The Journey
I entered the thin lane leading towards emancipation. I didn't know how I got there. I only knew I had to move towards the exit. And that at the other side of the exit was emancipation.
A huge mass of people, bound together by the will to reach the exit, slowly but surely made it's way down the single lane street. People at the other end of the mass would break off from the mass and scatter. At the other end, the equillibrium of the mass would be maintained by another layer of tired bodies that joined in. Without much thought, I too walked up to the mass, and like water down a drainpipe, I got sucked in.
The smell of sweat hung about the air.
Pushes from either side kept me standing, pushes from the back kept me going and the cohesiveness of the layer in front of me kept me honest. Their was no way I could disturb this equillibrium.
Around me, people walked like zombies - looking only ahead of them, lest they change direction and perhaps lose a place. The only sound was a droning buzz emanating from the mass. Words, sentences and meaning lost in the mix. Sandwitched between two walls- decorated with pan stains and by unwillingness to repaint- of two shabby and dilapidated buildings, this cohesive mass kept on.
The mass was of people of both sexes, different religions, different shapes, sizes and age groups; it kept going because everyone, together, kept it going. Equality and Democracy.
Arms by my side, my wallet having been placed in my front pocket, my hand holding my bag in front of me, I finally made it through - I reached the end of the lane, and was pulled away from the mass by the empty space before me.
I entered the exit.
I entered the thin lane leading towards emancipation. I didn't know how I got there. I only knew I had to move towards the exit. And that at the other side of the exit was emancipation.
A huge mass of people, bound together by the will to reach the exit, slowly but surely made it's way down the single lane street. People at the other end of the mass would break off from the mass and scatter. At the other end, the equillibrium of the mass would be maintained by another layer of tired bodies that joined in. Without much thought, I too walked up to the mass, and like water down a drainpipe, I got sucked in.
The smell of sweat hung about the air.
Pushes from either side kept me standing, pushes from the back kept me going and the cohesiveness of the layer in front of me kept me honest. Their was no way I could disturb this equillibrium.
Around me, people walked like zombies - looking only ahead of them, lest they change direction and perhaps lose a place. The only sound was a droning buzz emanating from the mass. Words, sentences and meaning lost in the mix. Sandwitched between two walls- decorated with pan stains and by unwillingness to repaint- of two shabby and dilapidated buildings, this cohesive mass kept on.
The mass was of people of both sexes, different religions, different shapes, sizes and age groups; it kept going because everyone, together, kept it going. Equality and Democracy.
Arms by my side, my wallet having been placed in my front pocket, my hand holding my bag in front of me, I finally made it through - I reached the end of the lane, and was pulled away from the mass by the empty space before me.
I entered the exit.
I entered the thin lane leading towards emancipation. I didn't know how I got there. I only knew I had to move towards the exit. And that at the other side of the exit was emancipation.
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