Nocturnal Suburbia

 

  

  One of my professors in class was talking about remote areas in India, those villages that have been geographically cut off from the cities and towns, where life moves a bit slower. He proceeded to speak about the similar strangeness that one feels in the suburban areas of the cities, especially at night. Although full of people, he hinted at the uncanny character of suburbs at night. Being a night owl, I decided to get on my bicycle and experience it myself. So, after it turned dark, I stepped out.

  While I was thinking for a proper introduction to the blog, almost immediately I was intimidated by this peculiar feeling. I have been out late at night, even alone, but for some reason this time it felt different. It was quiet, but not the kind of quiet you would experience on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but a different kind of quiet. It reminded me of the times when I used to be scared to go upstairs by myself back home at night. The sound of the bicycle tires on the gravel against the deafening silence of the night did give the chills.

 

  I turned to the road that goes alongside the railway tracks. I spotted a lonely train slowly making its way to Chengalpattu. As it gained speed, I looked down the road. There were not many people, but there was an occasional biker going home, or a pedestrian walking on the side of the road under the streetlights. Throughout the way I counted at least two dozen dogs barking out curses at each other, while the others trying to get some sleep. A homeless man was preparing a makeshift bed. A drunk man danced between the road and the sidewalk trying to distinguish which side was up.

  Still, I was not in the midst of the inner suburbs. Questioning myself I turned left into the road that was engulfed with mid-size apartments and isolated houses. No light came from the houses or the apartments. It was almost as though the place was abandoned. I stopped to take a picture. A dog looked at me almost as if it was suspicious of my intentions.

   I moved on trying to listen to the sounds around me. I could hear my heart pumping. Even though I looked around, I could not help but feel extremely conscious of my surroundings, almost as though I am expecting for something terrible to happen. But nothing. It was quiet. I pedaled on.

  I took another turn having a vague sense of direction back home. I could hear bells ringing. Not a church bell, but the kind of bells that reminds you of kindergarten, like a windchime. I peeked into whatever that looked like a clearing, a demolished house perhaps, to see three cows looking at me the same way I was looking at them. They had these cowbells that were ringing. In the silence of the night the rings sounded as if it were foreshadowing something evil.

I was almost home when I heard a sudden wailing from somewhere nearby. I went forward spotting a group of people at the end of a nearby street. I stopped and watched from a distance. There were a group of people, with people from nearby houses stepping out to see what was happening. I saw a set of blue emergency lights beyond the crowd. Was it the police? Or an ambulance? I could not tell. I listened to the low yet profound moans from within the crowd that had assembled there. Watching the crowd disappear behind the houses, I pushed my cycle coasting slowly back home.

It was definitely an experience, one that I would not recommend. Couple of my friends have claimed to have glimpsed upon some unwelcome sights in the same neighborhood, which I am not going to argue. Either way the experience is truly something that will last for a long time.

Let me know your thoughts dear reader!