Dehradun of an old man's dreams 

Lunchtime was always reserved for stories,
Aspirations were talked over our breakfast.
The older days, the difficult hills and their fables,
But since you've passed, I've been eating alone on the dinner table.

You always said that you had a difficult life,
The hills with its disasters were never really kind.
So the valley became your new home soon,
Thus, my grandfather stepped foot in Doon.

A single college was all that the town had,
The air was clean but the roads were bad.
Mussoorie surrounded with grace to make the valley look pretty,
And as the village folk migrated, the town soon turned into a city.

You reminisced about how the city grew with you,
Till it became the place your grandchildren can grow into.
Now there are numerous universities and even more schools,
Cafés beside colleges, professional stadiums, and pools.

But while the air was still clean and water fairly pure,
People left the city to make a foreign land home.
They said that there was more money outside the city's doors,
Gone were the language, the culture, and the treasured folklore.

You spoke with an air of sorrow; there was worry in you head,
Every time you watched a grandchild of yours leave.

Written by: Samishta Bhatt

This piece is part of Nagrika’s Annual Youth Writing Contest. Through the writing contest we encourage youth to think creatively and innovatively about their cities.