sIN ciTY

        “It was raining heavily outside, darkness ruled this part of the city which rarely saw the sun rising; the people here hated the sun, it was only for the rich. This was the lower strata of the city, The Drain, they called it. I stepped out of my car, not caring for my leather boots, the badge prominent on my coat even in the faint glow of the street light. My gun was in my pocket but more important was my badge, cops are allowed, though not welcomed, everywhere- the lower, middle or upper strata”

This ain’t no excerpt from a novel or monologue from a play, it is just a cynical vision of a fast growing metro city in India. I’ve been to this city a lot of times, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone though I usually avoid going there alone; to be shamefully honest, it scares the shit outta me, I am never able to adjust to this city, I don’t belong here. As you enter the city you can smell the intoxicating smell of corruption, of sin and if you aren’t wise to it, you’ll find yourself in a world where you may apparently feel as a king but actually are nothing more than a pawn. Of course, once the game ends, the king and the pawn go into the same box but it doesn’t matter because this game ain’t gonna end. This is not a labyrinth with an exit but a circle of deceit, lust and sins.

I’ve always found walking as the best way to explore a city, in fact, I quite enjoy walking; sometimes n my trusty ol’ woodland, sometimes in my cheap sneakers, sometimes in those ‘ideal’ running shoes, I’ve walked miles. The first time I came to this city, I stayed in a comfortable hotel near the station, in the evening I decided to take a walk. As I stepped out, I’d hear the voices of the city, I’d feel it… the wailing sirens, the arguments on road, the chattering of people. I took a turn into a dark silent alley which opened to a broad, dark street. As I stepped into the street, a group of people surrounded me, it took a little while for my slow head to understand that these people were pimps, working for their girls. Each one was bragging… ‘big boobed’ ’14 yrs old’ ‘new virgin’ ‘blonde’ ‘Russian’… I listened calmly and moved on, they didn’t bother me anymore. The street was a deceptive one; all along the streets were big hardware shops, some actually too good and in between those shops were flights of stairs. Every stair was unique but they all ended in the same sweaty, smelly place where the exaggerated moans and groans revealed everything…
I crossed the street and was out of that place, I took a subway (how convenient) from there to one of the most enthralling and posh streets of the city. However, the glittering and gleaming lights of the street were a bit too bright for me and I ended in a small dark restaurant for dinner. On my way back, I took a shortcut and ended in a network of alleys. As I was about to cross the alley, I heard a gunshot, saw a man running, bumping into me, felt the hot barrel and before I’d realize he was gone. I, then, ran all the way back to my hotel. In my room I noticed a wet, red spot on my shirt; I don’t know whose blood it was neither I cared, I just got rid of that shirt and sat inside the hot shower…
Next day I returned to my trusty ol’ city. Al in all it wasn’t a pleasing first visit to that place, I didn’t find tit cheerful or colorful- it had only three colors, black white and red…

Since then I’ve visited that city numerous times, discovered the parallel world of students filled with dreams and joy, lightened up by a faint rainbow. Yes, this city has dreams, more broken then realized. I also had opportunities of mingling with the upper strata- the politicians, the businessmen, the elegant class and to be honest, I didn’t really find it any different from the lower strata of the city. What happens in those wretched, mean dark alleys in the open, happens here too- behind closed doors. Smoking barrels, blotting blood, exaggerated moans, all is just the same.
This city is liberal, developing, opening to new ideas but the pace is too fast; people here are growing but in a twisted way… courage relates to drunk driving, raping women in moving cars… feminism symbolizes nothing but drinks dance and open sex… whatever happened to the good ol’ dictionary definitions?
          Maybe this society is actually achieving that ‘ideal’ state, no boundaries, no morals, no sins- A perfect society with good fading away, bad growing rapidly and ugly taking over. Maybe I’m the one with twisted, rusty and orthodox views but as long as I’m stuck to this thinking, the future of this city, in my opinion, is nothing less than a SIN CITY!