Do waqt ki ROTI

Sitting in the balcony of my house, turning the pages of a book and sipping hot filtered coffee, I was totally lost in the streets of Varanasi.(the best seller by MT Vasudevan Nair)

Oh.. this drizzling and breeze, am so in love with this weather. These are the days I live for -

 a perfect weather, a cup of coffee, a good book to forget everyday tantrums. 

                  This reminds me of Helen Keller's quote- 

the best and most beautiful things in world cannot be seen or even touched... They must be felt with heart.

A pleasant evening it was, till someone knocked my main door (ahhh yes I do hate guest, sometimes).

 It was my maid...and that too with her toddler, not so tidy, with dribbling nose, exhibiting his gum pads and flaunting his new toy - a mouth mask which he might have got fallen some where, I guess.

"Radha , why did you bring him. Don't you know its not safe for a toddler like him to roam around amid of a deadly pandemic and why is he playing with a mask, u know how infectious it can be."

Saying this I got hold of the mask, threw it, sanitized mine and little ones hand.

Radha stood mum. Wiping the tears from corner of eye.... induldged herself in the daily chorus.

Something was wrong....!! 

Radha, is everything fine with you?.

Breaking the silence she said, her husband lost his job. It's difficult for her to manage things alone. They will be leaving the city by the end of this week..will do something in the village itself.

But how, its lockdown going on. No transport available. How will you go? ( interrogation is my habit now, I guess) 

She said that they will walk . Dying been trying to reach home is better than dying of hunger in an unknown city where they are just considered as objects to ease the work of affluent.

These were her words... .

"Corona kya hi marega didi, hum yuhi mar jayenge agar kuch din aur yaha reh gye toh. Jali hi sai, sukhi hi ku nahin, gao me do waqt ki roti toh naseeb hogi. Apni khushi dhundhe nikle the shehar ki aur... Ab laut jana hi hoga sai bin kiye der aur." 

She was determined and focussed with her goal to reach the village. 

Giving her some money, mouth mask and a bottle of sanitizer, I bid goodbye.

 

Her words collisioned in my head for couple of hours. Then I was back to my daily regime.

Radha was now a story of past like every other migrant workers who walked down to reach their homes amid of lockdown.

Was she right....? Do we actually see them as objects to ease our works?

"Certain things in life are beyond our horizon. But humanity can never be out of our reach. Help the needy if it's in your radius ."