Live and Let Live...
A never ending long goods train blocked what was my 'green channel' to the other side of the railway tracks. A flat rectangular piece of land bordered by chalk dust across the banana laden goods train announced a nondescript station called Naya Azadpur. A man sitting on the stone aggregates nearby and who had kept a steady gaze on me for as long as I waited and waite for the goods train to move away, finally announced “ Saab, gardi ke neechey se line paar kar lo.... yeh gardi toh shaam tak bhi nahi hilegi...”. “Sir, cross the tracks from below the goods carriage... this train is not going to move... its going to stay here this way all day....”. I pointed to the diesel loco at the far end which I thought was rearing to go. “ No no its not going to move till I wave the flag.... and I'll only wave the flag after the train has been unloaded.....” The Railway official smiled at me displaying the rolled up green in his hand. Gingerly I gathered my bags and stooping low, began to cross the carriage with the huge shining wheels ready to screech into motion without warning..... a multitude of thoughts good an bad overcame me as the few seconds taken to cross over to the other side of the carriage weighed upon me like eternity. I noticed that there were others like me who slipped below the carriage to the other side like a common ritual.
In front of me was Kela Godam (Banana Godown) in Asia's Largest vegetable market Azadpur Mandi. The pale yellow snowcemed three storeyed structures forming the skyline beyond announced my new abode. The smell of fresh fruit and vegetables accompanied by a warm breeze took my thoughts away from the distance I quietly covered to Shalimar Bagh, where my late father, had bought a flat for us about 4 decades ago. I was in Lucknow studying Architecture and was not there when Dad had moved in to the new house. Not that I had never visited the new house before I walked my way that day. I had often accompanied my father on his 72 model Lambretta as he used to visit the place in order to make it comfortable for living. Since at the time of allotment, the place was in total wilderness and devoid of population, there was no urgency to shift to the new place. However about 5 years later when the family finally decided to shift, I was in Lucknow due for the annual exams. So finally I was making it to our own home....
As I climbed the stairs I heard a cacophoney on the far end of the wall near the landing of the stairs three floors above from the ground. A sparrow couple was fighting a vicious battle to stave off a couple of larger mynah type of birds (Shaliks in Bengali) who were attracted to a small niche on the wall. Climbing up the stairs, I knew what the matter was. In the niche the sparrows had made their home an had even laid eggs, but, even before I had refreshed myself from the journey, the larger birds had managed to steal the eggs. Later that afternoon, I climbed on the sunshade, where a water tank stands now, above which the niche was and found that the niche had a large opening and every time the sparrows laid eggs, a crow or some other bird would steal them with impunity. The urge to build secure shelter for every one, over came my fear of height or vertigo and I decided to make that niche as safe and as secure for the sparrows. With a chisel and hammer and some cement and a plastic bottle with one end cut off and the opening just enough for a sparrow to move in, I built a shelter for my little friends... a shelter in the true sense of the word and also my first piece of work in the profession. My parents were not too optimistic about the birds returning to the new habitat, but I kept my fingers crossed. My effort was rewarded the next day when I found a tail peeping out of the narrow opening.... I was simple as elated as a student in architecture who had built is first ever project could be.
The small niche has remained in its place and has seen generations of winged friends... sparrows breed from it for decades, till some years ago when sparrows suddenly disappeared. It was only a few days ago before the Holi of 2012, a chirping caught my attention.... I found a sparrow couple perched on the GI pipe in front of the protected niche chirping happily.... I don't know whether to celebrate or contemplate.... Have the sparrows finally won their battle for survival in the urban jungle?..... The pictures below tell a tale for our children.... “Live and Let Live....”
A never ending long goods train blocked what was my 'green channel' to the other side of the railway tracks. A flat rectangular piece of land bordered by chalk dust across the banana laden goods train announced a nondescript station called Naya Azadpur. A man sitting on the stone aggregates nearby and who had kept a steady gaze on me for as long as I waited and waite for the goods train to move away, finally announced “ Saab, gardi ke neechey se line paar kar lo.... yeh gardi toh shaam tak bhi nahi hilegi...”. “Sir, cross the tracks from below the goods carriage... this train is not going to move... its going to stay here this way all day....”. I pointed to the diesel loco at the far end which I thought was rearing to go. “ No no its not going to move till I wave the flag.... and I'll only wave the flag after the train has been unloaded.....” The Railway official smiled at me displaying the rolled up green in his hand. Gingerly I gathered my bags and stooping low, began to cross the carriage with the huge shining wheels ready to screech into motion without warning..... a multitude of thoughts good an bad overcame me as the few seconds taken to cross over to the other side of the carriage weighed upon me like eternity. I noticed that there were others like me who slipped below the carriage to the other side like a common ritual.
In front of me was Kela Godam (Banana Godown) in Asia's Largest vegetable market Azadpur Mandi. The pale yellow snowcemed three storeyed structures forming the skyline beyond announced my new abode. The smell of fresh fruit and vegetables accompanied by a warm breeze took my thoughts away from the distance I quietly covered to Shalimar Bagh, where my late father, had bought a flat for us about 4 decades ago. I was in Lucknow studying Architecture and was not there when Dad had moved in to the new house. Not that I had never visited the new house before I walked my way that day. I had often accompanied my father on his 72 model Lambretta as he used to visit the place in order to make it comfortable for living. Since at the time of allotment, the place was in total wilderness and devoid of population, there was no urgency to shift to the new place. However about 5 years later when the family finally decided to shift, I was in Lucknow due for the annual exams. So finally I was making it to our own home....
As I climbed the stairs I heard a cacophoney on the far end of the wall near the landing of the stairs three floors above from the ground. A sparrow couple was fighting a vicious battle to stave off a couple of larger mynah type of birds (Shaliks in Bengali) who were attracted to a small niche on the wall. Climbing up the stairs, I knew what the matter was. In the niche the sparrows had made their home an had even laid eggs, but, even before I had refreshed myself from the journey, the larger birds had managed to steal the eggs. Later that afternoon, I climbed on the sunshade, where a water tank stands now, above which the niche was and found that the niche had a large opening and every time the sparrows laid eggs, a crow or some other bird would steal them with impunity. The urge to build secure shelter for every one, over came my fear of height or vertigo and I decided to make that niche as safe and as secure for the sparrows. With a chisel and hammer and some cement and a plastic bottle with one end cut off and the opening just enough for a sparrow to move in, I built a shelter for my little friends... a shelter in the true sense of the word and also my first piece of work in the profession. My parents were not too optimistic about the birds returning to the new habitat, but I kept my fingers crossed. My effort was rewarded the next day when I found a tail peeping out of the narrow opening.... I was simple as elated as a student in architecture who had built is first ever project could be.
The small niche has remained in its place and has seen generations of winged friends... sparrows breed from it for decades, till some years ago when sparrows suddenly disappeared. It was only a few days ago before the Holi of 2012, a chirping caught my attention.... I found a sparrow couple perched on the GI pipe in front of the protected niche chirping happily.... I don't know whether to celebrate or contemplate.... Have the sparrows finally won their battle for survival in the urban jungle?..... The pictures below tell a tale for our children.... “Live and Let Live....”
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