What I did this C'mas. Review on Appu Ghar

What do a bunch of cousins do when they have done everything else?They look for more options. And what if the bunch includes some kids also?The options are enlarged to include amusement parks too.

So when Christmas holiday brought the whole lot of us together ( a group ranging from pre- teens to those in early twenties) and cash was collected, entertainment columns of newspapers were scanned (all movies vetoed for want of consensus ), games played, malls paraded. What now? Something else. Splurging all the cash collected was now a matter of prestige. So off we went to Appu Ghar.

Appu Ghar I’m sure would bring fond memories to many of us in Delhi or around of the childhood trips there. There was a time when it was a part of every outstation tourist’s itinerary, much like Qutub Minar, though I doubt if it still is. All those of us who had gone there as kids wanted to see how it fared today. I, who was teaching primary classes while doing my masters and had taken some school trips there, wanted to see how the place felt when you did not have to bother about counting the children after every ride or their trip to the toilets.

All decided it was time to put the plan into action. We set off after assigning the custody of each child to an adult.

One of the best things about Appu Ghar is its location. Located in Central Delhi, it’s a 10 min drive from Connaught Place or ITO and not a pain to reach in a city where driving from one corner to another may take you 1.5 hours, discounting the traffic factor. The Zoo and Doll’s museum are barely 2 minutes away. Appu Ghar is located on Gate 4 of Pragati Maidan, where ITPO’s Trade Fair is held every year.

History- Rajiv Gandhi inaugurated Appu Ghar in 1984 on his Late mother Indira Gandhi’s birthday on 19th November. Entries for mascots and their names were invited from the whole country then. The award winning entry was that of Appu and the cute elephant made its place in everyone’s hearts. The amusement park, which is spread over 15.5 acres of prime land, completed its 20 years in 2004.

Appu Ghar offers a variety of ticketing combinations to choose from. Entry ticket(Rs 20 for adults/RS 10 for children) is in the form of a band fastened to your wrist that requires all the might to break. It is a good idea b’coz this place deals with hundreds of school kids in daily basis. All rides tickets (RS 200 adults/ Rs 160 children) and any four rides(Rs 100 adults/ Rs 80 children) do not include Go Karting, Striking Cars and Ariel Ropeway. For those you have Rs 50 a ride ticket. They have another concessional option for school kids, where on Rs 160 they offer all Entry+ All rides + Oysters, their water park.

The park has rides for everyone, but mostly the younger lot. Kids can ride on Caterpillar, Merry Cups, Frog Ride, the Baby Trainor Merry go Round. Once inside, we started off with finding rides that suited us all. We had a kid (9th standard really, not actually a kid) who made it clear that she would not sit on anything that moved in circles! Children !! Anyhow, Columbus we found slow, Eagles Rideslower and Giant Wheel(WOULD YOU BELIEVE) is not permitted to anyone below 18!!!!! But it gives the ariel view of the major part of the city.

Probably because the speed was adjusted, safety being a priority, or it is because there are more thrilling options now available, Appu Ghar has nothing nerve-racking to offer to an adult. Unless of course you fall in the category who would suffer a heart attack while watching Bhoot. The rides are anyhow banned for heart patients, pregnant women and the mentally challenged.

With the sole exception of My Fair Lady, there is nothing that could give your stomach a churn. It was fun riding the waves of her skirt, for she seemed hell bent upon throwing you off herself. Roller Coaster came to the rescue of the girl who refused circular rides.

Oysters, the water park, is the heart of Appu Ghar. Spread over 3.5 acres, it comes to life in summers when cool water is showered from above as you dance to fast tracks on the dance floor. There is a river of water running through it, and has its own swimming pool and gigantic slides. It had been converted to a hot water park for winters.

Appu Ghar has some gift shops (Archies), a bangle shop (good variety there), a passport photo and janampatri shop (Uff!) and some of eateries and snacks shops. Rest Rooms were clean.

Basically the park lacked an atmosphere or character of its own. True, it was crowded and doing good business (the website https://appughar.com says it sees around 5000 visitors daily), there wasn’t that something extra you take back home with you. So much will depend on the company you are with (thank god for my cousins) as the time spent in queues far exceeds that spent on rides. It compares badly to the theme parks abroad. Please! We expect better from the most popular amusement park in the Capital. It needs something new and unique to retain the glory it once had.