A doctor who was unfortunately located in another part of the city was what took me there. Swearing to myself that if it hadn't been for a nagging cough, I wouldn't have traveled across town to get to a place that I've only driven past or spoken about while referring to rare shops and vegetable markets. “Oh, it's somewhere far off...in Jaynagar, I think”, I'd say. But actually walking down the lanes there (in search of my old doctor) showed me a part of this city that thousands are living and loving in but I've never had a chance to be part of.
There's a certain difference in the crowds on those streets; when I walk down MG Road or into a jam-packed club, I probably see more people than I'll see anywhere, but there, it's different. That is the life of the masses. It's about a zillion shops lining the wide roads, teeming with people...the masses of this country. It's the place where everyone lives. The streets where everyone from the aspiring IT professional to the hungry flower seller eats, talks and walks. Where a beggar walking on the pavement is not an irritation or an old man selling flowers, a cause for embarrassment.
That is where life is lived, aspired, built and cherished. The lights speak to you, flickering on and off mindlessly, plump mangoes, juicy carrots and crisp lettuce shine in the light of the sodium vapour lamps, vehicles stream past in apparent hurry, but never too fast for the drivers to miss looking at something interesting beside the road, vendors walk up to you holding their curious wares, flowers smell like they've just been plucked off their fresh stems, fruits feel like they've just fallen off spring-laden trees, voices brim with real emotions...joy, enthusiasm and concern, people look like...people. It's a place with no identity but for it's immediacy.
I spend hours together sitting in inane coffee shops or similar places sipping a coffee or an expensive drink and I see hundreds of people, I listen to countless voices and sounds...but none of them have the spontaneity of a place belonging to the masses. That's where voices speak and ears listen. That's where a hot cheese-laden sandwich straight out of the grill can be washed down with a cold glass of lemonade in less than 10 minutes. That's where people have no time to get caught in senseless pursuits. That is where the people are, and life is...in all it's candidness. That is something I've never been a part of.
There's a certain difference in the crowds on those streets; when I walk down MG Road or into a jam-packed club, I probably see more people than I'll see anywhere, but there, it's different. That is the life of the masses. It's about a zillion shops lining the wide roads, teeming with people...the masses of this country. It's the place where everyone lives. The streets where everyone from the aspiring IT professional to the hungry flower seller eats, talks and walks. Where a beggar walking on the pavement is not an irritation or an old man selling flowers, a cause for embarrassment.
That is where life is lived, aspired, built and cherished. The lights speak to you, flickering on and off mindlessly, plump mangoes, juicy carrots and crisp lettuce shine in the light of the sodium vapour lamps, vehicles stream past in apparent hurry, but never too fast for the drivers to miss looking at something interesting beside the road, vendors walk up to you holding their curious wares, flowers smell like they've just been plucked off their fresh stems, fruits feel like they've just fallen off spring-laden trees, voices brim with real emotions...joy, enthusiasm and concern, people look like...people. It's a place with no identity but for it's immediacy.
I spend hours together sitting in inane coffee shops or similar places sipping a coffee or an expensive drink and I see hundreds of people, I listen to countless voices and sounds...but none of them have the spontaneity of a place belonging to the masses. That's where voices speak and ears listen. That's where a hot cheese-laden sandwich straight out of the grill can be washed down with a cold glass of lemonade in less than 10 minutes. That's where people have no time to get caught in senseless pursuits. That is where the people are, and life is...in all it's candidness. That is something I've never been a part of.
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