INDIGENCE:-THE MOST HEINOUS CRIME

I still remember my first day in Calcutta (now Kolkata). The city described as "The city of Joy" by Dominique LaPierre. The city which gave us our first "miss universe" and "the most successful Test Cricket captain ever." A truly cosmopolitan city by any standards. Gorgeously structured and adorned buildings, Trams, Howrah Bridge, Eden Gardens, St.Xavier's and above all hot girls. It was awesome. I was enjoying every bit of it. Then suddenly I came across arguably the biggest ever shock of my life!

I was wandering casually somewhere in Kolkata. The street there was immensely wide with an equally immensely narrow divider which partitioned the left and right sides. On the divider lied a creature who closely resembled a human body and seemed to have taken a bath, eaten some form of food or even lived only a million years ago. The cars were passing fast on both sides of the street and one roll of his body could have provided him with a place in heaven.

To me he looked the ugliest corpse i had ever seen. The only nuance being this corpse was breathing!

I was simply shattered. But as every moderately sensitive, moderately ignorant person does, I, after getting a bit moved, moved on. Then came a woman of around thirtyfive dragging her body through the air which was nothing more than a thin film of skin covering a few even thinner bones. Shockingly she was only a bit more scantily clad than "Mallika Sherawat" (hope we all know who she is!). Again the nuance being she was not being paid for her professed shamelessness.

These are only a couple of examples of those extermely underprivileged people who are not even aware of the name of the city they are in. The city described as the "The City of Joy" by some moron.

Across a country which is desperately boasting of its ever improving economy and international relations and ever proliferating nuclear arms, thousands of such human structures are waiting for their expiry. I dont know whether to call them even mendicants. How can anyone expect them to get aware of govt. policies to eradicate poverty if they are not even sure of two meals ? How can they live with peace and harmony if they are not even able to live? This can only lead to criminalisations and prostitution.

My earlier post said our sufferings are simply the consequences of our previous actions. If this is so, indigence has to be the most heinous crime.