Series: A Tale of Two Cities
Backdoor Cities
By Swagata Das
Cities are never a single entity. Just like people, our cities have different personalities. This series explores the different personalities of the city of Gurugram – many of them might be more often hidden or overshadowed by the dominant image of the city. I call them- “BACKDOOR Cities”. “Backdoor” may mean processes or activities we do not want to see, hidden and invisible from plain sight, unacknowledged just like the backdoor to any building…always a necessity, but never to be seen!
The many faces of Gurugram. (P.C.: Author)
The Story of Gurugram
One morning in the heat of the July sun, Mr Mehta came home in a car - their family’s first car. Meera, their daughter could not hold her excitement. “Look how big and shining it is! Father, you have to drop me to school in the car tomorrow” Meera insisted. With this new development, more work fell on Hariya, the domestic help. A few days later, Hariya’s nephew Guddu came to meet his uncle from the city. Guddu was a bright lad, about Meera’s age and was fascinated by the shining car. In a next few days he learnt everything about the car. Mr Mehta was impressed and asked Guddu if he would like to stay in the city and have a job. “You could take care of the car and do some odd jobs of the house” Mr Mehta suggested. Guddu could not refuse. The allure of the car was enough to hold him back. Soon Guddu became a part of the family along with the car. Errands like getting fresh vegetables from the market every day, washing the car, driving Meera to college fell on him. “What would we do without this boy?” Mrs Mehta exclaimed one day. Over the years, cars changed but Guddu remained in the Mehta household.
If the car is the new development that brought Guddu (a migrant worker) to the city, his position in the Mehta household is still of an outsider, in spite of being an insider. A similar scene is unfolding in the city of Gurugram- the new developments which aspire to be a part of the global world, the remnant rurality over which the new city grew and workers who come in to become a part of this new world.
This series consists of 2 essays – each illustrating a disconnected image of Gurugram. Although different worlds exist in the city, some might be more overbearing than the others. Both seek to bring out the paradox of this city.