A WALK ON THE OTHER SIDE

When we talk of India shining
We usually think of the big things
The bright shiny cars
The glass and chrome high rise buildings.
We look at the other India
And what we see is darkness.
But that’s not really true.
Today I took a walk on the other side.
To the homes of the poor.
The dispossessed.
The Dalits.
No doubt, things weren’t sanitary.
Or pretty.
Or even hygienic.
But what I saw wasn’t squalor.
It was aspiration.
It was not resignation.
It was there in their eyes.
The will to live with dignity.
As much as possible.
Even if it means to make do with a school under a tree.
Or to subsist on potatoes.
Even if it means shrinking livelihoods.
The machine is replacing unskilled labour.
The machines are replacing semi-skilled labour.
That will mean more men out of work.
More illicit liquor.
Maybe even more discontent.
We need to find answers.
Fast.