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The establishment is a mini theater meant for only men, situated amidst densely populated slums and odd shops around it. Just when I was trying to figure out how to start conversation, the person selling tickets at the entrance noticed me with my camera. A namaste, accompanied with a smile always works wonderfully as icebreaker! As I started asking questions, people from the neighboring shops started to gather. Through the adjoining narrow maze of alleyways and winding dirty lanes, arrived excited group of barefoot women and children. Slowly, a big crowd thronged around, with curious smiles, showing eagerness to talk and pose for the camera! Some laughed at me, as I looked completely out of place in my designer wear.
Since the owner of the theater was not available, I was not allowed to click images from inside the theater. What I could learn was that they were doing great business by running four shows every day, showing raunchy, B grade Hindi movies. For the customers, an eclectic mix of migrants from very lower financial strata, layered densely around the area, watching movies at this theater is cathartic release from the pressures of rampant mayhem, urban living subjects them to. This theater is the place where the silent screams of their vanquished dreams are blocked temporarily. And spending ten rupees for that luxury is an absolute necessity.
As the crowd grew bigger, it became a huge challenge to deal with people trying to get close to me. I had to rush back to my car after taking some quick pictures. All these years, I have looked at such places a bit disdainfully. We often admire realistic depiction of life that is romanticized in movies. But when one observes reality with such proximity, it is a different experience all together! There are layers and layers to this city that exude such aura of power and wealth! All I need to do is just train my mind to observe these "invisible" different worlds, swirling into myriad patterns of juxtaposing and coexisting in this effervescent city.
The most important learning for me was that the people I met at the theater, despite their dire conditions looked happy! The nonchalant way they go about their struggle everyday and the way they take chaos around them in their stride is amazing! The theater is not only a source of entertainment for these people from diverse communities. It is a melting pot, where they share bidis, paans and individual torments that connect them through pain yet each one is alone in his fight of survival!
The life I breathed here was uniquely different. Every time I pass through this road again, it would signify new meaning of life for me. Had I not gathered the courage to pay visit here, I would have been deprived to see an important slice of life that influences form, texture, body and soul of this vibrant city!
