Going Home, by Jaanu
When Jaanu went home from Delhi for a few days, he described Nangla to his baba, beginning with happiness, and turning to its condition in the days of its demolition.
“Baba, where I live, there are big houses and small houses. Most of the houses are small. You know, like the little mud hut near the row of flowering plants in front of the house.”
“Son, how do people sustain themselves?”
“Baba, where I live, there are big houses and small houses. Most of the houses are small. You know, like the little mud hut near the row of flowering plants in front of the house.”
“Son, how do people sustain themselves?”
“Baba, you know, it is mostly poor people who live there. They work in big bunglows all day and come back to their small homes in the evening. But today even that is threatened. There was a court order, 'All the houses should be removed! The banks of Yamuna should be cleared!' All dwellings by the Yamuna were uprooted. But baba, only some houses have been broken in Nangla Maanchi.”
“Son, how were the houses broken?”
“Baba, signs like 'NDS', 'Comm' and 'Lock' were painted on some houses. Some houses didn't have any signs, and many had 'P-98' painted on them. The houses with 'NDS', 'Comm' and 'Lock' were selected and systematically broken from within Nangla.”
“Son, and what about your home?”
“Baba, my house was 'NDS', which means 'No Documents Shown'. Now I live elsewhere on rent.”
“The rent must be expensive, son?”
“Yes baba.”
“Then what about the rest? How do they manage? Son, tell me at length.”
“Baba, electricity supply has been cut. Drain pipes are blocked because of garbage accumulating in them. People sleep outside their homes, spreading their cots in the lanes. You know, it looks like a village now. And there are so many mosquitoes! Well, people have contested the decision to break Nangla, in court. So a stay of three weeks has been ordered. But they will return on 13th June to break Nangla again.”
“Will everyone get a place to live after Nangla is broken?”
“The decision on this is not clear. But we hear of a place called Savda-Ghevra, where people will be resettled. But there is no certainty.”
“Will you get a place there to live as well?”
“No baba...”
“So then you will continue to live on rent?”
“Lets see... I will try to organise something or the other.”
And so the conversation continued between Jaanu and his baba. All this time, Jaanu kept thinking about his friends who would be trying, even as he spoke, to do something to stop the demolitions. Jaanu grew restless. He would conjure up different, new images of Nangla in his mind, only to get anxious that nothing would be the same when he returned there after 13th June. If Nangla is broken on the 13th, then who is to ever know what desires people bury inside them?
Jaanu tried to call up his elder brother on the 13th, but he couldn't get through. His heartbeat grew rapid. His eyes replayed the images of the last demolition of Nangla. He didn't know what to think.
That evening baba, who was sitting on a cot, said, “Jaanu, you are here. And there, Nangla would be breaking.” Baba disappeared from in front of Jaanu's eyes, as images of bulldozers appeared before Jaanu.
That evening, Jaanu called up his elder brother again, and got through this time. “Have the homes been broken?” he asked.
“No, they haven't. There has been another stay. Are you in Delhi now?”
“No bhaiyya, I'm still at home. Here, talk to my mother.”
Jaanu's mother took the receiver and asked, “Does my Jaanu live well in Delhi?” But Jaanu couldn't here what his brother said in response to this question. He returned to Delhi on the 18th of June. After the train reached Delhi, it traveled on the bridge that passes over Nangla – the broken, yet standing settlement that he still thought of as his home. The train passed by quickly.
Jaanu went to Nangla the same day. His friends and acquaintances asked him, “Where were you on the 13th? Everyone was here, but you. So much police came. They came with their rifles and their body armors. [Local politician] Tajdar Babbar's son also came. He spoke with the police, and then the police went away. We have another month to be here. New Acts are being thought through to find loopholes which can save Nangla from being demolished. for another year. Jaanu, do you know anything else? Can you tell us something more? Jaanu, we will be crushed if Nangla is broken at the end of the month. We can only hope the rumours that Nangla will stay another year are true. You know, Jaanu, we went to DESU (Delhi Electricity Supply Undertaking, now called Delhi Electricity Board], but they refuse to supply electricity. They said for the courts Nangla is already demolished and they have not been given orders to supply us electricity. You know Jaanu, all of Nangla is now raising money to try and get new ways in which we can get some power supply. Maybe we will manage somehow...”
Jaanu hid himself from everyone's eyes. He did not venture out to talk, to ask questions, to do sound recordings. But how long could he hide? Someone caught his eye and asked Jaanu to come sit next to him. Again he heard the familiar words, “If they break our homes in the rains, then what will we do? Where will we go?”
