*AndreA*’s Reviews > Milk Teeth > Status Update

Like a borewell, he managed to tap into deep reserves of privilege; it had to be the source of his ambition, his resilience. An immutable sense of superiority. A sense of superiority that demanded acquiescence.

Mumbai was the land where forces of chauvinism and nativism were winning over the cosmopolitanism and uneven modernity that Bombay stood for.

how important it was even for a building to be a good neighbour, a good citizen, a responsible member of the community, a part of a whole; but eventually, buildings were built by people, for people.

So for most practical purposes, the communal violence that started after the Babri Masjid fell came to an end after the blasts, but the spell of peace that followed felt like hate was only shedding its milk teeth.

It was a gentle assault that chiselled at your will, and chip by chip, your resistance fell away, sculpting a new you. When you acquiesced, you were left wondering why you had ever resisted. In some moments you were even convinced that it was your decision, that you were acting of your own free will—that mirage of a notion—because after all, any pressure on you had only been mild, albeit persistent.