Lost Spring
‘’Sometimes I Find a Rupee in the Garbage’’
The author, Anees Jung, writes about her experiences after meeting some children
from the poorest strata of society. The first amongst them is a young refugee boy,
Saheb-e-Alam, from Bangladesh. He is a rag-picker who does not go to school
because he does not have one in the neighbourhood. Out of enthusiasm to help the
boy, Jung promises that she will open a school in his neighbourhood but later feels
embarrassed for making a promise that she cannot keep. Over period of time, she
meets more boys like Saheb and notices that none of these children have worn
shoes. An analysis reveals that this practice is more due to lack of resources than a
matter of habit. She visits their slum, Seemapuri, in order to grasp their plight in a
better way. She is pained to see their pathetic living conditions. The only benefit
these refugees have is an Indian ration card that enables them to buy grains. They
are compelled to accept their fate, for they have little choice in life. Picking garbage
is their sole means of survival.
Anees meets Saheb again after a gap of few days. She hoped to see some positive
change in his life. However, it is painful to learn that in his attempt to procure a
better life Saheb has moved from one stage of exploitation to another. He now works
for a tea stall owner and carries a milk canister which is heavier than his rag bag. As
a rag picker, at least he was his own master.
‘’I Want to Drive a Car’’
Mukesh is another young boy whom the author meets. This boy belongs to a family
of bangle makers in Firozabad. He wishes to be a motor mechanic and is willing to
walk miles for training. However, a peep into the lives of his family members and
other bangle makers like them reveals yet another squalor filled existence which is
without hope or dignity. The writer is moved by the deplorable working conditions in
the glass furnaces. Poor ventilations, high temperatures, and dim lights cause loss of
eyesight at an early age in the workers here. The writer is equally disturbed to see
the living areas of these workers. Their houses do not have windows, doors are
wobbly, and walls may crumble any time. Their lanes stink with choked garbage.
During the visit to the houses of bangle workers, Anees also gets a to sneak into the
lives of Savita, a young girl in the bangle making industry, Mukesh’s sister-in -law
and his grandmother. A discussion with them makes it clear that these people have
given up efforts to improve their lot. They have accepted their victimization as their
destiny. Poverty and lack of education has trapped these people in a vicious circle
that seems impossible to escape from. Even the men-folk do not wish to organize
cooperatives or make any other effort that could give them a better life. The children
born in these families particularly face dual victimization. First, due to poverty and
second, due to suppression at the hands of middlemen, police, politicians, and
bureaucrats. However Mukesh is an exception and his determination to become a
motor mechanics shall perhaps be the first ray of hope for all.
A look into the lives of depravity led by the slum children is an attempt by the
writer to evoke a sense of responsibility in each one of us to work collectively
towards their upliftment.
