Slumdog Millionaire, the recent Academy Award winning movie, that brought Indian Cinema in lime lights and made us all proud has often been blamed, that the former is a derogatory term with respect to India. How far is this true? As proud citizens of India, when we saw Slumdog Crorepati- (the Indian version of the Oscar laureate) stretching ourselves on the soft cushions of multiplexes, and as we scoffed at the scenes depicting the naked truth of Indian slums- did we even strain our brains to think that slums account for more then 5% Indian population and 22% population in every city in India is in the slums? Frankly speaking none of us are bothered (Same like the number of readers who wouldn't leave a comment after reading this post) to waste even 2minutes out of our ever so busy life, as long as we are in our comfort zone.
Life in today's fast moving world has become so hectic that everyone is busy with his own problems & his own world. "All is fine till I'm safe" is the new motto. In such a world where each person is leading the molcha of Mera Kaam Zindabad!!, where neighbours seldom know each other in cities, how do we expect people to be bothered about those whom they have never seen? Either we all are too lazy to think beyond ourselves or else we are scared to come out of our shells.
Slums are the poverty index of a nation. It is the bitter truth of co-existence of scantily dressed population on one end and a group of high class socialites clad in Versace, Armani and Christian Dior on the other end. Slums are a result of the great reef between the various economic classes and faulty urban planning. India's biggest slum is the all famous- Dharavi in Mumbai, popular that many better built cities. Slums are the hub for most illicit works ranging from drugs, smuggling, country made weapons, local thugs, prostitution and country's underworld's birthplace. Many rags to riches biographies can be found in such slums, All stories of crime making up millionaires out of rags. Often referred to as the country's shame, have we really wondered why such detestable things are so common in the city's vestigial parts? We are familiar with the proverb- ' Necessity is the mother of invention.' This is true in negative case also. When poverty and hunger knock at the door, people often forget their morals and resort to such acts. Such is the case with the slum inhabitants who now have become so accustomed to their conditions that for them 'all is a part of life.'
Life in slums- life of crime is like a wet sand. It's very difficult for a person who has once entered to get out of it. If we wish to see India as a Slum-free country, we need to extend our helping hands towards this noble cause. Govt. of India should extend their work in this area. In our busy schedules, we should not turn blind to the miseries of others. We should never forget that "Charity begins at home, but it should not end there." Let us all strive forward to extend our helping hands and touch all the ailing souls who need our help. After all that's what is the Human touch sleeping inside us.
Very nicely written. Keep up the good work.
And there are people who have more than 2 mins to think of such issues.
Awesome work.Just wanted to drop a comment and say I am new to your blog and really like what I am reading.Thanks for the share