The other
day in the afternoon, when mild sunshine could penetrate the cloud cover, I decided
to step out for my routine walk. My destination is the park close by, which affords me virtually a goldmine of ideas. There in peace, I hold conversations
with my inner self amidst the vibrant presence of flora and fauna. The meditative
mental stance flows into a stream of thoughts, correlations and images,
which trigger the birth of several blog posts of mine. Sometimes by chance, the
spectacle of some distinctive characters passing
by, kindle in me the desire to make them the subject matter of my posts.
That day incidentally,
when I looked around, a vivaciously moving foursome of women, across the park railing on the road, in
the midst of noisy chatting, instantly caught my attention. As they came nearer,
it was easy to recognize them as rag pickers. They were carrying on their arms
a large piece of sackcloth knotted on both ends hanging from their shoulders in the
shape of a loose bag. The observant in me got interested. I slowed down and waited.
When they reached within hearing distance, I accosted them and jokingly
asked them to pose for a picture. At first, they were reluctant and a little apprehensive
but later they agreed, when assured that I would be writing about their
condition. The smartest one asked me
whether they should keep aside their bags. When I answered in the negative they
were a bit dismayed, however, obliged happily for the above picture. Behind
their begrimed faces, I noticed young and healthy skin. Two of them had large
almond eyes, good features and lissome bodies. One was older than the other
three and was pregnant. Her bump was visible from the sides, because of the
narrow width of the shirt.
Afterwards they were chatty with me, and informed me that they were rag pickers and live in tents
near the railway station. Then I could piece together so many incidents repeatedly reported in the newspapers. There are other gypsy tribes too scattered here and there in groups engaged in criminal activities
These people live in organized groups. Their
children indulge in begging at light points, market places and outside marriage
halls. They commit petty crimes. At an opportune moment, they lift unattended
luggage in minutes. The menfolk pick pockets and train children into picking
purses and other valuables from car seats at light points when the unwary motorist
is busy on the mobile amidst traffic din. The women continually pester visitors
at prominent religious places for alms. The women allegedly fall prey to anti-social
elements that roam about after dark. The police round them up after intense
public pressure. However, they come out unscathed because of lousy
investigation. After committing thefts or even heinous crimes, they move to
another place and escape detection. They've no address.
The sorry saga continues unabated. The law-abiding
citizens are the ones at the receiving end from these criminal segments of society.
What is the solution? Identifying and teaching them
earning skills, which would slowly wean them away from life of ease and crime.
Implementation of Govt. poverty alleviating schemes (too many on paper exist) and help from social organizations
which have experts on board, can contribute immensely. It is a mammoth task and requires
earnestness and visionary micro planning.
Friends, your views on the subject are welcome.
Friends, your views on the subject are welcome.
