I passionately preach the brevity of space-making and the feeling of ‘home’ to one set of audience,

While staying immune when the same is snatched from a populace without purchasing parity;

Quasi-legal demolitions, razing the dignity and grit of sub-altern, a multitude over!

Politically aloof, swooned by the grace and magnanimity of the built,

I am totally impervious to the stories, dreams and culture sown or buried underneath.

Perhaps, we are taught to perceive everything in absolute neutrality?

Nature, building material, construction labour;

Do we pause to understand the misery in the kilns – the story behind the brick,

Or merely continue asking, “What do you want, Brick?” – like the fabled Louis I Kahn.

In a state of absolving responsibility, we prioritize gratifying the client who nourishes us,

Who cares for the damn earth that actually provides for all?

“Let’s not get carried away by lofty ideals, shall we? Who has the patience to think?

Where are we rushing to, disrobing ourselves of empathy, trust, compassion and joy of slowness?

Hurtling towards progress, we haven’t understood homeostasis;

In the face of a full blown climate crisis, we still mine, melt, rig; plunging to take loadfuls

And the audacity to take refuge behind the ‘green’ labels, the naked emperor is yet to be called out!