The Awakening

The city came to life with a big bang. Street food, junk food, new dresses, pandal hopping and all ‘No No’ culture in our day to day life became the basic objectives of Durga Pujo. The chimerical pandals at every street corner, the dhakis’ playing their ‘Dhaks’, long lighting installations, the rhythmic reverberation of the kanshor-ghonta and the mesmeric dance of the lamps gave a new dimension to the city life where people started thronging in to have a glimpse of the city lights

The smell of Kash Phool, sudden twilights with a ‘Pujo Pujo’ ambience also reached the Basukocha village, remote tribal area of Jharkhand, a dense forest with both sides filled with long and thick trees, a narrow muddy road running in between as if somebody has painted it in red having ‘ Crest and Trough ‘ feature where the villagers are running from pillar to post for a glass of water. Full of poverty, full of water scarcity, 6 months old baby lying on the muddy floor was the atmosphere when Maa Durga came to our city and the baby cried out for a glass of water and the mother knowing very well she has to travel around 3-4 kms for fetching the water which her baby was looking for.

No attire. Old ladies are somehow trying to cover themselves with old and torn sarees. Health reveals the extent of malnutrition and we at Metros are leading a lifestyle where our thought process only hovers around ‘ Materialistic World’.

At home, in the city, another Mother was busy looking for the expensive dress that she had purchased for her daughter and was busy in counting the number of such dresses which she had purchased for her daughter for all these five days. The Mother was thinking about how many such restaurants they would visit during Pandal hopping and what all different varieties of food they would try to satisfy their materialistic souls.

It was around 5 pm. The Sun was ebbing in the horizon, allowing the dusk to enter when the mother went out to fetch water. The birds were returning to their nests and she could hear the chirping and was mesmerized by seeing flock of parrots flying over a tree to complement the greenery when the city was gearing up with dazzling lights, making space to accommodate the crowd.

For the mother, in remote Basukocha village, it was a journey through jungle, bushes and a hide and seek between barren land and dense forest. Complete darkness along with the presence of Saal trees on both sides- her only support was her sole companion.

After travelling 3 kms Mother reached the tubewell and alas, she was shocked to see that it had become non functional. Oh Maa Durga, what have you done? Mother exclaimed! What will my 6-month-old baby drink?

The Mother in the city came out of her home, accompanied by her family members, the discussion centered around ‘ What will be our menu for the day’?

In one corner Mother poured her heart out at Maa Durga for not arranging a glass of water for her only child while, ‘ Maa Durga’ became a symbol for the city Mother for entertaining herself and her family for all the four days.

Mother sat down, cried in despair where to find the water as that was the only functional tube well in the entire vicinity and was cursing herself for having given birth to her son in a society where fellow feelings do not exit, where the society does not have time to think about the under privileged, to think about the pains and mental agonies of their brothers and sister( the feeling which the mother believes ) and the society which is not bothered to cater to the basic need of any human being.

Another Mother in the city is complacent with the infrastructure, with the environment, with the life style, with the materialistic world that she is craving for. She was extremely happy that she could meet her daughter’s demand of Itlaian Food, Thai food, western outfits, electronic gadgets and a good education.

Mother returned to her son, the next morning only to see her son’s silence. The Child was no more. Death was not due to water but due to starvation. The Family was starving.

Family was used to having only one meal per day, rice mixed with water and it continued for days where some days sometimes, it had been supplemented with radish. They are used to drink water by measuring it.

 

Child died and neither Food nor Water reached their place, corroborating the fact that the village is waiting for the next bell to ring, ‘ Death due to Starvation’.

** This is not a story but a fact that the entire tribal villagers are starving, malnutrition is rampant and water is a dream.



The juxtaposition of the two parallel facts of humility has been highlighted in the hopes and desires of the Mothers from two different social strata of society, not from the point of view of preaching but for us to expand our vision and sight. A few helping hands can bring about a change in our endeavor of an earnest social upliftment.