The Corners of a City, Shamsher Ali
In the thousands of corners in the city, there will surely be one that holds space which is destined for me. “City”, the word holds this meaning that everyone shares an understanding about. People come to the city with this stubborn thought in their hearts, searching their corner. Unstable routines become their identities, with which they enter the city, beginning once again to plant their feet.
There is a reason to reach the city, but there is no destination in the city to reach. The thought that the world is very big and everyone will surely find a location in it, becomes a force with which the search for that location begins. The wheels of time keep moving, and the person who came to the city soon becomes a city-dweller who has been here for ten years. He participates in and becomes tied to the time and the crests and troughs of the space he is in.
Everyone finds a license without a stamp to halt and reside in one of the infinite informal spaces in the city. Desires find shades to rest. That is why, when a young child runs away from his house, the hope of his return remains tied to these spaces even after a long time has elapsed. It is these spaces that evictions and demolitions are threatening today.
People whose houses were marked “P-98” (pre-98) in Nangla have reached Ghevra. Their certainty that there is a corner in the city for everyone is still intact. They have not been allotted a plot of land, but they are sure there is still some corner that remains, that wall in Ghevra, where they and their families can rest their backs. And why not! This is a city, afterall.
Everyone finds a license without a stamp to halt and reside in one of the infinite informal spaces in the city. Desires find shades to rest. That is why, when a young child runs away from his house, the hope of his return remains tied to these spaces even after a long time has elapsed. It is these spaces that evictions and demolitions are threatening today.
People whose houses were marked “P-98” (pre-98) in Nangla have reached Ghevra. Their certainty that there is a corner in the city for everyone is still intact. They have not been allotted a plot of land, but they are sure there is still some corner that remains, that wall in Ghevra, where they and their families can rest their backs. And why not! This is a city, afterall.
comments
No new comments allowed (anymore) on this post.