Sense of Ennui

Our colony is very big in comparison to most colonies in Bombay. It is spread over an area which has circumference of about 3 kilometers. There are 1400 flats.

Once upon a time this colony was bustling with people. But after the 2005 floods decadence has set in. An exodus ensued and people began to leave the colony and shifting to nearby Kharghar area.

As the number of residents dwindled the administration became slack and maintenance suffered greatly. Presently the colony seems to be ghostly place after the dusk. Only about 50% flats may be occupied.

Number of security guards is same as before. They are posted at different locations in the colony. Those who are guarding the buildings of offices invariably sleep in the night. In the day time they gather in groups and sit at some convenient place for gossiping.

Their favorite pastime is gossiping & giggling with the home maids and women sweepers who come from outside the colony and have to wait for breakfast and lunch time to finish and then enter the homes. In the vacant time they sit and chat with the guards.

The security guards also cluster around some women vendors who sell the vegetables and fruits going around on foot. These women sometimes give the fruits and veggies to them. Another favorite place of guards is the tea and snacks shop in the shopping center. They cannot be blamed for that. After all everyone requires food.

They seem to have bored from doing the same duty over the years. In the winters they have to shiver during early morning because there are no structures for them to sit in. Usually they make fires and sit around it.

In the summers, they suffer from the heat and mosquitoes all night. They have either to bring water from their homes or from shopping center as nowhere else the drinking water is available. There is no provision for toilet except their office at the gate which is about 1.5 kilometers from the farthest post in the colony.