A place in the city.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

The black birds are omnipresent. These hawks are perched along the taut lines of the power cables. They are also circling upon the hill.

The garbage hill.

This massive heap of waste, brought daily from across Delhi in hundreds of trucks, claims a portion of the capital’s eastern outskirts. The hill in Ghazipur doesn’t climax into a peak but fans out in a sort of plateau. This afternoon, the long drain flowing by the garbage hill is shimmering under the bright sun. The water is black, but it still is clearly reflecting the garbage hill, which lies inverted under the blackened surface. This remarkable view is accessed from a narrow road running along the drain. The garbage hill stands on the other side of the drain.

The Ghazipur garbage hill, or landfill, came up in 1984. Over the years, the hill kept rising and rising. Although the garbage is continually recycled and processed, the pileup is acknowledged today as the largest garbage mountain in India.

This moment, apart from the hawks, no living being is to be seen on the garbage hill. Gradually three brown dogs become visible. They are going up a slope. One of the dogs clambers ahead. Suddenly, the other two dogs stop. The first dog turns to look down at them. He too stops.

Far up the hill, a yellow bulldozer is stationed close to the top of the garbage hill. Its long hook is moving jerkily.

The drain is emitting a strong smell. Or, perhaps the source of the smell is the garbage hill. Whatever, a few young men are taking a dip in the drain’s blackened water. Some steps ahead, white clothes are spread out along the banks of the drain.

Meanwhile, the grey mountain of garbage is glinting here and there with shiny pinpricks of colours. The roadside, running parallel to the garbage hill, is itself littered with discards–Halidram Roasted Chana Cracker Heeng Jeera packet, Miss India Desi Oil bottle, tetra pack of Jai-Veeru Sharaab, etc.

As the day ends, the sky darkens. The garbage on the garbage hill is no longer visible. The hill looks like just a hill, darker than the surrounding darkness. But even from this considerable distance, a tiny tent can be spotted on the hill’s upper slope, lit up by a lantern. Inside, a person’s shadow is discerned.