You have recently moved to a new neighborhood in your city. Describe the new neighbourhood comparing it to the one you have just left.

 “When we leave a house behind us, we take memories with us.”

My father got posted in Uttarakhand ten years ago and we moved in with him.  When we came to Dehradun, we leased the property in the outskirts of the city. We were lucky to get hold of a property which sat in the laps of Mother Nature surrounded by tall trees and cooled by gentle breeze. But many years have passed since then and now my father has purchased an apartment in the heart of the city. From Koti,  the outskirts,  to Clock tower the main city it was an hours' drive.

P.C.:Mateusz Salaciak;Pexels.com

A week ago we had successfully moved into our apartment. It was a  2BHK flat with complete furnishing. I instantly fell in love with the flat. I always dreamt of living in an apartment like those film stars  we watch on television. However within a week I lost my interest in the apartment and all I could think was returning back to Koti and living there.

 

The new neighbourhood was in great contrast to our former neighborhood. Firstly, there were not many houses in Koti. There were only around twenty to thirty families and houses were scattered spaciously. While at our new residence more than thirty families lived in just one building and there are around a dozen buildings at least. Though, there is a beautiful garden in the society, it is nothing compared to our limitless playground where I used to play for hours. At our new residence, there is a fifty meters long swimming pool which people here find exceedingly impressive; I wish they had seen the river that ran through Koti. It might not have processed water, chemical agents to kill bacteria, and a pebble less floor but it taught us a great life lesson -just as a river, our life goes on.

 

I occasionally visited the club and gym in the basement of the building but it was always crowded. I happened to have made a few new friends who were new to this society too. I did not have to ride 3 miles to the market with my father. It was a more happening world as compared to where I was raised.

 

In short, to be honest, I wish to return to my former residence. In the jungle of concrete, I feel lost. In Koti,there were less families but we were connected. Though our homes were not adjacent, we felt linked. However, here it is the opposite. I no longer open my eyes to the chirping of birds but to the cacophony of the traffic. At night, I used to make out constellations in the sky but here it was like the sun never sets. There was as much activity in the night as in the morning.

 

I had not yet adjusted to my new neighbourhood. I thank God for making me realize at such a tender age that I wasn’t a person who was made for skyscrapers. I was made for the deep woods. I could relate with Frost’s emotions when he said:

The woods are lovely, dark and deep

But I have promises to keep

And miles to go before I sleep

                                And miles to go before I sleep.