"Hum themlage lao tumlaroni eigi
laidhibi", such a sweet Manipuri song, I said. A perfect way for me to
spend the evening is listening to songs that soothes and calms my boisterous
mind. It's been almost 20 days since I came to Delhi, a choice imposed on me by
my parents. At this point I have to mention that never did my parents force me
to act or do things in their way, it was always me taking the decisions, me
acting like a crybaby-No, I want this, I want that (But I never asked for
anything beyond their reach). This time it was the other way around, where the
element called 'fear' brought in the cacophony into our lives. My parents
feared that my life was taking a circuitous route, they said, " Why don't
you go somewhere else for a few days, someplace where you can find solace,
prepare for a better tomorrow? " I was reluctant at first, and Delhi was
never in the list, but it seemed that my heart repeatedly longed for Delhi.
Delhi? What nonsense! "A place full of raucous youths, disparaging remarks,
foul tongue, and you want to go there to find solace?", said my closest
friend. Think of it again 'doos'(that's how most assamese refer to friends in
an informal tongue). I said, "I already have and I am going there." I
could see the saddened look in his face, trying hard to hide his emotions, and
acting to be happy for me. Leaving all that aside, here I was,in Delhi, dream
city for many, but destruction city for many. Search for a Paying Guest House
was over, "Kamla Nagar it is, near Momo's Point", said my Guardian.
"Okay, let's go and check out", I said. Three days later I shifted to
the new place, met a whole bunch of new guys, people from St. Stephens,
Kirorimal College, Hindu College, Hansraj College, DSE. I mean you name it, and
there is a guy from the college you just named. Quite amiable, soft-spoken,
albeit there were some who couldn't even speak without the 'Delhi Wala
Bhasha'(most of us must be knowing what that means). I thought," Well, you
need to compromise to fit in." Slowly I got the hang of the place and the
surroundings, I fitted in easily. My explorative nature led me to going here
and there, in and around the famous Kamla Nagar (the hub for 'stylish' DU
students), Malkaganj, Faculty of Arts building etc. Wooooaah! That was the
exclamation. What a multicultural scenario! Glitter here, glitter there,
glitter on top of me, glitter below my feet. "Better not get carried away
by this pseudo-coolness", I said to myself. Never in my life had I seen
people so materialistic, always craving for admiration, hungry for the 'Cool'
tag. Kamla Nagar surprised me the most. Although not a very big marketplace, it
has all the big players in the retail market-Levi's, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger,
Converse etc. It also has an umpteen number of food outlets, some whose names I
haven't even heard before, the only familiar names were-KFC, McDonalds, Gelato
Italiano, Subway and Costa Coffee. And everyday I see this area bustling with
college students, always filling up every single outlet out there, sometimes I
wonder," Why don't they join the fashion industry?" "We look so
trendy", I overheard a girl saying it to her boyfriend. I felt like
telling her, "You sure do miss, at the cost of your....". Couldn't
even finish that sentence. I thought, "At what cost, ah, leave it".
Among this glamourous ensemble of people around me, something which caught my
attention at Kamla Nagar-poor children sitting by the footpath with a small
weighing machine and a small can, probably some used up can thrown into the
garbage bin, with a few coins in it. These children were dressed in rags, torn
to such extent that their genitals were highly vulnerable to exposal. People
were indifferent to their cries, all heading off to those outlets, ready to
spend 5000 rupees on some branded pair of boots, ready to spend 500 rupees on a
cup of coffee and few sandwiches, but always refraining from giving a one rupee
coin to those poor children. It was as if a tether was tied to their necks like
cows, restricting the bliss of a free childhood. Over and over again these
thoughts came to me, "What would have happened to me if I were in their
place?” I thought. I surely don't have the courage to withstand such a life, a
life where you have to think everyday about your survival, where you have to
silence your demand to abrogate your hunger. A lot of coins gets saved with me
after buying tokens from Metro Stations, and every time I go out for a stroll
in Kamla Nagar, I freely give these children few coins, I can't promise them a
better life, not even education. But I definitely can help them get at least a
meal for the day. The song ended but it wasn't entirely successful in
sweetening up my mind. "Ah! I should go out", I thought, and quickly
put on my Jacket.
