Connaught Place (Rajiv Chowk courtesy official records and Metro) is finally renovated and all ready for the Commonwealth Games, we were told. Well, on the eve of Games as I ‘emerged’ from the underground Metro station in the evening to have a look at this renovated avatar of the complex, the first reaction was Wow! Fabulous. 
The brightly-lit, white-washed and ‘renovated’ British-era shopping complex stood out majestically against the dark night sky. And the neon hoardings put by various shopping establishments added colour to the whole show. The pavements, converted into walkways with newly laid tiles, signboards and steel meshes (which ensure that you don’t ‘spill’ out on road at random thereby obstructing the traffic) looked impressive. I decided to take a walk around the Central Park to get the feel of the ‘renovation’ first hand. After all, this place has been an integral part of my (and almost every other Delhiite will agree) ‘hanging out’ sessions right from college days.
Walking around the Central Park, things looked really good. Smoothly flowing traffic in the inner circle, newly painted signboards, renovated parking areas…. It was time to take the closer look at the shopping complex. So crossing the road, I walked in F Block. The usual crowd and excitement was there, the shops looked bright and so did the walkway with the newly laid-tiles. Just when I was about to pass a judgment that it was a job well done, I stumbled and nearly fell down. The tiled path appeared to have disappeared all of the sudden. I looked ahead at the walkway…. “Sh**”Some tiles in between were missing.
Garbage was lying all around thanks to the absence of dustbins.
The pan stains were back on the pillars.
Beggars were still begging.
Construction material was still lying around.
And whitewash and ‘renovation’ was still going on at various place.
The scene repeated itself in all other blocks.
All the hype of CP getting a new look, I found, was sham.
It was just a whitewash.
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