Blogger friend, traveller, photographer and storyteller and the only person I know who has been featured in the 2011 edition of Lonely Planet, Anil P., recently did a lovely post entitled Conversations , and backdrops in Jodhpur , where he wondered about the juxtaposition of a person speaking on his cell phone, vis-a-vis the old haveli, now locked and boarded up, and at the base of which, the fellow decided to sit and continue his conversation.
To me, it bespoke the change in our society, a change from inclusive to exclusive.
As Anil P. said (in reply to this poem posted as a comment there) , " Imagine what it'd be like to not have Jharoka's to keep an eye on the street and the goings on. Windows that overlook the street retain the oxygen that pumps into the street and beyond......"
(all photographs by Anil P)
out of the
jharoka,
eyes searching
through her
earthy red-yellow veil ,
she calls out
to her friend
passing by;
rushes down the steps,
out through
the big door,
stops at the threshold,
a huge smile
matched
with an outpouring of words.
A few more windowshave folks looking down
to see what
the commotion is all about.
Some indulgent,
some smirking,
and disapproving
this wild display....
They should have lived
in a time,
where
you never saw
who you were talking to,
the person
never noticed your delight....
AS
you sat down
at the base of it all,
leaned back,
they heard
a one sided conversation
devoid of
all the action.
No wonder
the doors and windows
prefer
to close their
eyes and minds....
