Expanding Hill Road
No one seems happy about it? Think again.
The news of the expansion of Hill Road in Mumbai created turbulence among all concerned. Hill road is basically a shopping area- more from street hawkers who sell everything from sports wear, party gowns, lingerie, trinkets, footwear, kitchen ware/cutlery….you name it! It also houses 100 yr old bungalows, a church and a school. The shop owners and the bungalow owners seem to have sadly swallowed the truth. But the school alumni and church goers have sustained their protests. They don’t see the requirement of a road exapansion that will eat into the children’s playground. They don’t want to spoil the face of hill road – there’s much nostalgia associated with it.
I live in the vicinity and have to face the inconvenience of taking the longer route to my home since Hill road remains dug-up and closed to means of transport. As I walk down the road, all I would hear was people complaining about the situation. Once I heard someone say it’s going to take a year to be done! Now I really hoped this was not true but alas. It’s been 3 months and half of Hill road remains un-operational allowing only 1 –way traffic.
No one seems happy about the decision. Or so i thought.
Few days back I found myself in a rikshaw on hill road moving at the pace of a snail in the 1-way traffic. Since I had stopped (out of no choice) I thought I might as well smell the flowers. (As the proverb goes “sometimes you should stop and smell the flowers”) That’s when my lens got wiped.
I see that the street hawkers who otherwise have to stay crammed along the footpath now had the entire half of the road (the non-operational part). They had more display space and the shoppers could shop in peace without watching out for vehicles passing by and without bumping into one another. It made me think, “these hawkers probably wish for the road to remain in a state of flux for as long as possible”. Further down I see street kids enjoy cricket on the same stretch of non-usable road.
A perfect playground! No one to stop them since they are coming in the way of no one. Street children love to play same as any other children but they rarely get the space or the resources. So this was their blessing in disguise.
Blessing for some nuisance for others. Well, that’s what you’d call irony!
The news of the expansion of Hill Road in Mumbai created turbulence among all concerned. Hill road is basically a shopping area- more from street hawkers who sell everything from sports wear, party gowns, lingerie, trinkets, footwear, kitchen ware/cutlery….you name it! It also houses 100 yr old bungalows, a church and a school. The shop owners and the bungalow owners seem to have sadly swallowed the truth. But the school alumni and church goers have sustained their protests. They don’t see the requirement of a road exapansion that will eat into the children’s playground. They don’t want to spoil the face of hill road – there’s much nostalgia associated with it.
I live in the vicinity and have to face the inconvenience of taking the longer route to my home since Hill road remains dug-up and closed to means of transport. As I walk down the road, all I would hear was people complaining about the situation. Once I heard someone say it’s going to take a year to be done! Now I really hoped this was not true but alas. It’s been 3 months and half of Hill road remains un-operational allowing only 1 –way traffic.
No one seems happy about the decision. Or so i thought.
Few days back I found myself in a rikshaw on hill road moving at the pace of a snail in the 1-way traffic. Since I had stopped (out of no choice) I thought I might as well smell the flowers. (As the proverb goes “sometimes you should stop and smell the flowers”) That’s when my lens got wiped.
I see that the street hawkers who otherwise have to stay crammed along the footpath now had the entire half of the road (the non-operational part). They had more display space and the shoppers could shop in peace without watching out for vehicles passing by and without bumping into one another. It made me think, “these hawkers probably wish for the road to remain in a state of flux for as long as possible”. Further down I see street kids enjoy cricket on the same stretch of non-usable road.
A perfect playground! No one to stop them since they are coming in the way of no one. Street children love to play same as any other children but they rarely get the space or the resources. So this was their blessing in disguise. Blessing for some nuisance for others. Well, that’s what you’d call irony!
Comments
Enjoyed that story in the book but i don't see how my observations are connected to that?
*wipe* *wipe*