Saturday, 04 APRIL 2026 | Paritosh Kimothi | Dehradun
When one first visited Dehradun town as a school kid more than two decades ago, one was almost enchanted by the environment, various aspects of organic beauty and the nearby hills- not yet perverted by tourism. It was a quaint mix of a small town and a city, a hybrid of Malgudi in a way. One heard Garhwali more often in the market in those days, the canals were open and the people seemed less ‘influenced’. A few more visits in later years left one with memories of good experiences bereft of visiting any hep eateries or popular tourist spots. The situation began to change a few years later.
After settling here, one was still happy with it being a mix of a small town with all that is necessary and more. One had opportunities to grow, even though the in thing for many was to try and get into call centres in Delhi to ‘progress’. Gradually, the ride to and from my office on my good old Enfield and other factors showed how the city and its people were changing. In the initial years, one could ride at least 10 kilometres through Haridwar Road, Subhash Road and past Clock Tower in the third gear and a lesser proportion of the public was uncouth. Nowadays, the third gear is used for a few hundred metres on these stretches. What one really liked about the city was that the market used to shut early at night, when night life actually starts in big cities. But then, life was really good as one did not listen to anybody complaining about Dehradun being a boring place. However, aspiration is one funny characteristic- in some cases it stands for what one struggles to achieve only to later spend more money and effort in order to treat its effects. Dehradun and many places in the mountains started showing the effects of aspirations, which these places and their residents still suffer from.
Marriages, parties and other social functions celebrated with the usual fuel and other aids in the past devolved into gaudy and noisy shows of money and vulgarity. Marriage functions in Dehradun and in many places in the State now feature vulgar songs played full blast above the legally permissible volume and beyond the legally permissible time. This has been the accepted trend and part of culture in the State for some years now. A cultured marriage or social function sans perversions will have many guests questioning if something is wrong. Then there is the traffic- where most in the education hub exhibit their level of education and civic sense as a habit. This is the place where many protest against the government’s “wrongdoings” while aspiring to be in a position to do the very same blatantly while bragging about it. Places where flora and fauna thrived some years ago are now garbage dumps with the authorities making plans and spending crores with little effect on the ground. Dehradun officially generates about 350 metric tonnes of solid waste per day- the real figure of the waste that is generated and how much of it is scientifically treated is alarming, to put it mildly. Be it the non-existent urban planning, traffic/civic sense, continued dumping of garbage, the corruption many oppose while working to be part of that very system and the other ailments that afflict Dehradun and other parts of Uttarakhand- all can be blamed mostly on us- the people who live here.However, a few days ago, a retired brigadier on a morning walk died after being shot by youths chasing another vehicle following a dispute. This once again elicited focus on ‘outsiders’. There is renewed talk of putting a check on vehicles from Delhi, Haryana and other places. The usual signs of deflecting blame are at full play. We have been contaminating the environment and culture of this place for many years now. Many of us continue to benefit from this financially. Many more of us ape the pop culture of the very places we are looking down upon because some irresponsible persons from those States saw how apathetic we were and acted irresponsibly like the locals. The fact is that the majority is habituated to treating the law with disdain while civic and common sense remain rare. A visitor to such a place is likely to follow suit, especially when the authorities encourage it all in the name of tourism. While Uttarakhand has the potential to set a positive example for the nation, its residents and authorities are bent upon doing otherwise. The government is encouraging this proclivity for various reasons but also because it doesn’t really matter to the powers that be. It is up to you- the people of Uttarakhand to first respect the law, follow the basics taught in the family and primary school and do the needful so that visitors take you and the State seriously. Seems unlikely, but then nothing bad in imagining something positive.
