[Reader-list] Promenade Notes - Space, Boredom and City

[zainab at xtdnet.nl]

I am back at the promenade today. As I am crossing from the road to reach
to the promenade, I become aware that the promenade and the busy road are
two worlds which exist simultaneously. Both the worlds are completely
different and yet, they exist side by side. As I sit on the promenade
wall, I watch the traffic movement and the timing of every signal. There
is such regularity and continuity on the road. The cars pass by at regular
intervals and the traffic signals operate at regular intervals with the
cars coming to a halt. There is a kind of order which operates on the
roads. While on the promenade, the order is of a different kind, not
governed by traffic signals. There is no chaos even, but a subtle order.
There is some kind of self regulation which produces order for the
promenade and the people as a whole. I find this very interesting.

Time operates in a different way on the road and in a different way on the
promenade. I cannot make much statements about this as of now, but I need
to watch more carefully to come up with any observations.

As I sit on the promenade, somehow my love affair with this city begins
once again. I spot Kinjal, younger sister of my once-upon-a-time college
buddy. “I come here to jog regularly. See how much weight I have put on,”
Kinjal tells me. After a while, she sets off. First she walks, then she
does a bit of warm-up and finally, she is off jogging! As I watch her go
away, I think of the fact that the space of the promenade is a regularity
in some people’s lives. It is becoming a regularity in my life as I visit
each day and make observations (and conclusions). It is a regular feature
of the golden haired sexy lady who jogs with her dog regularly. It is a
regular feature for Mr. Thakkar. Similarly, the railway station is a
regular feature in a lot of people’s everyday lives. Yet, there is, I am
certain, a distinct distinction between the regularity of the promenade
space and the regularity of the railway station space in people’s life –
and maybe that distinction is a matter of both time and space and also
speed. At this point, I am wondering whether spaces become boring for
people. What does the promenade space mean for people who live on Marine
Drive? Are they fed up of it? Similarly, is Mr. Thakkar fed up of the
promenade now that he has been coming here since 1985? What about the old
people who congregate regularly at the promenade? Is the space boring for
them? What brings in boredom? I think this is an interesting line of
investigation which I would like to indulge in apart from other questions
which I have.





Zainab Bawa
Bombay
www.xanga.com/CityBytes
http://crimsonfeet.recut.org/rubrique53.html