In A City, Parts Do Not Make The Whole (Urban Studies | Storytelling)

(Extract from the presentation of stories written to talk about the contemporary city through crime developed by Anjan Kudtarkar, Ashi Chordia, Ashwin Gupta, Devanshi Thakkar, Himanshi Rathod, Mahek Malaviya, Maitreyee Moghe, Maryam Sheikh, Neha Dalvi, Nikeita Saraf, Pracheta Sawardekar, Preet Waghmare, Rachit Somani, Raunak Rangnekar, Rishabh Chhajer, Sharvri Raut, Shubh Sankhla, Srushti Karale, Tanvi Savla, Siddhesh Patil)

Individual practices stimulate and create networks, which in turn produce the city. We were trying to understand how the city was evolving through new practices and how it shaped the individual and vice versa. We entered this process through reading Manto’s Bombay, Orwell’s elephant dilemma, George Simmel, Murakami, Baudelaire’s poetry while also trying to understand Walter Benjamin’s critique and the socio-political tangents that he brings into Baudelaire’s work. Along with this, movies and discussions became the tools to investigate the city and its temporal nature, provoking conversations and not just a discourse. We worked with short semi fictional narratives of crime to develop a montage of practices and experiences of the contemporary city. Here, crime becomes a trope for indicating how the society tests its own borders. Desire driven individuals push boundaries that create unusual situations and awkwardities which can lead either to crime or celebration. They become indicators of how the society is shifting while also embedding these small practitioners within itself. We present here snippets of a few stories:

...I didn’t feel like going back home for lunch in this heat. After having my lunch I took a nap on the gaddi itself and I had a strange dream, I entered a huge room, it was very dark and therefore it felt as if I’m in a seamless space. The place had long been given up to dust and cobwebs, to solitude and silence. I seemed to be walking over the graves and invading the privacy of the dead. I saw a cabin in the far corner, it appeared similar to my office…


… She didn’t wish to engage in any long talks with him. Also, she didn’t find it appropriate for a well-read person like her to discuss anything with a clerk. She had sensed that he  is wanting to have her attention all the time. Nonetheless, he wasn’t worth anything, be it by stature or appearance. They often travel together for work in a rickshaw - he spoke a lot and she never responded. When they reach their office, she gets down, pays money, and without looking back, quickly walks towards the lobby...

… At the central chowk, a stage was set up for musical performances, announcements and keeping the crowd engaged. Anurag and Rahel met their friends near a jewellery shop and felt it was best to stay there since the shop was on a higher platform and they could see the procession well. Numerous sounds merged together. While the musicians on the stage played ‘Zingaat’ and the crowd breathed and moved to their beats, the sound of a singer from a classical show echoed from nearby. After waiting for about an hour, all six of them chained their hands together and carved their way through sweaty people in their new clothes and old habits…




… Lucky seemed like a docile dog. I won’t have to do much to train him. Will raise my hand gripping a biscuit, he’ll suddenly move back and end up sitting, easy. He seems to be inquisitive though. He might be a great addition to the family, but will have to make sure he is trained to not get onto the sofa or the bed; to not create a ruckus when he smells food; to be friendly with guests…

… Judging from his smile, Hardik was sure that the guy was going to compliment him after the show. And this is what happened. The guy also told Hardik that he was an art director and knew many media companies and could help Hardik to boost his career. This offer made Hardik inquisitive - “I’m sorry, but what was your name again?” said Hardik. “Krutant. Krutant Balakhiya.” said the guy with an impressive confidence. Just then, the waiter approached them and said that they were about to close for the night. Krutant asked Hardik to come home with him so that they can talk more…



… “So, you think it's cool to just ignore someone you’ve been talking to for over a month?” Faiz shouted.  He seemed furious and agitated. He showed me some photos on his phone. They were my photos, but the name was different. I could see that this situation had made Aazar judge. But I had nothing to do with this. It was awkward. Trying to find a midway to this entire situation, I felt obliged to make sure Faiz realised that the person he had been speaking to over the past month was not me and someone else…

… I go on walks; most often I would be all by myself and sometimes took baba’s radio to listen to some music. On most walks, I used to drink chai at a nearby stall within my basti. A boy, maybe two years younger than me, used to serve me chai. During one such walk, i didn’t have money to drink chai so I simply sat at the stall. Anmol poured me my usual cup of tea. Somehow he knew I couldn’t pay that day, and he just walked away without asking for money…




… The more he thought about the words, the angrier he got. He told his wife to go inside the house and stay there. After she went, he picked a brick, and said, “you think that gives you enough reason to come in front of my house and call me a fraud?” and threw the brick at Manoj. As soon as it hit the man, he fell. Others who witnessed this got scared and dragged the wailing, and bleeding man away. Unfazed at the moment by his actions, Rahul simply dropped the brick and went inside his house…

… I placed the four cameras at different places, one at the entrance, one  between the front space and the inside space, one on the loft and one outside the house. One camera of high quality was installed at Raju’s shop across the road, looking at my workshop.  One was  a small camera, so asked the electrician to fit in on top of a machine, so it seems to be a part of the machine itself. I had also ordered a few loose cameras and tactically placed one of it at the backrest of the chair at its back side, two more on the racks of the workshop.  One was the statue of a laughing buddha, with a camera fitted in his eyes...



… The internet issue was worrisome but one thing he always feared was about people finding out about him… but he could not help it…  He feared sleeping because he never woke up the same person - sometimes he slept as Kabir and woke up as Prem Bhai, or slept as Rahul and woke up as Neeraj. He never really had a life outside this. It was like having these small worlds revolving around each other…

… Suddenly my camera captured something unusual. Due to the excess customers there was a huge chaos at Kimi aunty’s shop. At that moment, three men approached Kimi aunty and bought 10-15 food packets and told her that they will try to sell it across the street. She was happy with the help. I was impressed by that gesture, so I started shooting them. They went across the street and started selling the packets. I was surprised to see the crowds gathering around these men. Kimi aunty completed her stocks, but those men were still selling. It was strange as they had bought only 10-15 packets…