By RK Lakhi Kant<\/p>\n
A different playfield on the bridge.
\nA poor boy running playfully on the
\niron floor of the bridge conveys
\nmuch more than we can understand.
\nBoyish fun does not depend on
\nanything else, sometimes not even
\non the bare survival he is living for
\non a pan stained over-bridge.
\nI saw an old mother waiting;
\nfor what I am not sure, but
\nI think she was begging.
\nBegone begging, begone! Give the
\nold mother a better occupation.
\nThe woman I saw sitting on the
\nlowest step of the staircase on the
\nentrance gate to the metro rail, when
\nI was setting out for selling some
\nbooks a few stations down
\nthe way, was still in the same
\nplace and the same trouble
\nwhen I reached the place a second
\ntime over after finishing my work.
\nI am not sure how much aware she
\nwas of her condition in the
\ncold winter day. The sun
\nwhich was out in the afternoon
\nwhen I left was set and the
\nstreet lamp nearby was lit
\nbehind the tree there.
\nMaybe she mistook the lamp
\nfor the sun; but soon the
\nrealization would come that the
\ncold night is approaching and
\nshe is without any means to
\nmanoeuvre through the chill.
\nThere`s no end in sight to
\nthis suffering and as I
\nreach the marketplace I see
\na boy, barely dressed for the cold,
\nleaving the garbage site after
\nrummaging through the dump
\nto see if he could find something
\nof any value for recycling.
\nThe dogs somehow find these
\npeople to growl at dangerously
\nand bark chasing them away.
\nI am not sure why the dog
\ndoes this because people
\nwithout a home deserve to be
\ngiven protection, especially
\nyoung kids. Dogs are usually
\nvery friendly with young boys
\nbut they don`t like people,
\nespecially kids, to dress up
\nin filthy clothes and be vagabonds.
\nWhen did the boy have a bath and
\nchange of clothes the last time,
\nI wonder.
\nO ruthless, ruthless this life.
\nCooked food and a shelter and
\nwarm clothing for the night.
\nAn easy work made difficult
\na thousand times over by the
\nagents of vice who sell away
\nand profit from the warm beddings
\nat the few night shelters for the
\npoor in the city.
\nLet`s not break the hearts
\nof the four-five year old boys
\nand girls who are just beginning
\nto find out the truth about a
\ndreary life, in the cold wintry
\nnights on the pavements.
\nGive relief, give relief to my
\npoor countrymen.
\nLet not even the slightest
\nfeelings for the candidates
\neligible for kindness
\ngo by abegging without any
\nresponse. Give them food and
\nshelter so that they can live
\nproperly, than an inhuman
\ndeath, left with no choice,
\ngive them the relief.<\/p>\n\n