What is that one thing in the mundane life that catches your attention and makes you stop and look at it carefully while some thought runs in your mind. This could be anything: animals, insects, flowers, plants, clouds. For me, there are many everyday things that I give a good look at, such as trees, birds, sky, clouds, strangers and their expressions, and many more. At least, there is some respite from mobile phones.

However, what totally fascinates and attracts me are abandoned buildings. Looking at any such building, I often imagine that place in its past liveliness, full of people and vibrancy. Was it somebody’s dream which got materialised in the form of that building? How happy would people have been when they had moved to the newly constructed building? Or it could be that they had to move to that building because of misfortune. I often wonder what would have been the stories of people in those buildings?

The building, which does not look young and fresh at present from not only ageing but also abandonment, must have meant a lot of things for a lot of people back in the day. Is this what abandonment does to people too? Do they lose their sheen and lustre and stand there waiting for the final crumble? What could have been the reasons for their abandonment? There could be many; it could be due to circumstances or maybe good fortune. Those who move ahead might not care much about those left behind, but those who are forced to move sometimes never recover from the loss of what they have left behind.

While visiting one of the coastal regions in India, out of my usual habit, I was looking at the buildings and surprisingly, there were many, many abandoned buildings. Most of the buildings were very vibrant, a mix of different colours were used on them and they stood comparatively young. It appeared that it wasn’t long ago that they were inhabited. This compelled me to ask the local people about them and they narrated a few stories, tales of how and why people have moved from what they called homes. While not getting into the details of what they narrated, it’s conspicuous that every abandoned building has a story to tell, unique or not but telling of a life lived and maybe the end too.

Abandoned but trying to stand tall, waiting for their end the way we all do. How similar are they to human lives. I wish they could talk and narrate their stories, their feelings. How do they feel after they have been abandoned? It must be the same feeling as humans do. But do they turn vengeful because of what happened to them? Since they shelter those who are in need, they do not differentiate or discriminate and they protect everyone alike and so they are different in this way from some of the human lives.

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Published - August 02, 2026 04:15 am IST