There is a squatter settlement in Maharajgunj, just behind the staff quarter of Institute of Medicine. On my way to and from work, I sometimes take the way through this settlement. There is something about this settlement that gives a positive vibe.
It is a crowded place. In a narrow strip of sharply inclining land, it is a motley of shanty houses and few sturdier ones separated by tight alleys. A loud whisper is perhaps audible to the settler's neighbor. Wandering chickens and ducks in these alleys, I am sure, find treats at several of the owner's neighbors.
But this settlement seems cool about the sardined living conditions. In these narrow empty spaces, which are neatly stone-paved, children are jovially playing badminton and hoola hoops. Adult males are engrossed in several groups of carrom board games, back from work and winding down or unemployed and killing time, I do not know.
Furthermore, the organization of the limited space is quite impressive. All the alleys are paved with concrete. In the slope, there are neat concrete steps in the alleys gyrating down the hill. At the bottom of the settlement, there is a remnant of river, which now flows with sewage composed primarily of nearby city dwellers' excrement. They have managed to cover the river completely with concrete structure so that the filth is hidden. The only evidence of that horror is the open river, just before the squatter settlement starts. This open disgust snakes up the non-squatters settlement, malodorous and ugly. It seems like no one cares in those turfs.
Compared to the non-squatters, somehow, these people appear to have been able to do something of common good. It is obvious that they have been able to organize things around them. These narrow alleys are clean, they have common space to play, a big water tank with a tap stands upright at about the center of the settlement that everyone can come to collect water, a filthy open sewage is covered throughout the settlement.
How have they been able to do it? Did some donor do it for them? I doubt it. Are they unified by common predicament that is driving them to work together for common good? Are they unified at all? If so, what is bringing them together? It does look like development. And what does it tell about our constant whining about the lack of funds for development in our communities?
These are some of the questions which a physician who deals with rotten/rotting/degenerating/broken body is perhaps ill-equipped to answer. But the distinction from indifferent settlements surrounding this squatter settlement can not escape his attention.
It is a crowded place. In a narrow strip of sharply inclining land, it is a motley of shanty houses and few sturdier ones separated by tight alleys. A loud whisper is perhaps audible to the settler's neighbor. Wandering chickens and ducks in these alleys, I am sure, find treats at several of the owner's neighbors.
But this settlement seems cool about the sardined living conditions. In these narrow empty spaces, which are neatly stone-paved, children are jovially playing badminton and hoola hoops. Adult males are engrossed in several groups of carrom board games, back from work and winding down or unemployed and killing time, I do not know. Furthermore, the organization of the limited space is quite impressive. All the alleys are paved with concrete. In the slope, there are neat concrete steps in the alleys gyrating down the hill. At the bottom of the settlement, there is a remnant of river, which now flows with sewage composed primarily of nearby city dwellers' excrement. They have managed to cover the river completely with concrete structure so that the filth is hidden. The only evidence of that horror is the open river, just before the squatter settlement starts. This open disgust snakes up the non-squatters settlement, malodorous and ugly. It seems like no one cares in those turfs.
Compared to the non-squatters, somehow, these people appear to have been able to do something of common good. It is obvious that they have been able to organize things around them. These narrow alleys are clean, they have common space to play, a big water tank with a tap stands upright at about the center of the settlement that everyone can come to collect water, a filthy open sewage is covered throughout the settlement. How have they been able to do it? Did some donor do it for them? I doubt it. Are they unified by common predicament that is driving them to work together for common good? Are they unified at all? If so, what is bringing them together? It does look like development. And what does it tell about our constant whining about the lack of funds for development in our communities?
These are some of the questions which a physician who deals with rotten/rotting/degenerating/broken body is perhaps ill-equipped to answer. But the distinction from indifferent settlements surrounding this squatter settlement can not escape his attention.
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