It’s an open almirah – visible to all with no hangers, the unwashed linen is cynosure of all eyes, though neatly accustomed on the wall – the
In reality, the linen belongs to
street hawkers and pavement dwellers and some beggars who live in close
vicinity – wandering around in the mart with no particular goal. They change as
according to the occasion, be it rains or scorching sun, they have set of
clothes for every moment.
Asking an idle soul sitting beside the wall as to whose clothes are these in particular, the quirky answer is “Everyone’s 😊. Whomsoever fits the bill wears it, there is no demarcation of anyone’s attire. If it fits me I wear it, if it does not, someone else wears it.” – the answer stirred my soul – they don’t have a choice to select their wearables amongst the heaps of clothes that we buy as according to various proportions such as style, color, on-going fashion. They have no sense of selfishness amongst each other as to stop anyone to not wear a particular set of Shirt or a worn out trouser – In a sense they are living a mendicants life – on the remains of giveaways of all and sundry.
Further, having an open-ended
reply makes you think about another question – “Who gives you these clothes to
were?” – The gentleman responds – “They are sometimes given as alms by the rich
The shoddy predicament of the
clothes is a testimony to the fact that they are hardly washed or cleaned, let
alone ironed – “We don’t have any resources to wash them, no clean running
water or soap.” Informs the lonely soul.
Below the clothes is a wooden
plank again which came from the rubble of someone’s broken kitchen or bedroom
almirah, they bought it here to be used as a bed for the night halt – These
street hawkers have mastered the craft of using minimum resources at their
disposal – be it clothes, or any discarded items from nearby households such as
plastic bottles, used and ruptured footwear or any other article. Life has
taught them the survival instincts and they have suited their taste of living
as according to what has been bestowed to them by God – though talking to them
many quite surprisingly do not believe in his omnipresent existence- which
again is a matter of discussion altogether!
Finally, I asked them, “Do you get a sound sleep on this plank?” – Guess what – the gentleman with his mischievous smile closes this conversation with an answer brimmed with life’s wisdom –“ Sir, we sleep on this wooden blank as dead , much better than the rich sleep on their cushioned sofas in A/c’s, we don’t have to think about tomorrow and live our life as per each day , with no accumulations and no targets to achieve, we are a happy lot.” , hearing this I had no words to speak, the obvious choice was to move out in silence thinking much about what he has said – life’s greatest wisdom which each one of us at some point needs to know!
