An island in the bustle of Delhi ticks on at its own pace

Their lone source of income is the one crop they cultivate a year. “We grow varieties of vegetables and wheat,and take our products to the Azadpur mandi,” says Mohammad Imran. “If the crop is good it’s comfortable. But a bad harvest means a hard year; the men then take up daily labour to make ends meet.”

Though the island has left the residents disconnected with outside world,as they have to wade through the water on foam boats,they have little to complain. In fact,living outside comes at a fair cost. “We have to pay nearly Rs 400 a month for a dingy room during the four months we spend in Wazirabad away from this island,” Munna Bhai,80,says.

With no provision for safe drinking water,the residents have had to fight against severe health hazards over the years. “We manage to get some cans of drinking water from the nearby monastery every morning but generally use water drawn from handpumps for cooking and washing,” says Noor Jehan,a resident. “It is toxic,and children often fall sick.”

The never-say-die spirit,however,has seen the residents develop ‘their’ island. A few families who own cellphones keep two batteries handy,and get them recharged when they go to the city every two days. The mud huts,rebuilt every year,are done up tastefully with murals and frescoes. And even the chulhas are adapted on modern multiple-burner stoves.

The only wish? Education for the children living on the island. “There are some 70 children here but only three of us go to school,and they miss classes quite often,” says Islam,17. “Tutors from NGOs came here for a while but now even they have stopped visiting us. I wish I could go to school but traveling becomes difficult.”