[Reader-list] Nangla Machi

[Rana Dasgupta]

quick description of my time there yesterday:

first thing one saw were hundreds and hundreds of police who had come 
prepared as if for war - or perhaps to intimidate.  a row of riot 
control trucks was parked in front of the entrance, and all the cops had 
batons, masks and shields.  the first day's demolition work had 
finished, and the two JCBs were parked ceremonially either side of the 
entrance.  a stream of people were coming out of the area carrying 
boxes, cases, chairs etc.  there were about 2O trucks parked around 
loaded up with all these things and people were sitting outside with all 
their belongings.  inside the whole place was taken over by the police 
who were standing around and making sure people moved.  one day's work 
had done a lot - many of the houses were totally destroyed and just a 
pile of bricks, and the streets were completely blocked with these piles 
as high as a man, so everyone who was coming out carrying all their 
stuff had to climb over them.

the whole place was strangely quiet considering the number of people and 
the drama of what had happened.  people were thinking about future 
constructions and were working to rescue materials from the rubble - 
electric wiring, corrugated iron, steel beams, etc.  the people i spoke 
to had no idea where they would go and had no option but to stay there 
as long as it was viable, but there were others who clearly had plans or 
options and had emptied their houses and left.  there was that strange 
incredulity of destruction: everyone wanted to show me what had happened 
to their houses and was light-headed with it, half laughing half 
furious.  "tell people," they said, "because no one else will believe 
it.  it can only happen here."  a boy took me into his bedroom which now 
had no roof or second floor: he had decorated the window frames and door 
frame with pink paper cut into patterns which was now incongruous given 
the pile of bricks and plaster in the middle.  a young man came along 
with me and showed me many places; he worked as a guard at the WHO, just 
down the street. when people saw me with a camera they directed me down 
streets where they thought i might get dramatic shots.  "vahan pe pura 
tora!"

i spoke to a group of middle-aged men who were sick with everything that 
was happening, and the precariousness they were in.  they didn't know 
how long they would be there, or how bad conditions would get before 
they left, or what would happen afterwards.  many people said they could 
neither eat nor drink in this destruction, and i saw a lot of people 
trying to excavate water taps that had been buried.  in one house a 
woman was cooking dal and the family was crouched around her: it was a 
strangely normal scene.

obviously a lot of debate was happening, and information circulating. 
there were rumours that VP Singh would turn up later.  the cops were 
part of this: they had little to do except just be there, so they sat 
and chatted with everyone.