In my endevour to pin down my eclectic experiences of gujarat i often rewind into what happened a month ago and those feelings and thoughts etched so deeply that i find no difference from then to now.I guess that's how good things are.Timeless.
It was a day scheduled to visit ramapir no tekro,the largest in ahmadabad with about 1.5 lakhs population.Having a slum near the vicinity of my house where i have lived all my life or even travelling through a regular route which runs parallel with a slum area in bangalore the idea of my visit to ramapir was more familiar and practical.
Ramapir no tekro is accessed by a bridge over narrow channel of open drain.Just when you hop on to the other side we were greeted by innumerable boxes of blue with a red roof along with the cows and buffaloes that are lazing by the ground(which looks levelled for some kind of construction).The walk from the vast ground took us about 7 mins when we entered the tekro to a swarm of kids playing with a new born puppy(it was raining puppies)
As we walked past the houses on narrow lanes we saw a groups of people engaged in talks,piling,removing,cleaning of one of the houses which had caught fire that morning.There was no hue and cry,i didn't know who the house belonged to but about 20 people(assuming neighbours) lend their hand into bringing some order with the blackened mess.
We further walked up,going past a few houses that were empty/locked/opened with kids playing inside/the woman making rotis by the door/an old woman watching tv who was seated 2 steps away from the door and the two steps from the tv.Some of the families here belong to the potters community,they have potteries inside the slum where the clay ware are made and are let out on the roofs of houses for drying/storing.
What took me by surprise was that it has a gym!It is a brilliant way to expose the indigent to the world outside from within and i guess the objective is to create health awareness.
I went back walking to Manav Sadhna,as i was still taking to Ajay-bhai,realising that stoicism is seen often in those who have a constant battle in life.
It was a day scheduled to visit ramapir no tekro,the largest in ahmadabad with about 1.5 lakhs population.Having a slum near the vicinity of my house where i have lived all my life or even travelling through a regular route which runs parallel with a slum area in bangalore the idea of my visit to ramapir was more familiar and practical.
Ramapir no tekro is accessed by a bridge over narrow channel of open drain.Just when you hop on to the other side we were greeted by innumerable boxes of blue with a red roof along with the cows and buffaloes that are lazing by the ground(which looks levelled for some kind of construction).The walk from the vast ground took us about 7 mins when we entered the tekro to a swarm of kids playing with a new born puppy(it was raining puppies)
We further walked up,going past a few houses that were empty/locked/opened with kids playing inside/the woman making rotis by the door/an old woman watching tv who was seated 2 steps away from the door and the two steps from the tv.Some of the families here belong to the potters community,they have potteries inside the slum where the clay ware are made and are let out on the roofs of houses for drying/storing.
We made our way to what my co-volunteers had warned me not to miss,the community centre of ramapir no tekro. It is an initiative of Manav Sadhna and built by collaboration between well known architects with sustainable and waste materials indigenous to the slum .It has a full facilitated school,an OPD,a creche,mandir,AV room and a courtyard ground.
I went back walking to Manav Sadhna,as i was still taking to Ajay-bhai,realising that stoicism is seen often in those who have a constant battle in life.
'Nearly everything you do is of no importance, but it is important that you do it.'-M K Gandhi
All pictures are copyright to Not-so-wordy
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