WHAT’S IN A NAME?

It’s a long, straight lane

resembling a black scale.

Tarred, not so wide

not so narrow.

Each side is lined

with residential buildings

adjacent are they

each carrying nuclear families .

Nuclear families occupy

each residence.

Father , mother, two

children - the list ends.

Early in the morning

they leave their residences

driving their cars

with their children

with school bags over their shoulders.

Down the bustling streets

to various places in the city

after dropping their children

in front of their schools.

Employed are the parents

and all return with their

children by late evening

when the twilight sun spreading yellow

shining blankets

covering the lane as a whole.

Neighbours though they are

none cares

the other, exchanges not

even gifting a smile to each other.

Strangers they are

strangers they remain throughout

in the true sense of that term.

All are like nomads

living in their rented houses.

Most surprising and embarrassing

are no house remains vacant even

for a single day.

With one family

vacating the rented building

another occupies it the next moment.

All nuclear families

as usual.

None bids farewell to none

not even the

residence one occupied for

months, a year or two.

With the fall of

darkness

silence pervades along

the lane.

But the televisions in all houses

open their eyes

and channel surfing in full

swing going on.

News, music, serials,

infotainment

all according to the

wishes of the occupiers.

One interesting sight

though is the  name of the lane

-          ‘FRIENDS  LANE’

How come it is

christened ‘FRIENDS LANE’

the name in

white with blue background

 etched on

a short board?

fastened on both sides of the lane.

After all what’s in a name?