Your house is in a quiet neighbourhood where your family live. The newly elected government has proposed a new metro line going through your area to decongest the roads and help thousands of commuters. The citizens of your area are upset and think of protesting. What is your stand?
Author: Adveeka Bharati
Category: A (9-13)
A peaceful neighborhood sits quietly, so comfortable, almost feels like a warm embrace. Every morning, the golden sunlight shines through the soft curtains, highlighted by the chirping of the birds, creating a play with sweet melodies. The wind softly moans as your hair flows with it, the smell of morning coffee just filling the air. Your dog is eager to eat his treats, but here you are, still waiting for yours. It’s wonderful, It’s living the dream, looking out the window as your parents drink their tea. Everything is amazing, listening to the silence, the silence just enough to hear your dog chewing, the rustling of a newspaper. You feel happy, the soft rustling of the newspaper calming you, but what if the text inside the newspaper ruins everything? The most Earth-shattering news is right in front of your eyes. The world behind you turns into a void as you gaze blankly at the text.
You can’t even answer your parents when they ask what’s wrong. Your gaze on the paper struggles to leave, your parents’ eyes showing concern. Just what had disturbed you so much? After a long moment of silence, you speak up, your parents mimicking your expression at the information you provided them with. A metro was being built through the place you called home. Your parents tried to reason with themselves, making sense of it by saying that it’ll help more people, they said, it’s a good thing, they said, but what’s so good about leaving the place you loved most? What good is it to help people if you can’t even help yourself? A wave of sadness had just washed over you, you were drenched. It was impossible to dry it now. Storming to your room would’ve been the ideal thing to do in a moment like this, but no, you stayed, stuck.
Right then and there, you contemplate. What’s so good about this? And then it strikes you, a pang of realization. A similar thing had happened in 2022. A protest, to not cut down trees in the Aarey forest. You get up from your seat, your parents’ eyes follow you as you exit the scene. A whirlwind of thoughts go through your brain as you remember everything. The protest, the government’s promise to add double the amount of trees. What if you created the goods and bads of this? It wasn’t much, but in a time like this it was all you could do. Just sitting in your room, your gaze fixated on a tree outside while you think. What’s good about this and what’s not so good about this.
So many people could avoid traffic, it links key areas of Mumbai, reduced carbon footprint. Yeah, it’s not that bad now that you think about it! But, the pollution while building it, the noise. The trees they’ll cut. Just the thought made a chill go down your spine. But if you look on the bright side again they might add more trees! You might have to move from your home, or you might not. You love this place, you really do but is it really the place you love or the people you love that make it home? Wherever you go, wherever your new house would be, you’re home with the people you love and cherish, with the memories of your original house. You would eventually be absolutely fine.