Chaotic convenience to Calm County
By Vandana Pankhania
Photograph: @mehrad_vosoughi
'I missed the hustle and bustle of the street, the presence of people on the street at all hours of day and night and the convenience of not needing a car.'
I was born and bred in Leicester and have been raised in the hustle and bustle of Evington where I lived until last year when my family and I uprooted to the quiet suburbs of Leicester. Living in Evington was a blend of many cultures surrounded by places of worship of various faiths, takeaway shops and independent convenience stores filled with everything possible.
If you walk down the street I grew up on, you would commonly encounter cars double parked on both sides of the road, bumper to bumper with scratches on the corners reflecting the ongoing challenge of two way traffic casually squeezing through the tight space between parked cars. The laughter of children playing fills the air and windows advertising private businesses shipping packages abroad, henna artists and signs screaming “NO JUNK MAIL” are everywhere. At the end of my old road, there was Green Lane Road which was a very colourful scene, shop after shop selling the likes of fresh naan, indian sweets, fruit and veg, travel tickets, mobile phones, clothes and cakes - you name it and it’s there!
This road had it all, everything was literally at the end of the road! In the midst of all these random shops, there was even a cinema which had the cheapest tickets in the whole of Leicester going! This area had so much to offer and the convenience was great, especially when you were midway through cooking and you realised you did not have any ginger paste or garlic to add to your curry!
Photograph: @Ashrafsazid
Growing up in this area, I was able to walk to most places including the city centre. Buses were very regular every ten minutes or so and the bus stop was only a minute's walk from my front door, so this was obviously an ideal setup for my terrible time management.
However, now that I live in the suburbs of Leicester I initially felt like I had landed on another planet which was filled with complete tranquility.
Photograph: Vandana Pankhania
It was quiet, almost too quiet. I missed the hustle and bustle of the street, the presence of people on the street at all hours of day and night and the convenience of not needing a car. It was strange to not hear neighbours laughing on the other side of the wall, road traffic as background noise and walking a whole twenty minutes for a bus stop!
This was a massive adjustment to all I have known and planning was key. I had to plan my journey to work accounting for traffic and places to park; plan my weekly meals to do one food shop as there were no “end of the road” shops to save me from my previous haphazard cooking style and on top of all that, to form new relations with the surrounding community.
As time passed, all of the above seemed to be less of an issue and I began to appreciate the quietness, the scenic greenery and ability to find parking rather than squeeze between two bumpers. I have also discovered a new love for going for jogs on scenic routes in this area.
In contrast, going back to my old haunts and getting caught up in traffic, trying to push through the herds of people picking vegetables in a shop that is a chaotic mess, no longer is as appealing as it once was. I am surprised at how quickly I have adapted to this new setting only after a year and how somewhere which I once called home feels like a “strange place” now.
About Author: Vandana Pankhania is a children’s pharmacist. She is Leicester born and bred. During lockdown she has discovered a newly found passion for running and exploring the green spaces around Leicestershire.
