Street children
Harsh Mander writes about the street children of Delhi.It is a freezing winter night on the streets of Delhi. Through the swirling smog, on pavements, side streets, road dividers, under bridges, in subways, shop fronts and lofts of staircases, in railway platforms and bus stations, one can dimly make out the huddled forms of sleeping children…
I asked Ratul who was the finest adult he knew. He did not hesitate. It was Obhra bhai, a pickpocket in the New Delhi station. I must confess to have been startled by his choice. Ratul explained: “He protects us from older bullies, buys medicines for us when we are sick, and discourages us when we inhale solution and other drugs. ‘I was on this platform since I was younger than you,’ he tells us. ‘I know this world. If you take to drugs, you will never escape to a better
life. You will die here. I will not let this happen to you.’”There are winter nights when all of us drive past the huddled forms of children sleeping on the streets without a thought, let alone a word of love or dreams for the children’s future. I realise then that Ratul was probably right when he chose the pick-pocket over all of us.
Hi Uma: Thanks for posting this sobering piece. One needs these reminders once in a while and I’m glad that the HT ran a piece on this. I hope our mainstream media run more such pieces inbetween all those exclamation marks and upbeat choruses that I saw this time that I was in India.
Regards
Neela
Comment by Neela — January 10, 2007 @ 7:25 pm
That is a great question for Mander to close the interview with. I imagine he started with “What is your name?” and after asking how and why he ran away from home, what he did to survive, where did he find the clothes he wears, does he do drugs, he asks, I imagine, “Is there any grown-up you like, who has been nice to you?”
There was an interview that V.S. Naipaul did with an Ayatollah in Iran. He asked three or four basic questions and then a simple but startling one at the end: “What has been the happiest day of your life?”
The Ayatollah didn’t answer VSN. But I wonder what the boy would have said.
Comment by Amitava Kumar — January 11, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
I didn’t know Naipaul believed in happiness.
Comment by Anonymous — January 13, 2007 @ 7:34 pm
Great write-up. Thanks for sharing, Uma.
Amitava Kumar: I didn’t know Naipaul believed in happiness.
Comment by Anonymous — January 13, 2007 @ 7:35 pm