Brave new Mumbai ?

Another wonderful photograph from blogger friend Shail Mohan, from Kerala. Tough exterior perimeter walls, sometimes close to the house, and planned excavations made to allow accumulated rain water to flow. What is a beginning for some is an end for some others, like the ferns; clawing their way through the tunnel, out into the sun....

(photo by Shail Mohan)


Brick and Mortar
walls,
to keep in
with a vengeance
what's yours;
And a few gaps
made on purpose,
to allow
dirty
rain-accumulated
washed stuff
to flow out.

But those
that learn to thrive
amidst no roofs,
exalt in the
warmth of the tunnel,
and
the dampness in the eyes
of the walls;
Together,
they creep,
stepping over
remnants of branches,
and obstinate rocks.

They have met such types before.
Inching ahead
they emerge
the mother branch
shielding the others
from the sun.

Another monsoon,
another tunnel,
another roof,
another smile.

Why do I think
this is the story of Mumbai?