Fighting
back
One day while turning the pages of a
newspaper, I came across an ad on self-defence. It was about a women’s summer
camp conducted by the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC),
Delhi Police. When I saw that the starting age was 13, I was little indecisive.
Still I went ahead and registered myself as there was an online option. One month
was left for the camp and with each passing day, I was in two minds -- to go
for it, or not to go. Two days before the camp, I even went shopping and bought
myself track suits and T-shirts.
Finally the D-day arrived and with lots
of doubts in mind, I reached the venue on time. There was a long queue for the
registration number and I was relieved to see quite a lot of women of different
ages along with young girls. The numbers were definitely encouraging and the
camp started at 9 am sharp. A few women officers were present to train us and
the introduction was very encouraging -- ‘women can do anything’, ‘we all have
strength, we just have to utilise it when in need and for that we have to know
the right technique’, ‘there is no age to learn anything’.
Then began the vigorous warm-up
sessions that loosened every muscle and bone in my body. I was already tired
but I was happy that at the end of 15 days, along with learning some
self-defence techniques, I would shed a few kilos. While some women had enrolled
for the training along with their daughters, there were a few who just
accompanied their wards and remained mere spectators. The instructors
repeatedly requested them to enrol but they didn’t budge; I really pity those
women. There was a woman who was above 60 years, and I salute her for her
enthusiasm. A senior woman officer came and gave us a very encouraging speech
and we were all charged up. After two hours on Day-1, we already knew a few
moves and I was smiling ear to ear when my husband came to pick me up.
Our instructors had warned us not to
try our moves on our family members but yes of course, we had to practise to
master it. But there was this irresistible urge to do so and after reaching
home each day, I would practise my moves on my husband. Not literally, of
course! I would say ‘grip my neck, hand or hair’ and he would say ‘NO’ every
time, but gave up finally.
In one of the classes, we were being
taught what to do if someone grabs our hair; the fourth move was to pull down
the attacker. A few girls got so excited that they started pulling down each
other and there was laughter all round. Our instructors sternly warned us that
we can only do so when we practise on mattresses, so that nobody gets hurt. And
that we would waste our energy if we laugh, instead there should be aggression
and anger on our face.
The next day, we finally got the chance
to show our prowess on mattresses with our partners. We practised how to defend
ourselves if someone attacks us from the back, and pulled our partners down.
They pulled us down in the next round. Each and every one got the opportunity
and the practise was indeed exciting.
In another class, a girl got hurt in
her hand because she got too close to a stand fan. Since an ambulance was
present at the venue, she was given first-aid immediately. So, there was relief
that all precautions had been taken.
Though we learnt many tricks, we were
not told which self- defence technique we were being taught. My journalistic
mind started asking questions and to calm my inquisitiveness, I searched on net
with all the key words that I heard at the camp. I looked for all forms of
martial arts but the terms were not matching ours. So the next day, when we got
our 5-minute break, I approached the senior officer. I was little apprehensive
as he was almost 6-feet tall. He told us that those were moves specially
created by Delhi Police to make Delhi women self-reliant and strong.
When the first Saturday came, our
two-hour class got over half-an-hour early and we were told it was masti
time and anybody can show their talent on stage. Some shared jokes, some sang
songs, some even danced and I got nostalgic and went back to my favourite
school days.
Our 15th day was the closing ceremony at Siri Fort
auditorium. We were taken to the venue in buses and we made a queue for
everything like school girls. Commissioner of Delhi Police Bhim Sain Bassi was
the chief guest. A movie on self-defence was screened where the actors were all
Delhi Police personnel. The surprise was that most of our women instructors
were seen onscreen and there were cheers from all the students seeing our gurus
in a different avatar. Mr Bassi took direct questions from students and most of
his solutions focussed on essential self-defence training for girls. When
questions poured in non-stop, Mr Bassi said, “I know you all got bored from me
and now say with me BORE.” And there was an echo of loud ‘NOooo’ from the
students.”
We received our certificates the same day and I got another designation
in the certificate. Instead of journalist and counsellor, I was mentioned as a
teacher; not bad!
Hope more people enrol in
such camps and women in Delhi are no more scared to venture out even at odd
hours. When I enrolled at the camp, many laughed at me and were
sarcastic, but I didn’t give a damn. And today after completing the course, I
am a new person with renewed energy with loads of confidence. Follow my blog: Mixed Bag
