LIFE IN A BIG CITY
A big city is complex in itself. It is a large dwelling area with huge population, a number of industries, big shopping centres, educational institutions, good hospitals, housing complexes and slums. Life in a big city is quite different from life in a village. The noise and the bustle, the smoke and the dust, the hurry and activity of a city bewilder a countryman.
City life has its own particular pattern. The day begins with the cries of hawkers and the sound of the motors horns. As the day advances, noise and movement increases until mid day. Noise and bustle increase further in the evening. The streets are crowded with the children and people returning after their work. The shops are crowded with people. By midnight everything is calm and quiet.
Life in a city is not peaceful. It is a busy life. Everyone seems to be running from one place to another. A city offers many amenities to the people. There are many good educational institutions in a city. Good medical facilities are available there. There are also many means of entertainments in a city. Many beautiful gardens and parks are there to pass time. Big cities like Delhi have many historical monuments and huge buildings. There are many markets and shopping centres from where one can buy anything and everything. Big show-rooms and exhibitions attract people. Large cities are the centres of industries. Cities are the centres of trade and business. Besides there, there are many offices, mills and factories. So people can get jobs very easily. Good transport system is also available in a big city.
Yet city life is not attractive. Only the rich can enjoy the facilities of a city. They live in multistoried houses and palatial bungalows. The poor live in slums. These slums are infested by mafias and people in flesh trade. All the anti-social practices in a slum. The poor slum-dwellers are exploited by the underworld dons. Thus life in a slum is hell.
The problem of housing is acute in a city. The rent for houses is very high. The houses are so closely situated that one feels there a sort of suffocation. The lack of fresh air and light makes the congested localities unhealthy. The streets are infested with beggars, unwanted dogs and cattle. As a result of the dirt and dust, an acrid smells always the air. There are problems of dust, noise, air and water pollution of large magnitude in a city that harm life. Air, water and noise pollution causes different types of diseases. Some chronic diseases are also preview in cities.
There is no social contact between people in a city. Most people do not know even their neighbours. Their behaviour with neighbours is artificial. They believe only in pomp and show. Fresh vegetables and milk are not available in the city-dwellers. The entire time one has to struggle hard to make a living. Everything is costly and life is tough in big cities. One has to defend oneself against the speeding trucks and rogue who may even kill men for money. Theft and pick-pocketing are common. The traffic jams, the crowded shops, the money-spinning rich, and the rise in prices leave the city dwellers in a state of awe and confusion.
Thus, a life in a city has its advantage and disadvantages. The city is a source of livelihood for many. It is seat of culture and of political activities. It gives one the amenities of modern life that are not available in the villages. The city has something to give to men of all tastes and temperaments. For these reasons, even one dislikes the city is drawn to it.