The other day, I met one of the students from my mother’s teaching class. She asked me if I could help her with the dances practices of durga puja celebrations coming up and I had no choice but to refuse because I didn’t have time. I was amazed at the way she asked me how I can come back from college and show her dance steps in the evening. Later in the week she confirmed with my mother whether I was working for this news channel or not and when my mother asked her if she had doubts, she said that I looked as if I was just out of school and stepping in to the first year in college.

Another incident that completely miffed me was at an interview with this brand company looking out of marketing associates. I had been bored with my current profile of writing and wanted to explore something interesting. What came as a shock was when the interviewer asked me if I was really 22 years old. I mean, I wasn’t sitting there dresses in a casual tee and jeans of course, neither did I have a rugged bag that’d go only in college. I didn’t quite get the idea behind him asking me my age. Of course I didn’t get the job! I was not upset because I didn’t get the job not because he thought I didn’t have much experience in the field, but because he thought I was too young for that profile.

I have tried improving the way I speak, appearing timid and patient(which I am not), dressing up most suitably and of course trying to appear in the best of age. But I know all this is going to in vain. The shortest of people get noticed, the coolest of guys work most sincerely and the finest bunch does get ignored. I guess it’s all in the mind, my mind. Maybe I am still immature! I work for a reputed news channel as a writer yet my skills go unnoticed overshadowed with my immaturity. Where does it lie...had I known...I’d have distanced my self from it right away!

Very few people are aware of places, or rather full fledged colonies that fall under the very same Dwarka. Now, if you happen to tell anyone who isn’t quite familiar with the locale, the very standard question you’ll come across is ‘which sector?’, which is funny because till then you thought you lived ‘in’ Dwarka, and because you don’t have a convincing answer to his question, you immediately rack your brains to get him believe that your house is really in Dwarka, even if it doesn’t hold a sector.

Bindapur is one such place that has the government’s nod to help the common man to buy a shelter. The question is not why the man chooses Bindapur over the largely perceived ‘Housing Sectors’ Dwarka, but why is this place not being considered centrally acceptable in the mainstream Dwarka channel. Agreed that the mass that inhabits this section lives not even close to that of the elite standards of south Delhi residents, they’re not as contemporary as the crowd that is slowly settling in the Sectors of mainstream Dwarka, but does that mean the authorities or the MLA in charge will completely forget about it.

The government in power is doing everything possible to make the city a better place, ergo that denotes every part of the city that needs development of any kind, every colony that votes for him should be urbanized. Agreed again that when one enters Dwarka, one witnesses huge flyovers, wide streets, shops all around and an atypically clean Delhi. When one has to enter Bindapur, which I may remind again, is a very own part of Dwarka, one has to cross a chaotic T-point that has every single person on wheels on the trot, unless of course there is a traffic police. Post that comes a weird but literally messed up street that is popularly known as “naala”, for the piquantly smelling street had been loosely constructed on a drain. Now this particular road brings back memories of school when we learned about the ‘kuccha’ and the ‘pakka’ road in economy class.

The sights during monsoon are definitely not a treat for the eyes and as for your car or scooter, take my advice, get it serviced every alternate week. The disheveled ‘kuccha’ road, with bumpy rides and ever-smelling ambiance is the only way in and exit for Bindapur residents. The T-point mentioned above has people heading towards the Dabri crossing taking a right and left for people cursing authorities responsible for such a chaotic and painstaking entry to their homes. Strangely, even Mahavir Enclave III has the same entry route and with large populace residing there for donkey’s years, the authorities seem to have gone deaf and blind over this issue. If they can generate fund to polish and shine the already built-up high security zone like chanakya puri, I’m sure they can shell in a few more lacs to construct a proper or ‘pakka’ road where it is much needed.