The street we lived on

 

Alaknanda DDA flats

Brian Mendonca

Going down memory lane while editing my book of poems on Delhi I was floored by Google's new feature. It let's you 'walk' on the street you want to follow. 

Twelve years ago, we left through this gate (pic) to go to the airport. We called it a day after almost nine years of my working life in Delhi. 

With Dwayne just born and no job in sight and rents like 16 k a month we came to Goa to write a new chapter in our book.

But the memories of Delhi live on. The Holy

Holy Spirit church

Spirit church where we used to go for Sunday Mass gave us a sense of peace and direction. After all these years it was possible to visualize the street leading to the church with VR (virtual reality). 

You could split the screen. The top with the VR and the bottom with the map. It was like I was living in the city once again. The trees beckoned me, the sky a perfect blue, and the the ubiquitous autos nosing around for me to hail them. 

When I lived in Sheikh Sarai I used to attend Sunday Mass at St. Paul's church, GK2. For that I needed to cross the Jahanpanah forest, where there is the tomb of a Muslim holy man. 

The ground was sandy and was covered with bushes of kikar. It was a relief to cross the forest and step into GK2. Faith played an important part in my life in Delhi. 

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Pix from Google arranged by Brian Mendonca on Saturday, 11 November 2023.