Parks and playgrounds must become inclusive

That Sunday seemed as good a day as any for a trip to the park.

- Namita Bhandare

The winter chill had thawed, the sun was out, the skies were blue, sort-of, and the AQI had improved to a “moderate” 196.

For the Sharma family there was an added incentive of taking their five-year old-daughter, Inika, to Delhi's Sunder Nursery park. Born with cerebral palsy caused by suffocation at birth, the doctors had told her parents, Raman and Mona, that she would never sit, stand or speak. Against medical advice, they took her home from hospital. Five years later, defying medical prognosis, she walks, runs and cycles.

The parents had recently consulted doctors to figure out next steps. Socialise her, take her out, let her face feel the sun, the doctors advised. And that is how the Sharma family ended up in Sunder Nursery Park in what should have been a perfect day.