Durgapuja and the festive spirit

 

"Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world




Young Dhaki

You may say that I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one I hope
someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one"





The three kids got new clothes this puja. Their father a daily wage earner was not drinking for a week. He was also working overtime .He had borrowed a friend’s rickshaw who allowed him to ferry passengers when he was not pulling the rickshaw. It was festival time and there were many passengers wanting to hire rickshaws to transport them around. Ladies were shopping and they needed rickshaws to move around with their heavy loads. The wife also got a new dress .She was overjoyed. Only last week he had thrashed her under the spell of liquor. She had wished him death and dreamed of running away. But now everything was forgotten and forgiven. The man and his wife were happy as two doves. The man had spent all his money on clothes. There was nothing left and tomorrow would be a new day for him.


The man had earned Rupees One hundred and fifty that day when the child was injured while playing. Medicines and the doctor’s fees at the local low-cost clinic cost him eighty rupees. He cursed the doctor and the clinic. His father arrived from the village to spend a few days with them. The man and his wife were worried to death .They did not have money to feed an extra mouth. They cursed him for coming to the city and called him shameless old fool .The father left after a couple of days faced with constant neglect.

The rickshaw pullers were living under constant threat of losing their only means of survival. The new government was planning to ban all illegal rickshaws from plying which meant hundreds of lives would be affected. They had stopped buying vegetables for ages because of the high price .Now they wondered how they would buy rice, potatoes and occasional luxuries like fish, eggs or meat. How would they pay rent for the shanties they occupied? The man asked his wife to find more work in the apartment blocks she went everyday to work as a maid. The wife did not tell him that she had already found more work. She hid a portion of the earning with a sympathetic employer and used it as and when required. This puja she had earned quite a lot. Her employers were generous. She would try to keep some money this time. The festival season could be treacherous .Hordes of relatives could descend any day from the villages to take part in the glitzy show around the city .The man and his wife lived in constant terror and anxiety. The wife more so because the man could get drunk and drown his worries .There was no escape for her.

The elderly woman’s new employer had been generous. This year she could buy gifts for her grandchildren. She thanked her employer “Because of you I was able to celebrate” Her employer said “It was God’s gift. Human beings can neither give nor take anything. God wills so things happen” By God her employer meant “Fate,Destiny,Chance” .Her sons were daily wage earners .One son pulled a rickshaw .This was the only occupation available for an illiterate ,unskilled man. She was worried .The new government’s policy to ban illegal rickshaws would affect their family of six. She and her husband stayed with this son. Her husband was old and could not find work. She trudged to the city everyday .She was a casual worker of this agency which supplied workforce to city homes. She looked forward to these festivals when she could earn extra money through tips and bonuses.