There are many people in the world who feel attracted to old, dilapidated, and abandoned buildings. Many of them often stop by the side of such buildings and stare at them for moments. We tried to get into thought process behind attraction of people towards old abandoned buildings.

So, why do people like these buildings which appear to be prop-ups from horror shows?

The biggest reason is that people try to associate lost stories with abandoned houses. We try to imagine about the families which might have inhabited them, we also try imagine the lifestyle of people in older days living in those houses. We are inquisitive to know what events might have transpired which made people to leave their houses and move to somewhere else.

Was it a family tragedy, a natural disaster or was it migration to some other city with upward economic mobility,or in search of better prospects? We came to the conclusion that it’s the curiosity of the people which attracts them towards dilapidated houses and buildings.

Our minds always look for stories,because stories amuse.

Another factor is the uniqueness of the buildings in terms of the construct and architect ,the ambience, even if it is a small building. With time,the design,the construct of new buildings keep changing,and it is tough to find a replica of the old one.So when we spot one,we become inquisitive.

There is a novelty in the old,as it cannot be replicated.

But, many such buildings are still inhabited. These houses speak of tales of downward mobility of a family, from riches to a life of misery and poverty. Those who can not afford to either renovate the big house made by the ancestors during their glorious time, or cannot buy a new flat or a house in a decent society.

We will try to get a peep into the life of an imaginary family which still inhabits such house,into their lifestyle and their dreams .

Such houses have very sad stories,stories of helplessness, miseries, economic poverty, past glories, failed current generation and a move towards further economic deterioration .

All of them have their roofs pouring during rain, walls have cracks which widen with every thunder and earthquake,the house waiting for a renovation since decades.There is meager house income and a large family to feed bellies and their aspirations.Head man of the family is generally in low paying jobs,salary suficient enough to provide 2 times meals and children’s education in some government funded schools. Women in the household can be found stitching clothes on a old sewing machine or manually,to support family income.

One can find children with torn shirts and stitched trousers, who get scolding every day during school parade for not being tidy enough.Adolescent children can be seen complaining regularly about their tutors asking for coaching fees.

There will be a grown up girl, age increasing with her dreams expiring every day,for whom parents are looking for a clerk boy. Her dark circles didn’t appear due to lack of sleep, but continuously watching the “privileged” girls setting well in their lives through the broken wooden window in the house through which they peep into the near high end society. They could not continue with their education post matriculation due to unaffordable college fees. Such families give priority to boys’ education. Her future is caught between what her parents can save and how much the clerk groom will demand.

One can also find an old tattered cycle lying in verandah, waiting for repair since years, a testimony to two generations, accompanied by family’s dream to buy a motor bike when situation improves.There will be a street dog waiting in verandah to get some left over food.

So much lies within the dilapidated four walls of such houses. Dreams being built, shattered, generations changing, all hoping for the day they can leave it for a well constructed flat in an apartment just on the other side of road.

The boys,when they grow up,will move to a different town with better opportunities. The girl will go to her ‘clerk’ groom’s slightly better house,if everything goes good. Initially they may try to visit home periodically,with the visits decreasing gradually with time. After a decade or two,only the old couple will survive in the house till they breathe their last.