their cries of frustration as they failed to score and the smiles of appreciation when they found the back netting, all added to the charismatic and majestic environment of the world of football.

Not only the playgrounds but the malls and main markets seem to be flooded with the enthusiasts all time out. Play-station shops offer the latest FIFA 2010 for its young customers who instead of sweating in the sun prefer to stay cool, trying all the tantalizing football moves on a virtual field. Still they seem satisfied or even disgruntled as if they lost a real match of nerves.

The sports shops throughout are busy selling football goodies, including the replicas of the original JABULANI as well as team jerseys of your favorite soccer teams. You can even buy posters of your favorite stars including Messi, Ronaldo, kaka and lots more. Magazine stalls gear up with every tits and bits of scraps and news they get on this big event.
For the people….even if their team is now out of the competition…..who cares….we are here to celebrate the ultimate fiesta …..Not to ruin the day moaning on who did win and who lost to their fortune. This is what the true spirit of the game is…the true spirit of football…..FOR THAT’S WHAT ITS ALL ABOUT….TO WIN…TO LOSE…TO CELEBRATE AND TO BE TOGETHER……

by Dewanshu Pande

Hello friends! Actually I’m a bit confused today as I don’t know what exactly to write about. So just for a change from my routine, I’m gonna write about the place where I live i.e. MY CITY- BHOPAL. well first of all to be clear I’m not gonna write about it’s history ,past ,present or future to be precise but I’m gonna write what it means to be living in this city.

Well friends, I’ve been in this city ever since my childhood i.e. for almost two decades now. Seen this city grow, as I grew myself. The earliest of all my memories is of the place where we used to live in the 1980’s, old subhash nagar. I still remember when I was about four, my father used to take me for a stroll or on his two-wheeler near the railway tracks and I used to watch the trains pass by one after the other. It was just an amazing sight for a 4 year old like me at that time.

Gradually I grew up and started to explore Bhopal. With all its wonderful sights and amazing places to visit I gradually fell in love with this beautiful city. Today as I’m writing this, I wonder what’s the best thing, which fascinates me about this city. to be frank there is a mystic blend of various things and places that hold’s one’s breath for moments unspoken……I question my self…Is it the lake? The van vihar? Or the boat club? The Gauhar Mehel? The crowded streets? Or the faces in the crowd that draw my attention each passing minute. well it’s not just one thing to start off with.

Bhopal with all its majestic features always gives me a new reason to fall in love with it. It’s not like that you look at the same thing and get bored in one or two days. Each little thing and place that relates to this city, gives me an all new perspective to explore and identify this beautiful place.

Not only are the places, but the people that live here just amazing. My fellow BHOPALIS – what they like themselves to be called as…are all different yet all same. They are different-in their looks, their style, their attitude, their color, their religion, yet they are all same because in their heart lives the feeling of oneness, of love, care and brotherhood.

As I crawl along the streets of old Bhopal I see a richness in it’s culture and traditions, each door and window pane speaks a story for itself, a story that has been transferred to many and will be passed on to generations to come. The story of that golden era of Bhopal when it was build and ruled by the NAWABS. I can still see a few houses build based on the old NAWABI ARCHITECTURE – the window panes and frames made of wood….wooden doors with iron locks…and the so called beautiful art of NAKKASHI still appear on several house walls , doors and ceilings, arched gateways marking the entrances to many a houses and much more.

BHOPAL is beautiful indeed, and what make it beautiful are not the various things scattered around the city, but also our love for the city and a feel of pride that we live here. There are many things that are yet to be written about, many a places that needs description, but all of it is not possible in such a small article. I end this one here, but with an aim of scribbling out another in a few days time in which I would try to discover what makes Bhopal…..BHOPAL…..with all its magical aura beholding a man’s heart…

Citizens of Bhopal, commonly known as Bhopalis, now have a voice on Internet as they can now report their news, record their views and publish their photographs/videos online. Citizens Eye Bhopal chapter has been launched.

Citizens Eye has opened many chapters in different cities of India including Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad and country’s greenest city Bhopal is the new entrant in Citizens Eye family. Capital city of Madhya Pradesh India, Bhopal is known for its lakes and beautiful green farms.

We invite you to be a part of this citizen journalism platform and start reporting for your area.

(Photograph by: Dewanshu Pande)