Helplessness

There are so many emotions that dwell in me, some come and go, some have a permanent base and some just like to amble around a bit. They make me feel complete and close to being a human being who is flowing and not monotonous. But I dread the coming of one, “Helplessness”. Though it doesn’t come often but when it does, it leaves so many unanswered questions, unfilled voids and a dreadful silence.

Last night I went to the living room to find some magazines needed for reference for an article. I was taken aback to find my family teary eyed in front of the television. The show “India’s got talent” was being aired. A girl of no more than 5 was balancing herself on the rope without giving much attention to the audience or the judges. She was determined and gritty, much oblivious to whatever was happening around her. After completing her act, she stood silently without any change of expression. Her face was cold and devoid of the child like free spirit. The whole audience burst into applaud but it did nothing to bring even a faint smile on her face. She was just there to do her work like she has been doing it since she began to crawl or speak in every nook and corner of the country.

My heart was silently weeping watching the little girl lose her childhood. If you ask any person that which period of their life is most memorable to them, a lot of people will definitely point out childhood. The time when we are carefree and have the liberty to believe and dream anything without planning about the money that would go into it. We can live without worry yesterday and tomorrow and just be in present.

Every day we see thousands of children on the streets living a life which even animals don’t deserve. We ignore it and become naive about the reality until one day when it comes face to face, leaving behind nothing but Helplessness. 

Sailing Over Lives:journey shall begin

Iti started to feel the rush in her veins. Packing was something detestable for her but tonight she felt her life was changing and she should welcome it with change. It was the first time she had no idea of what was she going to do ahead. For the first time nothing was certain and this precarious state amused her. Vague thoughts of being an escapist crossed her mind but thoughts held no importance in her life at this moment. She was beginning to feel like Julia Roberts in “Eat Pray Love” but knew instinct alone was not enough. She needed money and that too not just in mere numbers.

After 3 hours all she could pack was some clothes, toiletries which to her amazement left the mere backpack feeling light too. She left her home after a quick bath. It was 6 in the morning. The morning sun was still rising. The last time she woke up into the early hours was six years back. The rays falling on her skin illuminated it. She almost felt angelic about her existence for the brief period of time until she was bought back to reality. A child of about 5 was begging on the road. “Begging at this hour?” Iti felt baffled. There were no cars on the road and only a section of the society was running its errands. She went closer to the child but he kept moving away. She realised he was too timid to talk. She took a chocolate out of her bag and showed it him. His nerves began to relax and he made way for Iti.

Iti began talking.

“What is your name?”

“Shiv”

 “Where do you live?”

Silence

“What are you doing here?”

Silence

“Do you go to school?”

Silence

Iti thought the boy might be hungry. She took the boy with him to a nearby dhabha and ordered only for the boy. But when the aloo parantha came, buttery aroma tingled her nostrils and she ordered for herself too. She felt satiated watching the boy eat. She had been right. He was hungry, may be for ages or so.

Iti initiated the conversation again.

“Where is your school?”

“I don’t go to school anymore”

“What do you do then?”

“Find my father”

Iti was baffled at his answer. Before she could ask him about his father the waiter arrived at the table with a piece of paper passing off as bill. Waiter sighed at the boy and told Iti that his father had died in an accident last month.

“And the boy wanders around looking for his father everyday. His mother is pregnant with another child. She wants to go back o her village but has no money. His father was a painter but was out of work due to the off season, barely able to meet ends. And now he is gone leaving behind a pregnant wife and a child. God help them”

Iti looked at the boy and asked him to take her to his home.

She now began to know her journey. 

Don't make development a rare delicacy....!

New Delhi got another non-native gem on its crown on Friday when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the terminal 3 of IGI airport. A peeping inside it can make any delhiite an inch taller and broader. The terminal is seen as a gesture of India’s aspirations set firmly on the global platform whose entrance portico is designed as the Terminal 3. This terminal is well distinguished in many ways. Firstly it stained India’s reputation of prolonged infrastructure projects running out of time and of course budget (do you still have a doubt about why all politicians’ children are Harvard and oxford educated). Secondly it is dubbed as the 6th largest airport terminal in the world when all we have in lists of greatest and largest are population, slums, poverty and........I think I should halt here or else I may deviate from the track on which I am trying to make my article run.

   I too felt all pompous and conceited at this infrastructural marvel being a Delhi person. But my shoulders stooped at the thought of being an Indian. I know I may sound like a heretic but I just cannot exult at this infrastructural epiphany. This terminal is indeed a sign of India’s growing emergence as a global competitor shying away from its previous identity as a third world country but it is making a rusty parody of its former self which was trying to preen the whole nation and not just few favourite children of contemporary India. Though we have developed ourselves to get a customary seat among the elites of the world but have also reserved that place for few so called vestal virgins of the country. Instead of becoming a national street food accessible to people from every corner, growth and development are becoming rare delicacies served in 5 stars to the sophisticated lot.

   I am at no cost against the string of development taking vicious rounds in the lanes of the cities of India. I am not against becoming the nation endowed with one of the largest airports in the world but we should also should not get over the spell of certitude that we are still the nation housing a quarter of worlds malnutritioned children, we still cannot face the stipulations of our citizens which are guaranteed after every 5 year tenure and are soon buried with shedding leaves of the election season; we are still vying to educate ourselves when the literacy rate is ceased at a mere 62%; we are still put on d no. 84 on the corruption index, way behind countries like Ghana and Bhutan. I can carry on this spree but this will not help. We all are blesses with eyes and ears. so if u are still making merry........I may tag it as pinnacle of optimism.