I was raised by my neighbours. Now, I find them everywhere

Written by Paromita Bardoloi

My grandparents were among the first settlers in the colony where our family has now lived for more than 50 years. My grandfather retired from his job at the tea gardens in Mankhuwa, Assam, and brought the whole family here. Many others did the same. Slowly, births, deaths, weddings, and friendly banter created a neighbourhood.

The Government of India marks it as a “semi-rural area.” We still have a panchayat. Everyone knew everyone. It was a community built on familiarity and repetition. I was born into it, a gift I only realised long after I left home for Delhi .

We have a house opposite ours. The day I was born, the third daughter of my parents, the grandmother who lived in that house, met my father. My father was a happy man. That day he had made good