On my way to college, there is a street on my right hand side. I always pass a look through the street. It is a short street with around twelve to fifteen houses on either side. At the far end of the street, stands a colorful temple. There are open drains and in them pigs soaking the black water. But what makes the street different from the others is the life going on in the street. There is a shop at the opening of the street. It looks busy all the time, people of different ages hang around there smoking or just chatting. Then, there are the ladies, fat, dark-skinned ladies in sari hanging around the gates of some houses often talking to each other in pairs.
Sometimes, I see a large group of school-going children gathered at the entrance to the street. Three or four are big, all others are small, two or three of them ride bicycles, all others walk. The bigger children often talk rudely to the smaller ones. I don't understand what they are talking but their expressions show some form of ragging among them. Likewise, the dirt and folds of their dress tells me they are from lower class families. Do they belong to this street? The condition of the small houses in the street and the get-up of those children hint some connection. But the odds of such large group of similar-aged children belonging to the few houses is less.
These daily views in and around the street make me want to find out more about the street. I want to smell the air, feel the ground, know the topic of the women's daily talk. Is there a hostel in the street where all those children live? Today while returning from the college I will walk through the street - I think this everyday but I never do walk really. Maybe I am too busy with my schedule or maybe its too hot here to walk anywhere without business.
But yesterday on my way to college, I gather enough will and I entered the street. The women were busy with their household chores, the cows tied to the coconut trees sat with a mundane look moving their jaws up and down. The street was full of the foul smell from the drains. And I could feel the hard mud under my feet, soft near few small ditches. I was surprised to find a big house with a car, but the sweet chirping to bird immediately put me back to the state of ecstasy. The birds jumped on the branches of the coconut trees, taking a round flight and landing on another tree. After ages of living, I reached the Naga temple with a triumph. I am alive!!!
Sometimes, I see a large group of school-going children gathered at the entrance to the street. Three or four are big, all others are small, two or three of them ride bicycles, all others walk. The bigger children often talk rudely to the smaller ones. I don't understand what they are talking but their expressions show some form of ragging among them. Likewise, the dirt and folds of their dress tells me they are from lower class families. Do they belong to this street? The condition of the small houses in the street and the get-up of those children hint some connection. But the odds of such large group of similar-aged children belonging to the few houses is less.
These daily views in and around the street make me want to find out more about the street. I want to smell the air, feel the ground, know the topic of the women's daily talk. Is there a hostel in the street where all those children live? Today while returning from the college I will walk through the street - I think this everyday but I never do walk really. Maybe I am too busy with my schedule or maybe its too hot here to walk anywhere without business.
But yesterday on my way to college, I gather enough will and I entered the street. The women were busy with their household chores, the cows tied to the coconut trees sat with a mundane look moving their jaws up and down. The street was full of the foul smell from the drains. And I could feel the hard mud under my feet, soft near few small ditches. I was surprised to find a big house with a car, but the sweet chirping to bird immediately put me back to the state of ecstasy. The birds jumped on the branches of the coconut trees, taking a round flight and landing on another tree. After ages of living, I reached the Naga temple with a triumph. I am alive!!!
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