Bakwas Bath

A towering skyscraper is being built.Like an oak of concrete and steel, it slowly grows upwards, ready to penetrate the canopy of the Mumbai skyline and take its place amongst the giants which define this city; and to greater extent this country’s steady march towards progress and prosperity. But in the shadow of this rising behemoth, a different plant grows, an ugly weed crawling in the shadows of the forest floor. To build a tower needs manpower and men are cheap and easy to acquire. Like cattle it can be found in abundance in India's villages and like cattle they can be stuffed into sheds of plastic, wood and tin and a symbiotic relationship is formed. Wherever a sprawling residential complex or a majestic office building, a marvel of modern architecture and design is to be built, a slum also grows below it, to supply it with men. Like an umbilical cord of a growing fetus, it provides it with the nourishment it requires and takes away all of the waste, protecting the child of p...