The other day I stepped out of my bank and started my cautious walk towards home. Cautious, because unless you are extremely careful, you are bound to lose balance and fall down, or sprain an ankle. No two stones on the pavement are evenly leveled or no road is without a hump or a hollow!! This is not any news to Mumbaikars as, true to their reputation, they continue their busy life without any grumbling.
As I crossed the road and turned towards where my residence is, I innocently lifted one leg from a wobbly stone in the pavement!! Within a second I could see myself fall on my knees, my heavy load hitting the sand with brutality. I felt foolish... and I was in great pain. The salwar had torn on both the knees and I could see bloody bruises staring at me. My elbows were full of mud with devilish scratches on them! Slowly I lifted myself and stood quietly on one side, as people were staring at me to see my next move!! I made my way home with slow, painful walk. Later a doctor's visit was necessary to remedy the damages done to my body by the uneven 'footpath'!! I am still angry and ashamed, but unfortunately, nothing can be done. Please read on....
It is risky to
walk in Mumbai!
A wobbly ankle with a bad sprain -
That makes me unsteady, gives me great pain
How it happened, you might ask
In its glory, our government should bask (!)
The uneven pavement in our great city
A hollow, a hump… I fell without any pity
I could not move for a minute, you see
Then went to the doctor, and paid a heavy fee...
Our babus have nothing
to lose, I say
They move in their cars, all the way
Not worrying about the ordinary ones
Who pay heavy taxes, with benefits, almost none....
Our ‘sarkar’ turns
a blind eye, a deaf ear,
To such happenings, year after year
Thousands fall... fall prey to this negligence
No problem, they continue, as if with a vengeance !!
- Written by © Shanta Ramakrishnan
(February 12, 2015)
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