Nutrient Poverty And Undernourished Future

It is just the voice of one of the million blooms who is surrounded by excruciating gloom.

 

“When did I last eat? Probably two weeks ago, too weak and my malnourished body reeks. Wait, why do I look so emaciated? What is this feeling that I can’t quite discern that is persistent in my stomach that burns? Is this what they call “Hunger”?

 Everywhere I turn, I see people waiting for their turn to get food. But how come I never get a bun? I am still sitting under the scorching heat of the sun. Day in and day out, same pattern and same layout with not a single coin to take out to buy something to eat. And find my way out to put the hunger at bay or at least trick it to die down and put some nutrition in my flimsy body from the payout.

 I always end up in a bleak corner, can’t even move a muscle to walk around and see how life is outside. I look around and my family is crestfallen, our future stolen, devoid of any hope as if the sky has fallen. Wait! Didn’t it already fall? When I tried to walk and stand tall, I fell on the ground before I could even take a step ahead and bumped into the wall.

 I taste my tears but now they have dried too and my fate has lied too. Days are getting longer, one moment feels like a lifetime to get through.

 My bones are conspicuously begging for nutrition, but this ominous feeling of partition from hunger and food, happiness and gloom, seems to have grown bigger with each moment passing by. How do I bridge this gap? My little brother is in my lap still crying for help, I can't figure out how to cap the open hole through which our pathetic lives are sneaking out.

 God, grant me some strength to evade this melancholic trap.

 Five people to be fed, who are still on the brink of death and this little pot with food somewhere in it hides from us, plus I’m only reiterating what I’ve already said.

 Same verbatim every day. I somehow manage to grab a little bite but as I tried to consume it, the distraught faces of my family consumed me instead.

 How do I share this negligible amount of food? I put some of it in my brother’s mouth but his sobbing still doesn’t cease and I am under siege by these gloomy cavernous thoughts which seep in like a debilitating disease.

 Oh, this cold breeze shook my whole body or whatever is left of it, it is in dire need of medical intervention. But who will come to offer us help? My home is an empty macabre of space on which our hopes dwelt.

 When will it end?

 When will we escape this chronic dent?

 When will I be healthy enough to go out and play along with my friends?

 When will the nourishing help arrive which they said they’ve already sent?

 I have got no clue and no crew to confide in or just openly vent.

 I am still chasing the happy life that went far away from me and my head is still bent,

 How long the length of this inclement weather will hover over us. I wish someone could be courteous enough to at least lend us some money to spend,

 This unending somber feeling has made its home with us and haunts us from past till present.”

 Now, that was just one somber cry of a little kid who is utterly deprived of basic amenities. Malnutrition in India is not a new malady, it has been a blot to the Indian growth and development for countless years.

 Voices always go unheard, solutions are never unearthed. They are buried deep in the ground with millions of dead bodies which succumbed to malnutrition. Infants, toddlers, kids, adults, all of them living below the poverty line are proliferating and the death toll has shot up exponentially.

 Mid-day meals are tainted, corrupt and venal authorities overlook this stark issue that needs to be addressed with immediate effect. The economic inequality has widened drastically and the diet of these underprivileged humans lacks basic nutrition, both in quality and quantity.

 The stunted growth of 46.6 million children in India reflects the inefficacy of systems in place. No country can ever aim to develop in science and technology or achieve economic goals without addressing this vital issue of malnutrition and hunger.    

 The unacceptably high astonishing numbers of the death toll due to hunger and malnutrition highlights the national shame amid the overall growth of the GDP. The ultimate health of our aggregate society and thriving economy rests in the hands of this dynamic generation.

 Our overall growth will be rudderless if the malnutrition is not curbed effectively. Just being penitent over these deaths would amount to absolutely nothing. Stringent actions and informative campaigns must be initiated and established to eliminate this blot from its roots to obviate the gruesome days of horror.

 This cry of help will stoke fear in anyone if they scrutinize the problem and realize how unprivileged people barely sustain themselves to make it through another day.

 Unanimity in support groups, NGOs, Effective Government Schemes has tremendous potential, only if they join hands to alleviate the situation.

 You, Me, everyone should do what is possible for us to help and donate in tandem with suggesting dynamic solutions.

 No adversity is permanent under this firmament if we can all come together and adjust our temperament to grapple with these problems in unison.