07 November, 2010

Celebrations

In the words of a ragpicker...
o
Hahaha... I can't stop giggling. Maybe it's the aftereffect of our Diwali celebrations. Maybe.

But, to tell you, we did have a blast. It was just the usually amazing Diwali that we have every year. You rich people tend to think we ragpickers have no life and live in poor conditions. Oh please! Give me a break. We are quite well off when it comes to happiness and celebrations—much more than you guys actually.

Today, I tell you all this because some of you have this guilt that you enjoy life while we starve. 'Awwww', so sweet of you to think like that. But, that's not quite! Atleast not for us ragpickers.

Okay, let me ask you a question. How do you guys celebrate your Diwali? I am guessing some of you dance in parties, some of you eat good food, most of you burst crackers... and the ones who claim to be sensible just decorate homes... right?

And what do we ragpickers do? What if I were to tell you we do all of the above? Haha. Well, you might be doing one, two, or maximum three of the things I listed... but, we do all. I repeat, 'all'.

There are four of us in my group - Gharru, Tuktaki, Bangola, and Surri (that's me). We have been friends since long. We even work together... and when it comes to celebrating Diwali, no one beats us.

This time around, our celebrations spanned, like every year, across two days. The first was the actual Diwali day... and the second was the day that followed. Here's a brief on what all we did:

We Danced: You guys are obnoxious and loud. It is not at all difficult to find a house where there's a party going on.

You know what all happens inside. But I guess you never know what happens outside. Do you? Well, we are making merry outside, dancing to the latest music popping out of your show-offable music systems. This is what happened this time as well. Munni badnaam hui... darling tere liye...

Surprisingly, our tastes in music match big time. Dancing to second-ear music is real fun I say. Keep it up people; we love it.

We Ate: Again! Not at all difficult to find a house where a party is going on. And of course, if there's a party, there's going to be wastage.

You guys waste food like anything. Lol. But, we love that thing of yours. Psst... because we don't let it remain wasted actually. We pick up the food from your bins and consume as a part of our Diwali rituals. It's a real feast I swear. There are just so many options you provide us with.

We really enjoyed the food this time as well. Promise us something... next time onward, you will not feel guilty whenever you waste food. Always remember that it's not really getting wasted. It's getting consumed. 

To continue our celebrations, once the food was done with, we rushed back to our homes concluding the first of the two wonderful days of our celebrations. Sounds fun till here? Am sure, am sure.

We Burst Crackers: Then came the next morning! I'd have to admit we slept less between the two days.

The very next morning, we set off on our tramping activities, picking from roads the crackers you left over. We even caught hold of crackers that did not burst and you never managed to pick again.

To tell you a truth - we so love this cracker-collection part. The anticipation of finding good bombs is just too exciting.

We then went back to our secret place and burst the crackers, dancing to the joys of the great festival simultaneously. And yes, you guys are amazing but I bet if you even knew that.

I think I should point out something really important here. One may tend to think this writeup is like a satire on the activities of rich people. Blah blah blah and how the poor are suffering. Bullshit... you must be kidding me. In reality, this article is to show our gratitude for what you rich people have been doing for us ragpickers. We love you.

We Even Earned: This was our last of the activities of the Diwali celebrations. Once our cracker bursting was done, we set off in the evening, all dressed in our torn uniforms.

It is Diwali time and you guys are supposedly more generous. Maybe you guys think that helping us would bring you good luck. Maybe it gives you some karmic massage. Lol. Keep bringing it on, I say. We got a lot of money from you and your likes during these days.

All we had to do was to appear like we were lying idle while the world was celebrating... and you gave us good money. As they say, 'dil khol ke'. Am sorry, not sure if I should have confessed that.

Nevertheless, that concluded our lovely Diwali celebrations. You agree?

Ah! There is one little thing though. One thing we want to say at this stage. Why do you guys never waste your drinks??? I mean... we never get to drink you know. There's just nothing you leave for us.

On that note... I think you guys always throw up. You should throw out... from next time ;)

----------------------------------------------END-------------------------------------------------------

This post was published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 16; the sixteenth edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. 

The post fetched 5 votes... decent enough... considering that the top 3 bloggers got 7 votes each :)

24 comments:

  1. What a story this is!

    Sharing what fun ragpickers have on Diwali in spite of their impoverished condition, still they enjoyed Diwali in a state so fitting for them.

    Yes, they celebrate too in their own little way.

    This story touches my heart so much! Poignant!It really happens anywhere in the world. Even in my own country.

    All the best!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Damn Touching! How the celebrations differ!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Brilliant idea..and wat a unique way to look at the topic "Celebrations" and develop a story like this. A nice take..all the best MB! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am so proud of you. ( Pat on the back) .
    I always feel that sharing little bundles of joy with the underprivileged is the best thing we can do.

    I hope all those who read this take a lesson from here and do something really worth celebrating than just eat ,drink and be merry by themselves.
    Cheers! Best of luck .

    ReplyDelete
  5. Fresh perspective I would say since we often look at people of the lower strata with a mix of pity and indifference. But the truth is, they need none of that and are much better off than others.

    ReplyDelete
  6. man! I was originally planning to write something like this but kind of ran out of time and made a haphazard story at the 11th hour... but I am glad that you liked this post because I too would have written it in the similar manner!

    ReplyDelete
  7. As always, a riot when it comes to the narrative and yet, with a poignant message embedded within.
    The only bit that piqued my curiosity was the "Munni badnaam hui" reference-hope you didnt relegate it as a domain of the non-elite !

    ReplyDelete
  8. hey, it was really a good one..seemed like the "Aatmakatha " type of essays we write in Hindi...

    Been here for the first time n iit ws wonderful..

