The morning hours are strictly "do not cross my way hours". Living in a busy metro, with maids to coordinate with, the school bell to catch, the office muster to sign and the traffic to deal with..definitely does not bring out the best in me.
This is my constant state of mind 365 days.
Now for a couple of months..as the moring tarffic stops at the Milan subway signal - there is a new sight that I look forward to everyday. Admist, the smoke, dust pollution, cars screeching by, the ricks honking there is a world untouched. A tiny shanty - where an elderly woman and a younger girl (who i think is her daughter) stay
These 2 women have created a world around themselves..at a spot which for any suburban traveller is a nightmare. A tree near by acts as their cupboard, small scraps of cloth, plastic bags with their worldly belongings, a broken umbrealla - are all safely tucked between the branches.
Off late I have also seen a latest addition to their family..a stray dog, who is loved, petted and hugged like any home pet.
I look out from my window..feeling like a stranger peeping into someone's house. The scene is like a serene morning, where the mother makes the tea (or whatever it is that I see boiling in the vessel). That also seems to be the only vessel her kitchen holds. Her kitchen surely surely needs a mention, it is a makeshift fire from scrap wood, a vessel, 2 plates and something between a tumbler and a mug.
The daughter, fights the sleep in her eyes..sits hugging her dog..what am i seeing..how is this any different from any of our homes. They laugh, they tease, look at the busy people rushing by..they almost seem happy.
I sit fuming, counting the seconds to the green signal - the world with the 2 women and the hut is untouched. They smile, not knowing where the next meal will be managed from, how the hut will stand under the Mumbai downpour or how long will it be before they are shooed away from this hut..that they have built literally from scrap.
As I stare unabashed, our eyes meet..mine fuming with the daily drama and hers content with her world around. The signal turns green..I go back to my paper and the moment moves on..
This is my constant state of mind 365 days.
Now for a couple of months..as the moring tarffic stops at the Milan subway signal - there is a new sight that I look forward to everyday. Admist, the smoke, dust pollution, cars screeching by, the ricks honking there is a world untouched. A tiny shanty - where an elderly woman and a younger girl (who i think is her daughter) stay
These 2 women have created a world around themselves..at a spot which for any suburban traveller is a nightmare. A tree near by acts as their cupboard, small scraps of cloth, plastic bags with their worldly belongings, a broken umbrealla - are all safely tucked between the branches.
Off late I have also seen a latest addition to their family..a stray dog, who is loved, petted and hugged like any home pet.
I look out from my window..feeling like a stranger peeping into someone's house. The scene is like a serene morning, where the mother makes the tea (or whatever it is that I see boiling in the vessel). That also seems to be the only vessel her kitchen holds. Her kitchen surely surely needs a mention, it is a makeshift fire from scrap wood, a vessel, 2 plates and something between a tumbler and a mug.
The daughter, fights the sleep in her eyes..sits hugging her dog..what am i seeing..how is this any different from any of our homes. They laugh, they tease, look at the busy people rushing by..they almost seem happy.
I sit fuming, counting the seconds to the green signal - the world with the 2 women and the hut is untouched. They smile, not knowing where the next meal will be managed from, how the hut will stand under the Mumbai downpour or how long will it be before they are shooed away from this hut..that they have built literally from scrap.
As I stare unabashed, our eyes meet..mine fuming with the daily drama and hers content with her world around. The signal turns green..I go back to my paper and the moment moves on..
Reads quite like a script, thought pretty short one. Good start nevertheless...
ReplyDeleteFantastic. Made the scene come alive in my mind; trade mark of a gifted writer! :)
ReplyDelete