Visit to the Zakheera Slums

Last weekend, we made a visit to the Zakheera slums of Delhi. For the first time, K~ experienced poverty and pitiful living conditions of the poor slum dwellers around her which she was unaware of .... blissfully ignorant of an entirely different world that runs parallel to her beautiful and secure life. A world full of scarcity, illness and vulnerability affecting each one dwelling within it, across all ages and genders. By the grace of the Almighty, K~ has never experienced hunger, thirst, untreated illness or malnourishment, mental and physical abuse nor lack of social and academic opportunities.

K~ with her nascent mental understanding could not empathise with this poverty and hunger and I consciously chose not to artificially induce the virtues of humanity in her through any of my sermon tinged words nor forced actions. I simply kept listening, not reacting to her spiteful comments which were aplenty .... " Tch Tch, it is such a horrible stink!" or "What a dirty school! I will never ever study at a place like this. Bacchon ne nahaya tak nahi hai .... aur uss ladki ki nosey beh rahi hai."

After a little while, she refused to walk through the dirty lanes and was bothered with the stench, flies and dust, climbing on to her father's shoulders with a bothered facial expression. I guess, it was a far cry from the air conditioned malls, bedroom, car and school where everything is so comfortable and happy.

Many NGOs exist, both big and small scale, functioning in Delhi working for the up liftment of these areas but only few have been able to make a difference. Those few have indulged in path breaking field work, mobilised the community, exploited the government infrastructure for the benefit of all, ensured fair utilisation of funds rather than hollow lip service, publishing exaggerated Annual Reports and boring Magazines or organize Page 3 celebrity visits in the name of Fund Raising!

K~'s father has been fortunate enough to start his career with one such NGO called Pratham, which has done some serious work making a difference in the lives of thousands of underprivileged children.

Presently, my intention of writing this blog post is not to comment on the working of NGOs nor enlighten the readers about the harsh realities of our nation. I am not even academically qualified or experientially equipped to do so. I would simply like to record K~'s first brush with the poor colonies and recall my early experiences.

There had been enough opportunities for me to witness the budding informal education centres for the slum kids in the past. K~'s father started his career with this NGO, of which he was one of the founding members of the Delhi chapter. I remember visiting the boot polish wallah kids of Nizamuddin Railway Station on my off days and sitting through teacher staff Baalwadi meetings with K~'s dad. Let me confess, I did not do this out of any sense of philanthropy but to be in the company of my newly married husband instead of staying alone at home waiting for him to return only by the evening which would have ended soon enough to make way for another hectic week to begin again! Whatever the reason be, I always found the informal working of NGOs quite interesting and meaningful as a sharp contrast to the stiff and formal corporate workplace of mine. These visits rejuvenated my mind smelling like a whiff of fresh air!

The last decade gone by has transformed each one of us .... for the good and otherwise. Now, K~'s father works as a consultant in the tight corporate clutches .... gone are the carefree NGO days making way for huge responsibilities to be shouldered. If I was to sit back and think, there have been so many reasons for this metamorphosis in him .... an urge to avenge the society which stamped him "Finished" when he was unable to get selected in any of the Engineering Entrance Exams or earn a decent white-collared job for himself, also a yearning for a higher Self-Esteem through a steady career growth and finally relieve me of my hectic work schedule to take care of the new born K~.

The years gone by has affected my status in the family too, from being the chief bread-winner to a low profile member working behind the scenes .... domestic tasks, being with K~ all through her growth stages and helping her father out with his entrepreneurial desires. I do not have any regrets about it because K~ will be our only child and deserves every bit of attention in her formative years. But, it has definitely changed the flavour of my persona from being active to solitary.

Win some and Lose some .... will always be the established ultimate truth, I guess!

This visit to the Zakheera slums transported me ten years back and I wish to re-live those moments of bliss and togetherness with my family. I might sound naive in saying but I would still do - Fifteen years from now, I would like my husband to quit whatever he would be doing then and simply start life afresh .... doing meaningful things .... just the way we had started ten years back .... in some unknown place .... perhaps farming with the help of some locals thereby generating employment for them and teaching their kids .... away from the public glare and professional networking .... instead truly connecting with the hearts of the needy .... without any vested interests.

Fifteen years from now, K~ would be living her own life (perhaps without us) and we would find comfort in helping the tiny underprivileged K~s with their education and basic needs. It might not be anything big scale but if I am able to serve even a handful of the needy, it would give me tremendous satisfaction in the dusk of my life and as they say .....

ALL IS WELL THAT ENDS WELL!