no title :(

On my way home everyday, I need to travel on the bombay highway and pass through an area called Ashoknagar. Although the highway is pretty narrow,The 'banks' on either sides of the road (the 'kuccha', as we'd say in hindi) stretch pretty far.
The left bank, right from the Lingampalii crossroads upto my colony (effectively 4-5km) is lined with slums.
There is a thin naala with water as black as ink and as thick as tar that runs in from of them, parallel to the road. A traveller has good reason to look nowhere but ahead while travelling on this road: If he looks left, he may often find himself being stared in the face by exposed bottoms dangiling precariously over the drainage.
As is true with most slums, infants and children are much more easier to spot than grown-ups, probably because those children who have grown up are often out in search of work, or simply because of the numbers in which the poor reproduce.
In the evenings, boys are seen quarelling, flying kites, picking noses, and mooning passers-by. Girls don't have a choice: the few that live are seen standing in long queues at the lone hand pump, queues which begin at the start of the day and will probably stretch into the night.
Some of them had set up tents in which they worked as iron-smiths, or as key makers.

I hated that route, and whenever possible, I avoided it.

Yesterday, on my way back, I noticed that the route was quiter that usual.
I dared to look left.

They were all gone. Brick and thatch were strewn all along. It was eerie, to look at silent houses whose top half had been broken off - empty rectanlges surrounded by now naked, knee high bricks.
Only one of the rectanglular patches had a wall inside it, marking the only house which until now had hid the secret of possesing two rooms. An unperturbed ganesha was seated upon it.
All roads are destined to be widened, you see.

Sometimes, it is necessary to remind ourselves of how lucky we are.
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I know this is late, but anyway....
Now that this sparse blog has legged a year's journey, it is time I list some of my favourites too.
The first post by smiley "....sounds like a fun idea...". Indeed.
Sir's random comments . Hilarious writing.
To the times, Badri's and Chomo's roads ahead, Sicca's photoblog and Sir the great . Badri's "so like... happy anniversary",into the twilight zone, Chomo's profile of badri, The post announcing turbo, sir and harry's win at iitk, Apoc&Troll (lol), and well, though technically incorrect , my comment on the aforementioned post.