Gandhinagar-Ahmedabad highway, three lanes clearly demarcated with rural villages still existing on both sides. Urban development body’s extent extended - people accepting compensation and relocation, terms they have no problems with, so their houses brought down. In the day time, one place next to the highway with people in traditional clothes, some walking around, some sitting on wooden and rope cots, their buffaloes next, and broken rubble around; putting them all in a two dimensional frame reminding exactly of an earthquake scene. In the night the highways and the city is lively, reminding first January new year is a few hours away. When at twelve’ O clock the clock clocks, people in my group wish each other a happy new year, they laugh, kiss or hug. Now going home after an hour, the drive though the city even more livelier. Every hundred meters a new group of hundred CC bikers with pillion at back either whiz across or they are overtaken. A minimum four and a maximum ten Mukesh, Ramesh , Wiral and similar, their legs spread, their bikes lesser in number than their group's numbers; something new - all sporting handkerchiefs covering their faces, and are hooligan-loud; louder than their bike horns. While they scream or celebrate on top of their voices while driving, their bikes dance and sway, away and closer to each other, and although it seems they may they don’t collide, and they drive further slowly and loudly. They are beating air-pollution smog but are quite loud about it. Cops stop a few, but how many can they actually can? The new year has come to Ahmedabad, (and now more people know about it), with promises of greater expansion, wider roads, more motorcycles, higher dust, louder honking and introduction of Closed Circuit TV’s…
Welcome Happy New year.
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