I recently got an opportunity to be a part of the ‘Jeeto Dilli’ initiative taken up by the government of Delhi, wherein sports events were organized for people residing in New Delhi. It was an overwhelming experience—an experience that had a lasting impact on me as a young adult.
Jeeto Dilli acted like an escape mechanism for the general public from their busy, yet tough daily life schedules. People of all ages, young and old, were so enthusiastic about playing games and enjoying the moment. Their energy was unbelievable.
Games like kabaddi, track race, spoon race, tug of war, female-specific games, male-specific games, etc., all witnessed an overwhelming response from the public. The selfless nature of people is what made me have faith in humanity all over again.
A seven-year-old girl had such a lovable nature that she gifted me her heart-shaped balloon. Honestly, as a child, balloons were my obsession—things I would find hard to let go. Another bunch of kids invited us to dinner at their home. Aunties got us warm water to drink. The amount of love and care we received was very precious. Seeing all happy and enthusiastic people made each day more and more beautiful.
Aunties and uncles displayed yet another level of energy. “Age is just a number” seemed truer than ever. They played kabaddi; uncles participated in matka races, and many more things. The zeal in them to win was much more inspiring than ever. In a world of information and technology, wherein everybody is sticking on to their smartphones, Jeeto Dilli made each one of us feel lively.
I got the opportunity to meet people from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. What all of them had in common was the love and care they offered to people—not just to people in their own community but also to people like us, who met them for the first time. Despite this, for the few hours we spent with them, they made us feel at home.