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A 70-year-old man, Nem Singh, who has been shifted to Rohini one and a half-decade ago, still commutes every day to his birthplace, lounges under a peepal tree at the Kucha Lalman area in old Delhi in all seasons to recollect his old memories.
Nem Singh's love for his old neighbourhood springs from his belief that people from old Delhi are intertwined in each other's lives, not mechanical like in the newer parts of Delhi. Those who stop by to chat with him also agree. His love for his birthplace makes him travel by bus from Rohini to the Kucha Lalman area. Nem Singh says he feels at home in the same area as he was born here and spent his entire childhood there. Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Nem Singh said that he feels at home in Old Delhi and he cannot leave this place. "I was born in Old Dilli. I feel like myself here where I was born. I am in love with my own place. I cannot leave my place as long as I live," he said. He added that his new home at Rohini is a new place as everyone is busy with their own lives and he does not feel the same way that he feels in old Delhi. Drawing comparisons of people living in old Delhi and new localities, he said, "We are the residents of old Dilli, we meet one another here in old Delhi. Nobody talks to each other in any of the new flats built in New Delhi. How long will one sit at home and watch television? This is why, this is my place, people come and talk to me here. If I do not show up for one day, they ask the next day why I did not come. And I do have to answer them." He further expressed his joy saying that everyone loves him here in Old Delhi and he does not feel the dearth of love when he comes here. "Everyone loves me here, I do not feel a dearth of love when I come here. I am not made to feel that I have come from outside. Nobody asks why do I come here when I sold my house and left this place. I have spent my entire childhood here, I was born here. This is my own place, isn't it? It is still mine even if I left," he told ANI. Asked how long has been coming to this place, he said that he has been visiting this place every day for the last 15 years. "It's been 15 years since I shifted there. I have been coming here since then. I spend my day here. Everybody here takes care of me. My kids take care of me, all of them do," he said. Even the rainy season or dust storms don't deter him from visiting his birthplace. "You will find me here in rain, storm, any weather. This lane is my home. Someone calls me to stay at his place, but I like to sit here at this place. There is space to sit at everyone's house, but I enjoy sitting here only because I get oxygen from this peepal tree. This tree is extremely old, nobody knows the age of this tree. My grandfather has seen this tree, I am 70 now," he said. "Both of my legs were damaged after meeting with an accident. I walk with the help of crutches," he said. The elderly man expressed his wish to keep coming to this place and said that he would come to this place as long as his legs do not defy him. "As long as my legs do not defy my will, I will absolutely come here. I cannot leave this place. I feel that I am happy here. I bring my own food, he said. (ANI)
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