City Life – Dangerous Bedroom, School Lane Flyover

City Life – Dangerous Bedroom, School Lane Flyover

City Life – Dangerous Bedrooms, Ranjit Singh Flyover

Sleeping with the traffic.

[Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi]

About midnight. A few men and a few dogs are sleeping on the concrete divider. “The (traffic) fumes prevent the insects from coming on to the middle of the road,” says Javed Khan. The Delhi Walla meets him on the School Lane flyover in central Delhi. It is close to Modern School in Barakhamba.

“I’m from Nepal. I don’t have any work,” he says.

“Aren’t you scared that a speeding car can run over you?” I ask.

Mr Khan shrugs his shoulders.

“Most people here are labourers and rickshaw wallas.”

Mr Khan’s friend, who is sitting beside him, is quietly smoking a cigarette.

The headlight glare of an oncoming car blinds my sight.

Soon afterwards I’m summoned by a beat constable from across the road. He says, “Don’t go close to them. Most are drug addicts. They can do anything to get their daily dose of smack. They might snatch your camera, or even attack you with a razor.”

A few minutes later, two dogs sleeping on the divider get up and start barking. The men continue to sleep.

Sweet dreams

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City Life – Dangerous Bedrooms, Ranjit Singh Flyover

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City Life – Dangerous Bedrooms, Ranjit Singh Flyover