Trip to National Zoological Park Delhi

I was more than exited to take “Kimmy” my 14 months old daughter to the Delhi Zoo. I thought,  Kimmy would enjoy this experiencing of watching these unexplored creatures. After parking the car we started walking toward ticket window. As usual, people, especially girls were cutting the queue to buy the tickets. Adult ticket was Rs. 40 per person and still camera ticket was Rs. 50; iPhone (with 8 Mega Pixel camera) was allowed free of cost.

After the frisking, we entered the zoo with an expectation to see the creatures of the wild. Since we were carrying a stroller, we decided not to opt for electronic ferry. After a walk of around 500 meters, we witnessed the first set of animals – Deer. But the grass at the fence was overgrown to about 4.5 feet, which made it almost impossible to sight Deer.

Usually, when Kimmy sights a Cow or a Goat or a Dog on the road, she repeatedly calls them, referring as “Dedi”. But Kimmy got only few chances to call out.

Overall, the zoo seemed like a shady place. We witnessed love bird sitting hand-in-hand under bushes, round the trees, on the isolated benches and in between the elephant grass. We may very-well take a guess, what their purpose of visit to the zoo was.

The visitors to the zoo included a very low percentile of foreign nationals; a slightly higher number of educated class; decent population of tourists hailing from the nearby rural areas: handful of students (who have bunked the school) and a considerable number of couples seeking privacy.

As per my observation, the only set of people who were thoroughly enjoying their day at the Zoo was the love birds – finding solace in isolation. The other set of people were more inquisitive in the people around them. They successfully made their presence felt by shouting at animals and like animals, stalking and by checking out every passerby.

The most hilarious part of this visit was an old “Kaka” from some village. I overheard him saying – “Chalis rupiya may itna chalaye rahe aur dekhne ka ITEM be itna kam rakha hai.”

After walking for approx 2 kms in the sun, we were wondering to get a ride on the electronic ferry. Fortunately we spotted a car with only 3 pax on it. I offered the driver Rs.100 as the ticket cost was Rs. 50 per person, to which the driver humbly replied –“Sahab se poochna padega” (I’ll have to ask the boss). “The boss” – a typical government employee: bald, his paunch hanging out of his shirt – MOST BLUNTY said “NOOOOOO”.  I thanked him sarcastically and moved on. His wife and kid kept sitting on the car, feeling as if they were the king and queen of this artificial jungle. Humans are so inhuman these days.

We came across a group of Asians. The girls were wearing hot pants putting them at a high risk of landing in some unwanted situation.  For their own security, foreign tourists must strictly adhere to the dress code as advised by Indian Embassy.  

My purpose of visiting zoo was defeated. The overall experience was BAD. We’ll have to take Kimmy to some international destination in order to visit a good Zoo.