    Good luck for BAT..!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. celebrations in little ways but sharing smiles to the best...!!!

    wonderful :)

    All the best :)
    Here is my celebration:
    Ms. Meduri- Celebrations

    ReplyDelete
  10. Touching indeed!!
    Could feel the ache while reading thru!!

    Shows how insensitive we are..when we celebrate Diwali in our elegant ways!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I completely agree that we waste a lot of money, food especially during festivals.. Gud post

    ReplyDelete
  12. I must admit that I really enjoy reading your posts, its so different, a serious message conveyed in a light-hearted tone and smooth narration. Wonder how you get such ideas to deal with any kind of topic. No wonder the rich receives all the blessings to get even richer to waste more for the benefit of the outcast. All the best.

    ReplyDelete
  13. awesome!!
    loved it .

    I have written on same lines but as seen by the rich, you have written from the other end :)
    http://muddassirshah.blogspot.com/2010/11/celebrations.html

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow, a very honest and close to truth post !! A very harsh reality, but very true that every one has their own way of celebration.
    Great piece of writing, All the best for BAT.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Really I believe what you said as ragpicker as they are better than us when it comes to celebrating festivals specially the kids with their innovative ideas ...I love to observe little kids and noticed that the poor kids ,the ragpickers breath their freedom more than the kids who belongs to rich or middle class families bounded by their parent and take away their freedom and replace it with toys,computers,cartoon...... with their overprotective nature .A very thought provoking and well written post enriched with great content.All the best for BAT.

    ReplyDelete
  16. this was different from real "dusht-ka-dristikon"

    ReplyDelete
  17. LOL! thought provoking and well, very perceptive as well. good job!!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Brilliant story!!-Absolutely loved it.A strong message conveyed in such a pleasant yet hard hitting way-it surely is going to leave a mark on the reader's mind.Very well done. All the best :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. @ Amity - Hey! You've been all over both my blogs.. leaving your footmarks :) I am yet to read your post for the round... I will do that well in time.

    Looking forward. Thank you for the visit.

    @ SHruti - Thank you! I still remember that great article you wrote in BAT 14. Good to see you here.

    @ Jam - Thanku JJ. Your bdday is coming up... wht r the plans for 'celebrations'?

    @ Tikuli - Oh! Before I even begin commenting on your comment... I'd like to tell you that you are a great writer and I feel good to see your name here.

    Now, talking about you comment... I am starting to feel you may have misinterpreted my post. Coz I did not do anything but write the post.. Did you by any

    chance think I did something more than that? Sorry, am confused T.

    @ That's Me - Now that's a very different take! No no... me not promoting that. I definitely think they need others... who got more lucky with the womb.

    @ Ashish Sood - Let's shake hands before anything else, Ashish. :)

    @ Brijender - Thank you Brijender. I love doing it... (hoping to pass serious messages through craziest of things)... btw, am yet to read your post. I

    visited thrice but then kept you for the last few... am expecting good stuff from you. Will see you there.

    About Munni Badnaam... No no no. I did not intend that. It's there just to depict something latest.. and a little wacky... no typecasting.

    And by the way, you are using heavy-duty words....noticed that some place else as well (where you commented)... dictionary check karni padti hai aapka

    comment samajhne ke liye :)

    @ Urvashi - Aatmakatha??? Lol. And I have no clue what you are talking about. But I like your presence here even if I dont really understand what you mean.

    Thanks for coming.

    @ Ms. Meduri - Thank you Ms Meduri. I am yet to read yours... good you left the link. Expect me there soon.

    @ Viyoma - Very true Viyoma. We are insensitive most of the year.

    @ Srikanth - Yes. Thank you Srikanth.

    @ Swayambhu - THANK YOU.ATB2U2 :)

    @ Cherry Blossom - Wow! Your words mean so much CB. Really appreciate your thoughts. Am yet to come to your blog... tomorrow you find me there :)

    @ Md. Mudassir - Thank you for your words. I am excited to read the same from the perspective of the rich. WIll definitely visit you.

    @ Dil se - I thank you dil se, Dil Se.


    @ magiceye - presentation... ahem... ok... lol

    @ Pratibha - What you said about our rich kids being overprotected is so so true. I look at little underprivileged kids making the roads their playground...

    I feel like, 'wow'. They learn all their tricks naturally. Good luck for your post Pratibha.

    @ Mag - Yes, it's a little different :)

    @ Saro - Thank you Saro. I appreciate your visit.

    @ Jaspreet - Those are some very lovely words coming from you Jaspreet. Thank you for being here.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hi Kshitij, I am back here to answer your queries in my blog. I appreciate your liking for my post. I feel I can handle poetry a little better than prose and so I tried my hand at it. I personally feel you are a good prose writer and the way you handle your posts, its different and innovative. My apologies for the template of my blog. I have it in mind to change it, just not getting the time to do so. My little daughter selected the name Cherry Blossom for me just because she loves to have cherries, and so it stands. There is no specific reason for the name. Thanks a lot for visiting my blog and for the sincere criticism. Please feel free to do so always because I value your comments.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hey CB. Thank you for answering the queries. You could have answered in your blog itself; I always come back to check the return comments.

    We both got 5 votes each... good job and shake hands.

    I will look forward to your new template :)

    So your daughter is responsible for cherry blossom... hmmmm... nice, I say.

    Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Kshitij
    Congrats to you too for the votes and of course we do shake hands for the same. You can check my template now. Hope you'll like it. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete

Copyright Disclaimer

All the pictures and contents on Dusht-ka-Drishtikone are protected by Copyright Law and should not be reproduced, published or displayed without the explicit prior written permission from the author of the blog, Kshitij Khurana.