Rajendra Nagar Slum — Bangle Deception
The women sat in an imperfectly round circle. We were at the bottom of a school, and inside it felt somewhat dark and caged. Outside, you could hear the mopeds stirring the roads, and the men loitering, presumably drinking chai and discussing — politics, cricket, and maybe even their wives.
Inside, while somewhat organized, it was not much quieter. The children ran in circles, yelling and taunting each other. Their mothers in return would scold them, yelling at them with such a fastness and fury I had never witnessed before. They would slap the backs of the children with force. The children, unfazed, would go back to their game of tag, away from the crowd.
The mothers would frequently turn to me with a smile. With their hair perfectly pulled back, marigold flowers hanging from their braids, and jewelry falling from their toes, you would never know how much responsibility they hold. Their jobs — both formally speaking, and as family caretakers — didn’t show in their face. The violence and oppression they face as women hadn’t stolen the glow from their eyes.
But when they spoke, their words painted a different story. They discussed how their lives have taken form in the slum — the community school their children attended, the violence they see in the alleyways at night, the water truck that only comes once a week, the officials who allow the streets to be dug up during monsoon, and the trash piles that have become their children’s playgrounds.
They said all of this in a loud, but light tone, as if they were discussing their favorite character of a new film. While I listened to them, I was drawn to the gold in their noses, the glitter from their wrists, and silver on their toes. While I tried to be as attentive as possible, I could barely hear the discussion over the sounds of bangles clashing against their wrists.
Our discussion was sewn together by sights and sounds — telling different stories. One of color, confidence, and flamboyance. The other of hardship, chaos, and frustration.