Jaanu said in agreement, “Yes, in the summers one can sleep anywhere. But in the rains? Who knows what the government wants. Everyone is restless. Lets see which juncture of time Nangla will be left on.”
“Son, how were the houses broken?”
“Baba, signs like 'NDS', 'Comm' and 'Lock' were painted on some houses. Some houses didn't have any signs, and many had 'P-98' painted on them. The houses with 'NDS', 'Comm' and 'Lock' were selected and systematically broken from within Nangla.”
“Son, and what about your home?”
“Baba, my house was 'NDS', which means 'No Documents Shown'. Now I live elsewhere on rent.”
“The rent must be expensive, son?”
“Yes baba.”
“Then what about the rest? How do they manage? Son, tell me at length.”
“Baba, electricity supply has been cut. Drain pipes are blocked because of garbage accumulating in them. People sleep outside their homes, spreading their cots in the lanes. You know, it looks like a village now. And there are so many mosquitoes! Well, people have contested the decision to break Nangla, in court. So a stay of three weeks has been ordered. But they will return on 13th June to break Nangla again.”
“Will everyone get a place to live after Nangla is broken?”
“The decision on this is not clear. But we hear of a place called Savda-Ghevra, where people will be resettled. But there is no certainty.”
“Will you get a place there to live as well?”
“No baba...”
“So then you will continue to live on rent?”
“Lets see... I will try to organise something or the other.”
And so the conversation continued between Jaanu and his baba. All this time, Jaanu kept thinking about his friends who would be trying, even as he spoke, to do something to stop the demolitions. Jaanu grew restless. He would conjure up different, new images of Nangla in his mind, only to get anxious that nothing would be the same when he returned there after 13th June. If Nangla is broken on the 13th, then who is to ever know what desires people bury inside them?
Jaanu tried to call up his elder brother on the 13th, but he couldn't get through. His heartbeat grew rapid. His eyes replayed the images of the last demolition of Nangla. He didn't know what to think.
That evening baba, who was sitting on a cot, said, “Jaanu, you are here. And there, Nangla would be breaking.” Baba disappeared from in front of Jaanu's eyes, as images of bulldozers appeared before Jaanu.
That evening, Jaanu called up his elder brother again, and got through this time. “Have the homes been broken?” he asked.
“No, they haven't. There has been another stay. Are you in Delhi now?”
“No bhaiyya, I'm still at home. Here, talk to my mother.”
Jaanu's mother took the receiver and asked, “Does my Jaanu live well in Delhi?” But Jaanu couldn't here what his brother said in response to this question. He returned to Delhi on the 18th of June. After the train reached Delhi, it traveled on the bridge that passes over Nangla – the broken, yet standing settlement that he still thought of as his home. The train passed by quickly.
Jaanu went to Nangla the same day. His friends and acquaintances asked him, “Where were you on the 13th? Everyone was here, but you. So much police came. They came with their rifles and their body armors. [Local politician] Tajdar Babbar's son also came. He spoke with the police, and then the police went away. We have another month to be here. New Acts are being thought through to find loopholes which can save Nangla from being demolished. for another year. Jaanu, do you know anything else? Can you tell us something more? Jaanu, we will be crushed if Nangla is broken at the end of the month. We can only hope the rumours that Nangla will stay another year are true. You know, Jaanu, we went to DESU (Delhi Electricity Supply Undertaking, now called Delhi Electricity Board], but they refuse to supply electricity. They said for the courts Nangla is already demolished and they have not been given orders to supply us electricity. You know Jaanu, all of Nangla is now raising money to try and get new ways in which we can get some power supply. Maybe we will manage somehow...”
Jaanu hid himself from everyone's eyes. He did not venture out to talk, to ask questions, to do sound recordings. But how long could he hide? Someone caught his eye and asked Jaanu to come sit next to him. Again he heard the familiar words, “If they break our homes in the rains, then what will we do? Where will we go?”
Jaanu said in agreement, “Yes, in the summers one can sleep anywhere. But in the rains? Who knows what the government wants. Everyone is restless. Lets see which juncture of time Nangla will be left on.”
comments
Sabiha Al-Issa
@ 02.07.2006 15:53 CESTWhat a beautifully-written piece. My heart goes out to Jaanu and his friends. They and I will always remember Nangla. I wish the people who have been displaced good luck and a better life.
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