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The Life of a Street Dweller - a word for the Poor
As all the governments promise to rehabilitate the homeless, we still come across the homeless people in
every nook and corner of our cities. As we pass by them, we never wonder whether they have had a piece of bread in the morning or what they'd do all day to earn a living. In the fast moving world, everyone seems to be busy with their life, moving and running to catch buses and to punch the entry at offices. But these street dwellers seem to be paused in between a fast moving world. As the world progresses scientifically and financially into prosperity, these poor people of the streets have just a dream, a piece of bread three times a day.
Neither the society nor the government bodies are keen to know about their life or to learn about the life they live. As we are all blessed with a wonderful life filled with food, movies, broadband internet, education facilities and there goes our list of endless luxuries, these people are restricted even to dream a life with a shelter and food. As we are busy enhancing the lifestyles of our community, building bridges and eight lane roads, environment friendly buildings, parks and museums, and anything that would enhance our lifestyle, why don't we spend a 10% of our nations budget on rehabilitating these street dwellers. In a nation where the poor fights for a piece of bread and a place to sleep, how can we even think of an environment friendly architecture and a pollution free geographical area. The pollution that is spit out by a slum in Mumbai would be a hundred times hazardous than the smoke a BMW would emit out. It is too late to rehabilitate these dwellers and to enhance their life.
As a morning hits in, as you wear ironed clothes to go to your daily activities, there are these poor who polishes your shoes or washes the public lavatories to buy a piece of bread that you just dropped into the waste bin before you left to the office. There are millions of poor who are ready to work and earn a living but are left unemployed as they are unable to find jobs. Our country has a lot of public works and activities that needs man power to carry out. Why don't we use these people to complete such public government works, as this would make our nation beautiful and fill their life's with happiness.
Last day as I passed through the subway located in one of the metro cities of India, I came across a 45 year old man who was sitting idle wondering where to go and what to do. As I had some time before my bus arrived, I happened to have a small chat with him. I asked him whether he was born and bought up in the same city, and he passed me a smile. As I again inquired him about his whereabouts, all he wanted was a glass of tea to be bought and served to him. He then started speaking to me with a mild smile on his face. His father was a shoe polisher in the same metropolitan city of India. His mother died when he was 10 years old and it was his father who took care of him. The slept in the footpaths as their daily earnings could afford them nothing more than food to fill their stomach. They took bath and carried out other natures' calls at the lake that was located nearby. As he grew up, he tried for different kinds of jobs at different places. As he was an illiterate, he was mostly cheated without being paid enough wages for the work he did. Even that diminished as time passed. Now he is left without any job to do and the life is paused in the fast moving city. He cannot even carry out the shoe polishing as most of the white collared people had a shoe polisher at home, another technologies toy, he smiled. He said me that he was tired of his life and wanted to die as soon as possible. I stood in the crowd listening to him while my bus honked at me.
This is just a tiny bit of a street dweller. The English language itself isn't able to convey his situation with its seriousness and helplessness. Even if you aren't able to bring out a helping hand, offer them a silent prayer as God is the only one who can help them at the moment.
-The Reader is an I.T professional of 22 years working in the city of Mumbai.
Neither the society nor the government bodies are keen to know about their life or to learn about the life they live. As we are all blessed with a wonderful life filled with food, movies, broadband internet, education facilities and there goes our list of endless luxuries, these people are restricted even to dream a life with a shelter and food. As we are busy enhancing the lifestyles of our community, building bridges and eight lane roads, environment friendly buildings, parks and museums, and anything that would enhance our lifestyle, why don't we spend a 10% of our nations budget on rehabilitating these street dwellers. In a nation where the poor fights for a piece of bread and a place to sleep, how can we even think of an environment friendly architecture and a pollution free geographical area. The pollution that is spit out by a slum in Mumbai would be a hundred times hazardous than the smoke a BMW would emit out. It is too late to rehabilitate these dwellers and to enhance their life.
As a morning hits in, as you wear ironed clothes to go to your daily activities, there are these poor who polishes your shoes or washes the public lavatories to buy a piece of bread that you just dropped into the waste bin before you left to the office. There are millions of poor who are ready to work and earn a living but are left unemployed as they are unable to find jobs. Our country has a lot of public works and activities that needs man power to carry out. Why don't we use these people to complete such public government works, as this would make our nation beautiful and fill their life's with happiness.
Last day as I passed through the subway located in one of the metro cities of India, I came across a 45 year old man who was sitting idle wondering where to go and what to do. As I had some time before my bus arrived, I happened to have a small chat with him. I asked him whether he was born and bought up in the same city, and he passed me a smile. As I again inquired him about his whereabouts, all he wanted was a glass of tea to be bought and served to him. He then started speaking to me with a mild smile on his face. His father was a shoe polisher in the same metropolitan city of India. His mother died when he was 10 years old and it was his father who took care of him. The slept in the footpaths as their daily earnings could afford them nothing more than food to fill their stomach. They took bath and carried out other natures' calls at the lake that was located nearby. As he grew up, he tried for different kinds of jobs at different places. As he was an illiterate, he was mostly cheated without being paid enough wages for the work he did. Even that diminished as time passed. Now he is left without any job to do and the life is paused in the fast moving city. He cannot even carry out the shoe polishing as most of the white collared people had a shoe polisher at home, another technologies toy, he smiled. He said me that he was tired of his life and wanted to die as soon as possible. I stood in the crowd listening to him while my bus honked at me.
This is just a tiny bit of a street dweller. The English language itself isn't able to convey his situation with its seriousness and helplessness. Even if you aren't able to bring out a helping hand, offer them a silent prayer as God is the only one who can help them at the moment.
-The Reader is an I.T professional of 22 years working in the city of Mumbai.
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