While I was taking a casual stroll, in the lanes of Delhi Haat, I came across a woman from Odisha, who was substituting for her husband in a "bell metal (kansa)" utensil shop. She had a ten-eleven year old son, who was sleeping on a mat laid on the floor. As I was passing by the shop, I happened to hear her speak in Odia and had gone into the shop. On asking the price of an utensil, she quoted the price as Rs. 700. It was then that I had the most interesting of conversations. When I asked her from which district she belonged, she said that they were from Anugul and that her husband had a job in there, and this was the family business that they were continuing. Further she added that nothing can be done with the meagre salary of 40-50 K (which is the monthly income of many salaried people) that her husband was earning and that the tuition fees of her son alone was 10-12 K. Besides this they had to pay the salary of drivers of the bus and the car they had. This made me realise that the businessmen in India (and Odisha in particular) were not so poor as is otherwise being depicted. Judging people's bank balance by the way they dress or live is a mistake that is committed by many people. Which brings us to the question of poverty in India. Who are the people who are actually poor in India? There are instances of people serving as officers in companies and government offices, while their families are having BPL cards. This raises serious question marks on the effectiveness of the district administration in the transparent distribution of these facilities meant for the poor. This incident further cemented the theory that the rich are becoming richer and the poor poorer.
So who are the poor in Odisha, or for that matter in India in reality? It is the small and marginal farmers, the artisans, the landless labourers, the cleaners and even the people having a salary of Rs.5000 or even Rs.10000 per month. Life is difficult for them. They cannot afford, either good food or education for their children! Which raises the question what has been done for them in all these years that India has become independent. Providing rice for Re.1/kg to the people is like making them dependent on the government for everything and taking away their dignity. Much more needs to be done for providing employment to the people to empower them to earn a dignified living.
Coming back to reality from the chain of events that conversation with the lady had taken me to, I walked on to the next shop in search of something new (may be a new story or a new perspective about life). As the sun began to set over the horizon the "Duma dum Mast Kalander" song being played in the CD and DVD shop caught my attention and looking at the reddish blue sky I wondered why there is such injustice in this world? A question which I have no answer to till now......
