Hail New Year Thought
The new year has dawned and the euphoria is waning gradually. Every year the story is the same - pomp and show of celebrations, huge sums of money squandered and back to life as usual.
This year two images struck me the most.
This year two images struck me the most.
One, the colourful pictures of exotic foods, beautifully garnished and presented in various combos and prices on hoardings and magazines. Held together in a collage, perhaps they will make an abstract by Picasso. Second image that has lingered on with me is of attractive clothing displayed on mannequins in showrooms, visible from the road. These two pictures must be something of an ever elusive mirage for the poor people whose one week's food budget for the family is the price of a pizza. The issue is not only the price. A poor child must be looking at the pictures and thinking of some fairy land that food belongs to. Or some sort of reward and punishment equation between the people who eat that exotic stuff and those like him who eat what is available, if it's available.
Same goes for the clothes. Last evening I stood outside a clothes store waiting for a friend to arrive. A rag picker boy came and stood next to me with his eyes fixed on the mannequin donning fine clothes. I could sense that he was completely mesmerized by the shop-window, its inmates and the merchandise enhanced by the illumination. Almost another-world charm ! I chanced to speak to him as he asked me if I knew the cost of the clothing. I stared hard at the label and pronounced the price. When he heard me say seven thousand rupees, he quipped "So much ? . . . . I can buy a rickshaw for that much, it will give me some money everyday. . . . . and then I don't have to pick up rags from the garbage dumps " he said with a sparkle in his eyes. I thought the boy was not only sharp but had his priorities in place and a good survival instinct too. And what's more : he didn't give any vibes of being miserable. I suppose when he becomes something in life, his achievement will be manifold more than yours and mine, for he started literally from scratch. We at times don't value the head start we got in life owing to the fact that we came from better backgrounds.
Same goes for the clothes. Last evening I stood outside a clothes store waiting for a friend to arrive. A rag picker boy came and stood next to me with his eyes fixed on the mannequin donning fine clothes. I could sense that he was completely mesmerized by the shop-window, its inmates and the merchandise enhanced by the illumination. Almost another-world charm ! I chanced to speak to him as he asked me if I knew the cost of the clothing. I stared hard at the label and pronounced the price. When he heard me say seven thousand rupees, he quipped "So much ? . . . . I can buy a rickshaw for that much, it will give me some money everyday. . . . . and then I don't have to pick up rags from the garbage dumps " he said with a sparkle in his eyes. I thought the boy was not only sharp but had his priorities in place and a good survival instinct too. And what's more : he didn't give any vibes of being miserable. I suppose when he becomes something in life, his achievement will be manifold more than yours and mine, for he started literally from scratch. We at times don't value the head start we got in life owing to the fact that we came from better backgrounds.
I suppose that rickshaw symbolises the proverbial wheel of fortune for him.
No comments:
Post a Comment