A little bit of a DDA colony from way back when, amidst the rush of Mumbai.
A stroll through our complex in the evenings brings me sights and sounds that I thought I’d lost somewhere in my childhood. A little girl on the swings shouts out, ‘Dadi! Yeh dekho!’ as she manages her first solo act on the monkey bars. Six different sets of boys are playing intense cricket games. Most of their time is spent on deciding (and disputing) whether hitting the ball towards off counts as a four or is out of bounds, and whether one-tip-one-hand is considered a catch.
There’s a vegetable vendor busy bargaining with an uncle who’s telling him, “These apples aren’t worth 120 rupees a kilo, you must give them for a hundred.” While on the other side a young houswife chides his colleague for not bringing the shimla mirch she’s been asking for.
I also noticed a group of old gentlemen that sit on a particular set of benches every evening. That is their territory. I wonder what they talk about everyday, in these panchayat-like sessions. Across them, on the other side of the pathway is another set of benches which are occupied by half a dozen old ladies. Do they talk about each other? Like groups of teenage boys and girls during the lunch break in school? How fun would those conversations be!
Every few steps I cross strollers with little babies, out for their daily dose of fresh air with a mother or father just back from office. A girl sits on the stairs with a dour expression. I think she just had a “catti” level fight with her friends who in turn seem to be in a deep conversation on the other side of the park. Probably conspiring schemes to get her back, or not.
I cross a mother and daughter out for an evening walk, which doubles up as a session of life lessons that the daughter will likely reminisce about a few years down. Much like I am right now.
There’s a deep content happiness in my heart as I walk through these routine evenings in our complex. Gratitude for the great childhood I’ve had, and a quiet comfort that for some things at least, it is better that they haven’t changed over the years.
