Life is not a bed of roses.. but it definitely is a bed of thorns for some

I have known Mumbai since my childhood. I was ten when I first saw the marvelous architecture of Gateway of India, when I first ate bhelpuri at chaupati, when I first witnessed a rain that seemed like it would never stop, when I first saw a city that slept at 2 am and woke up at 4am. What I didn’t see at that time were the slums that existed somewhere among huge tall buildings.

The movie “Slum dog Millionaire” has brought me face to face with some very bitter realities of my own home country. Danny Boyle, the director, has shown the true story of an impoverished teen from aamche Mumbai called Jamal Malik. The illiterate chaiwala is mocked about by the host of the most famous TV show, Kaun Baneyga Crorepati, for making it to the show. When he wins $1Million, they cant believe him and think of him as a cheat. They torture him before the next episode just to find out that his twenty years of life in slums has given him all the answers.

But I perceive the story a little differently. I think it is the story of those millions of Jamal Maliks, who wake up every day not to hurriedly pack up their bag packs, but those who can be seen begging on streets every morning. Some of them don’t have hands, some don’t have feet, and some of them don’t even have eyes. If I had not seen this movie, I would have, perhaps, taken them for victims of road accidents. Since two days ago, I didn’t know that there existed a world where such young, lovable, delicate, innocent living beings are taken hostages by organizations posing as orphanages and turned into beggars. A few even more unfortunate ones, who can sing well, are blinded so that they can get more money. Young girls are sold to pimps and rechristened as cherry, rosy and chameli .

I have seen so many destitute kids in my hometown Chandigarh also. Every time I was approached by any such child, I had hushed him away. I recall an incident when we were coming from a friend’s party and we had joked around a kid telling him “Aunty se mangoo, aaj unke party hai”. In another incident I was almost on the verge of hitting a child hard when I was discussing something with a friend and he said “bhagwaan aap dono ki jode salamat rakhey”. I never strained my nerves to understand that they are not doing this by choice. Rather, they are taught to do this. Lest they don’t do this, they’ll be beaten to death.

As a child, my mom had always asked me to be kind to such people and give them something to eat and to never give them money. I wish I had taken another step ahead and done something extra not only to help such kids but also to help our society at large.