It was November, I clearly remember, cool wind and dry lips…
the sun had just risen above the horizon. Saw a child begging at the station. I
was eating a ‘vada pav’ and his hand grazed my jeans but I refused to look his
way as my teeth sunk into the bread as I took another bite. Walking further
ahead I thought about it. I should have given that piece of food to the boy. A
young soul, born in poverty, no one to blame but his birth-givers, his eyes all
red, wearing nothing but a cloak of dirt on his body to keep him warm. By the
time I finished thinking about it, my little snack was on its way to digestion.
I really wasn't in the mood of going, getting another ‘vada pav’ for the kid,
it wasn't worth my time. I had to get to college and I was already running late.
By the time I boarded the train I was like, “fuck that kid, fuck poverty and
fuck everything!”
Although I didn't think about it instantly, a little later on in the day the thought crossed my mind again. That kid was there because his parents couldn't provide him with the basic necessities of life. His lifeless body lying there as his flesh tightly hung on to his bones, I doubt if there was any flesh in the first place. We as people who are blessed with sufficient never bother to look around us and see the people who are struggling with life within an inch of their breaths. We choose to ignore them and abuse them. We buy cigarettes, classy lighters, fancy ashtrays, coffee mugs with little cartoons on it that end up as show pieces, a bottle of scotch that will find its way out of the cabinet years later and some other shit that we don’t even need, while those guys on the streets struggle for a piece of bread and clean water. We’re obsessed about new phones and new games while our brethren on the streets struggle for their lives. Even if we were to take our heads out for a moment from our self-indulgent lives and just look around, we’d see that maybe these kids dying on the pavements need more than money. Someone once said, “If you are born poor, it’s not your fault. If you die poor, it’s your fault”. To which I had to say, in order to rise from poverty, you need education, a good ground game, something that will back you up. If they are considered as weak, it’s not their fault because they weren't taught how to be strong.
I've been reading posts on Facebook which constantly tells its readers that there is enough of food in the world but not enough of money to go around. Why does money have to be so important? It makes me believe that money is the root of everything that man considers evil. We can’t even blame the government because it consists of people just like us - a bunch of selfish, self-obsessed morons who’d rather exchange gifts among themselves during Christmas and call it the “season of giving” than actually go out there and “give” to people who really need it.
Remember: When you are out there buying a bed for your new house, there are a bunch of people sleeping on the footpaths. While you are out there shopping for clothes, someone is picking out rags from a dustbin. When you are buying your perfumes, EDTs and other products, the only make up a beggar has is the dirt on his/her face. Wake up! No more silent prayers! Let’s really make a difference.
PS: For those moronic fuck-wits who are definitely gonna ask me what have I done to help the poor... remember... I'm the guy who wrote this - one guy cannot change the world. We need to do it together in our own way! Peace!
Although I didn't think about it instantly, a little later on in the day the thought crossed my mind again. That kid was there because his parents couldn't provide him with the basic necessities of life. His lifeless body lying there as his flesh tightly hung on to his bones, I doubt if there was any flesh in the first place. We as people who are blessed with sufficient never bother to look around us and see the people who are struggling with life within an inch of their breaths. We choose to ignore them and abuse them. We buy cigarettes, classy lighters, fancy ashtrays, coffee mugs with little cartoons on it that end up as show pieces, a bottle of scotch that will find its way out of the cabinet years later and some other shit that we don’t even need, while those guys on the streets struggle for a piece of bread and clean water. We’re obsessed about new phones and new games while our brethren on the streets struggle for their lives. Even if we were to take our heads out for a moment from our self-indulgent lives and just look around, we’d see that maybe these kids dying on the pavements need more than money. Someone once said, “If you are born poor, it’s not your fault. If you die poor, it’s your fault”. To which I had to say, in order to rise from poverty, you need education, a good ground game, something that will back you up. If they are considered as weak, it’s not their fault because they weren't taught how to be strong.
I've been reading posts on Facebook which constantly tells its readers that there is enough of food in the world but not enough of money to go around. Why does money have to be so important? It makes me believe that money is the root of everything that man considers evil. We can’t even blame the government because it consists of people just like us - a bunch of selfish, self-obsessed morons who’d rather exchange gifts among themselves during Christmas and call it the “season of giving” than actually go out there and “give” to people who really need it.
Remember: When you are out there buying a bed for your new house, there are a bunch of people sleeping on the footpaths. While you are out there shopping for clothes, someone is picking out rags from a dustbin. When you are buying your perfumes, EDTs and other products, the only make up a beggar has is the dirt on his/her face. Wake up! No more silent prayers! Let’s really make a difference.
PS: For those moronic fuck-wits who are definitely gonna ask me what have I done to help the poor... remember... I'm the guy who wrote this - one guy cannot change the world. We need to do it together in our own way! Peace!
