Almost 15 years ago, during a visit to Hong Kong in the central districts, we saw houses with such bars and we were sure that we will never experience this in Mumbai. 15 years later, the wrought iron industry is doing brisk business putting up such bars across doors and windows.
The reasoning behind placing these bars are three fold; firstly it produces additional space so that things can be stored, clothes can be dried etc; secondly it produces a feeling of safety by discouraging unwelcomed persons from entering through the windows and also stopping children from falling off the balcony; and thirdly is simply because everyone else is doing it!
Aesthetically these grills look terrible almost prison like… however they signal the sense of increasing insecurity households perceive as their city gets increasingly crowded.
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