a dark, seamy, often hidden area or side: thats underbelly, and mumbai has it. well NY has its underground, literally. The city, which soars up into the skies, goes, if not as much, significantly deep. the subway which snakes through tunnels built ages ago, many times three level below surface, many times with a tunnel at each of these level, one above the another.
the steam shafts, under the roads, spewing and sometimes bursting, but surprising with their presence and the hissing they make. and then there are the basements, with the steel trap doors. extending into the sidewalks, which u walk over without noticing, unless they make that 'stop with unexpected surprise' clanging, which open only late nights, after the shops they are under close. and then u discover this old wooden ladder, or sometimes a beltway, and a dirty dirty window to what goes on underneath. and its not only the basements which peek out to the world, the steam pipes, the subways all have their openings.
It always amazes me how far can the americans see, imagine planning the growth of the city on both sides, imagine planning out a city where 50 storeyed buildings stand over hollow tubes, a hundred pipes of a hundred sizes criss crossing the city.
take care.
PS: and i know, surprises are always unexpected, but using only surprise didnot fully express the sentiment.
the steam shafts, under the roads, spewing and sometimes bursting, but surprising with their presence and the hissing they make. and then there are the basements, with the steel trap doors. extending into the sidewalks, which u walk over without noticing, unless they make that 'stop with unexpected surprise' clanging, which open only late nights, after the shops they are under close. and then u discover this old wooden ladder, or sometimes a beltway, and a dirty dirty window to what goes on underneath. and its not only the basements which peek out to the world, the steam pipes, the subways all have their openings.
It always amazes me how far can the americans see, imagine planning the growth of the city on both sides, imagine planning out a city where 50 storeyed buildings stand over hollow tubes, a hundred pipes of a hundred sizes criss crossing the city.
take care.
PS: and i know, surprises are always unexpected, but using only surprise didnot fully express the sentiment.
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