THEY NEED THE LIMELIGHT.....

In the beginning of the walk , the journey through the different streets of Shivajinagar gave me an orderly chaotic view of the location . Everything seemed to be mixed with each other . The religion , the culture , the traditions , the communities etc. It is a mixture of different cultures put together in a harmonised manner . Each of them stand out in their own way .But some where they all share the mutual thread . The root that connects them all adds to the character developed around the area .People of different religion stay here . There are Hindus , Muslims , Christians , Parsis , Jains , Marvadis and Sindhies living in each other's neighbourhood .They participate in each other's festivals and help in times of need .

While exploring Kamaraj road , I came across Mr.Ramachandran who runs an antique shop .

He was a very useful source of information. He spoke about the olden times of Shivajinagar . He spoke about how there is not much of difference in the area these days .He spoke about the unity among the different communities of people living there . Even though the people seemed to be hand in hand with each other , disputes that happen  here and there still continue.

Families have been broken and separated on a large scale due to distribution of their family will . Most of the old houses in the Kamaraj Road area have been demolished and new constructions have started.The old houses with huge courtyards within the house are slowly vanishing. An initiative to save the speciality of houses with courtyards could promote their existence.

The Muslims in the Jumma Masjid area said that they were insecure about their existence .In the past years they have been accused for no reasons .They have lost their loved ones in this process . Mrs.Zara Baithool claimed that one fine day her uncle's house had been raided by the police . Her uncle had been bashed up  . All the neighbouring areas were targeted by the police and raided. Incidents like these make them feel insecure . She says that due to such instances the Muslims prefer to stay together in the same locality in order to feel secure.

I also heard about the incident where Russell Market caught fire . Traders in the market feel the fire was initiated by the local parties who have been fighting for the market area to be demolished and re-constructed into a shopping area . After the damage was caused, the Government did not bother to compensate for the loss.

Speaking of the Government , Mr.Farooq , a mosquito net trader in the Jumma Masjid street is the proud father of his daughter Miss Sara Farooq who represents India in the Special Olympics held on an International level . This year she had been to Greece . She has achieved success on a magnificent scale . The Government had promised to give 5 lakhs rupees as reward for her achievement , instead they paid them only 5000 rupees . 

If you are visiting Shivajinagar , you will not come across such incidents . These hidden issues and achievements have been under the ground for ages . Its time to take a stand and focus on them . They are grounds of improvement for Shivajinagar . They would contribute to the growth of the complex but unique character of the city .