THE LONG GAME OF BELONGING IN A CITY

WHO does the city really belong to? Those who are born there, those who made it their home, those who migrate there to work and build a life, or those who work for it?

- ANURADHA GOYAL

Recently, I spent a few weekend mornings collaborating with The Ugly Indian team in cleaning a major traffic junction and footpaths close to my home in Bengaluru. Besides the aesthetic and hygienic changes around me, it made me meet fellow citymates who care enough to get their hands dirty on a morning they could have lazed around. As novices, we learnt to hold paint brushes, struggled to draw a straight line, but eventually learnt to keep the hand steady. We played with different colours as we painted the pillars and sidewalks once they were cleaned.

Paurkarmikas or sanitation workers created some beautiful rangolis on the traffic island that was filled with debris and garbage just three days earlier and was now like a small garden where you could meet people as the traffic buzzed past. A sense of accomplishment, relief, confidence, joy and can-do flourished as we exchanged names and greetings.