The walled city journey was turning treacherous by the moment. The busy streets, markets made all of us exhausted. We all wanted to rest, find some quiet place to sit and relax. There it was a, dark tunnel like structure that we entered having high anticipation. There was no sound around and the only sound that we heard was of the wooden planks that creaked as we all walked. Therefore, we took our steps very cautiously and moved forward towards the dimly lit half open door. To our surprise, the darkness faded away the instance we trod to the next room. It seemed though as we had passed through a cave and embraced the sunlight after so long.
Colossal metal containers lined our heads, supported on huge white brick columns reminiscent of tall and magniloquent tree trunks. They seemed simple in construction but were still beautified by the detailed bases. The bases acted as if they roots of an enormous tree uprooted due to some natural force. We all at instance imagined ourselves walking through the woods. The metal containers were basically water tanks built in the British Raj. They served water to the entire city.
We walked further towards the light that dimly appeared and were surrounded by long pipes as black as coal, broken ceilings with birds peeping through, pigeon covered trusses, skylight bringing in the divine light and changing the ambiance of the place on a whole. For a moment everyone found a place to sit and admire the quiet beauty amongst us. The people sat on the benches, some on brick platforms and some on the pipes itself. Everyone found their own level of comfort and listened carefully to the guide telling the history of the place.
The space at times felt very congested because of the fact that the columns were placed very close together and there were many of them. But due to the light breeze that made its way through the skylights made the entire place airy and spacious along with the light that poured in.
This was the first time that any of us had seen anything like this. Though it was dimly lit we could still make out the objects there. The most fascinating element we might say was the sound of water. The hustle and bustle of the walled city had brought us finally to a calm place where our voices echoed along with the soothing sound of water. We all felt as if there was a stream running behind us and reminded us of stories of princesses in the woods, sitting beside the stream waiting for their prince charming to come and get them.
The space itself was defined by its silence but the silence was at intervals interrupted and added drama to the scene. The pigeons cooing also added a nice array of sounds to the whole atmosphere. Then complete silence broke down. Each of us took off on their own to explore the hidden mysteries of the woods. We went pass the trunk like columns, meandering our way through. It gave us a nostalgic vibe of our childhood when we used to play tag or hide and seek in the woods.
While exploring we came across a set of stairs, old, worn out depicting the true historical glory. We were not allowed to climb the stairs as they posed danger. The stairs led to the top of the tanks. They were used in order to fix the tanks when necessary. The steps appeared as if leading to a tree house above, where a scary enchanted witch resided and it was forbidden for commoners. Therefore we took a quick glance at the stairs and found our way back to the main door
We were now asked to make our way out and during that we came across a big wooden box that resembled some old treasure chest. It seemed as if some dacoit had accidently left a stash of gold and had been so generous to the underprivileged people. It brought back more childhood fantasies of playing finders keeper and losers weepers. And there our voyage was almost ending, collecting history, childhood memories and stories in our satchels.
While we walked back, many thoughts came to our minds still wanting to unravel. The story told and experienced was just one part of history. There was more to it that we could feel. When we stepped out of the area we had many questions unanswered and wished we could come there again and bring back answers with us. The trip was truly unimaginable, beyond our expectations. It was the perfect treat for us as architects, students and mere civilians.
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