Belief

It was a crisp morning. Inspite of waking up in the ICU waiting room there was an air of positiveness.My uncle arrived and we checked on our cousin who was recuperating, much faster than the doctors expected.A good day,I said to myself.Since she was resting, my uncle and I decided to go down for a stroll, to soak in the early morning energies.The hospital was located near a creek, 'Mini- Chowpatty' the signage read. The words resounded,I`d heard this before.We walked up to the shiny new promenade but the sight seemed familiar. While I checked out the street furniture and concept of public space, my brain dug out some deep buried memories. I might ve been 10 years old when I`d come here with my maternal cousins.I remembered how thrilled we were to see the ducks,ride a paddle boat and pretend to be Sindbad, ride the horse cart and gorged on candy-floss.Aah..childhood! A quick glance gave me a reality check.Had the place changed? Or was it my perception? Construction debris dumped unscrupulously,the water no longer pristine, plastic junk coagulated on the banks, wrappers and paper thrown right under the no littering sign.I was angry!I sniggered at THEM, those dumb people - Be proud,you`ve left your mark! But then I wondered, what substantial things have I done to make this better? What mark have I left? Footsteps of greed that lead our children to catastrophe.Will this be our legacy? Something must be done, and done by ME , by every self - to the fullest of their capacity.It is time -to realize- the power we can wield,as architects,as citizens, as human beings. We are capable, of so much more than we assume, and we must translate this into a tangible development.It starts by believing-it starts from YOU.