My daily meetings with the society’s have-nots and destitute is always an eye opener for me. It makes me believe the ignominy these pluralists face on day to day basis – the lack of money, their societal reputation and recognition, their contribution to the society is all looked down upon. They are reprimanded and shooed off as piece of rubble – Why? Can’t anyone speak to them with respect and a sense of honor? What it takes to speak like this – the educated lot (as they call themselves) are just towing the idea of falsified honor and reputation which they have to maintain to have dignified equation in the society!
Ravikumar is one such soul who
has been discarded by the society – he is holding on to his life and that of
his family, comprising of wife & two small kids (boy of 6 years and girl of
8 years), with a dignified living. He sells small kitchenware items that he
buys from the wholesale market and then makes a small daily profit out of it.
Considering his predicament, he is living a life below the subsistence level –
though his self esteem does not allow him to simply beg- which many have
started to do so nowadays.
Conversing with him, Ravikumar
told me that he was employed at a factory in Delhi before the Covid19 happened
and he was laid-off in an instant moment – As he was left to fend for himself,
he had no choice but to invest some of his savings into buying items which he
could sell to offer food to his family at the end of his day . His kids are
studying in Govt. aided school and he does not want their studies to be
interrupted due to sudden downturn of his life. His wife is a homemaker – all of
them belong to Delhi.
Talking to him, a sea of thoughts
came to my mind – for such souls who are self-esteemed to live a life of
dignified presence, they should be helped and assisted wherever possible - We
can do an impulsive purchase from such persons who want to live with honor of
life, this would give them motivation to work for a living, their soul does not
allow them to fall further to just sit on some roadside pavement and start to
ask for benefits – in other words “Begging”. He had a choice to stay put OR succumb to tribulations of life – he chooses the former!
Ravikumar is my hero and my daily dose of Inspiration – Every day I see him now struggling to make ends meet and not accept defeat – his life purpose is his children education and to make them settle in life – the best part being that whilst he does so he is still happy to help street children with a free cup of Tea or some biscuits as snacks – as he sees them as his own kids – Kudos to you Ravikumar, knowing you has been a matter of pride for me, many of your life’s thoughts are to be ingrained in our daily life.
