Nangla's Delhi

[21-01-2008]

That day, DTC buses had arrived in Ghevra and left from there all morning according to their usual routine. The weather was clear, people smiled, and two lines of chalk powder ran along the edges of the road leading into Ghevra. Two white lines, running along the road, turning as the road bends. Our story too, takes a turn along one such bend. The driver of the DTC bus, route number 949, alights from the bus and asks a shopkeeper, "What's going on here?" Folding a betel leaf, the shopkeeper replies, "The Toilet is about to be inaugurated. The MLA is coming to Ghevra."

[26-09-2007]

Evening was descending. The sun mellowed the red glow that it had cast over the sky. The DTC bus stood at one edge of the road, the board announcing where all it would go pasted on its forehead. Passengers climbed into it, and finding seats they could sit on, sighed with relief. Those already seated repeated for any who climbed in after them, where the bus was headed towards.

A TATA Sumo drove up the road. The words, "Government of India" were printed on its front. Two loudspeakers were fixed on top of it. A sound emerged from them.

The day dissolved amidst the clutter of "bring this", "buy that". No time to be still and talk. No respite. Evening softly descended upon the accumulations of the day. Bulbs hanging from the poles lining the street lit up, spreading a white glow. Lights shone out into the darkness from the houses made with rolled out bamboo mats. Grass that had sprouted on the unpaved lanes looked thick in the dark. I'm inside. Noises and sounds from the neighbouring houses are so close that they seem to be rising from the dark corners inside my own room. It's my first night in Ghevra.