[Reader-list] Invisible Constellation

[sreejata roy]

Dear  Friends,

'Invisible Constellation' is a work by *Sreejata Roy* and *Mrityunjay
Chatterjee, *January 2011. This is an online interactive work. We are
inviting people across the globe to participate and share stories.



*Introduction*

In recent past Delhi has been changing drastically, one of the major reasons
for that is Common Wealth Game which took place in 2010. But transformation
of a city is not a new or isolated event. Expansion of urban spaces,
gentrifications etc. are happening all the time. The paranoia of insecurity
is also doing havoc in urban everyday activities. Open spaces are becoming
gated communities; ghettos are coming up as several sections of people find
it important to live in close quarters.

Khirki Village is one such place in Delhi. Khirki has changed radically in
last couple of years. The new Malls and Hospitals across the road have
changed the demography of the locality. Older people staying there have
shifted out and new people have come in. Garment workshops are closing down
and flats are coming up. This event has major impact on social and cultural
activities in the locality. In 2008, while working on Khoj residency, when
we spoke to people in Khirki-Hauz Rani neighbourhood they were only
nostalgic about the open space across the road. But the business was still
as usual. Later in 2009, we could see significant implications of the
development happened across the road.

In the present project, our intention is not to look at narratives of
Khirki-Hauz Rani only; rather we are trying to locate similar events
unfolding all over the world. We are concentrating mainly on stories and
news related to demolitions, displacements and gentrifications happening
around the world.

This project is an attempt to relate these events and try to make a link
between them through constellations of dots on an invisible map.

We want to invite others to contribute their stories or information on
similar experiences through this website. We hope that this website will
become a repository of urban narratives which remotely link with each other
and possibly surprise us through its linkages from one part of the world to
another.

This is the link: http://www.invisibleconstellation.net/
Looking forward to seeing more stories.

Thanks
Warmly
Sreejata