By Swagatika
While traveling in a rickshaw, on October 3 evening, I asked the rickshaw puller, `don’t you go to watch CWG?’ He replied “I would like to witness the games, but it is not possible… No it is not for me… it is a VIP affair meant for the wealthy people only. My income of a day is Rs. 200. I have seven members in my family. Certain days I can’t earn enough money to feed the whole family…. I don’t have a BPL(Below Poverty Line) Card because I am not from this area… After paying the house rent and fee for Children, there is nothing much left to enjoy any CWG”, he said in a sad tone.
On the next day again I happened to travel in an auto rickshaw I asked the same question to the driver; his immediate answer was: Yes! I really want to watch some items of CWG. But the other members of my family also want to watch the games and enjoy. We are six and the minimum price of a ticket is Rs. 250. If all of us have to go, we will have to shell out a minimum of Rs 1500!. This will leave deep hole in my purse. If I save this money and a little more I can think of buying a small cottage for my family in a few years from now. The CWG is something that we want but we can’t afford”.
Next day I encountered a working woman. She was going to clean the homes of some rich people who were living in nearby apartments. As she was walking fast, I asked her the same questions which I asked rikshaw puller and the driver. With a surprising look she asked me ‘what is this CWG? I don’t know’. She added, ‘I don’t have any time to spend to watch any game’. I tried to explain her the significance of the games. After two-three sentences she cut me abruptly, “ I don’t have time to listen to this kind of useless stuff. If I don’t go immediately and finish the work in time I will loose my job and won’t get any money. That means my children will be starving today and will be crying” She soon disappeared.
While reading about the spectacular show put up by the CWG and its role in enhancing the prestige of India in the comity of nations, one wonders what does it all mean! When would this gap between the rich and the poor be bridged? Considering the fact that most of the athletes are from the poor or lower middle class families, one hopes sports could be a able to bring all together.
While traveling in a rickshaw, on October 3 evening, I asked the rickshaw puller, `don’t you go to watch CWG?’ He replied “I would like to witness the games, but it is not possible… No it is not for me… it is a VIP affair meant for the wealthy people only. My income of a day is Rs. 200. I have seven members in my family. Certain days I can’t earn enough money to feed the whole family…. I don’t have a BPL(Below Poverty Line) Card because I am not from this area… After paying the house rent and fee for Children, there is nothing much left to enjoy any CWG”, he said in a sad tone.
On the next day again I happened to travel in an auto rickshaw I asked the same question to the driver; his immediate answer was: Yes! I really want to watch some items of CWG. But the other members of my family also want to watch the games and enjoy. We are six and the minimum price of a ticket is Rs. 250. If all of us have to go, we will have to shell out a minimum of Rs 1500!. This will leave deep hole in my purse. If I save this money and a little more I can think of buying a small cottage for my family in a few years from now. The CWG is something that we want but we can’t afford”.
Next day I encountered a working woman. She was going to clean the homes of some rich people who were living in nearby apartments. As she was walking fast, I asked her the same questions which I asked rikshaw puller and the driver. With a surprising look she asked me ‘what is this CWG? I don’t know’. She added, ‘I don’t have any time to spend to watch any game’. I tried to explain her the significance of the games. After two-three sentences she cut me abruptly, “ I don’t have time to listen to this kind of useless stuff. If I don’t go immediately and finish the work in time I will loose my job and won’t get any money. That means my children will be starving today and will be crying” She soon disappeared.
While reading about the spectacular show put up by the CWG and its role in enhancing the prestige of India in the comity of nations, one wonders what does it all mean! When would this gap between the rich and the poor be bridged? Considering the fact that most of the athletes are from the poor or lower middle class families, one hopes sports could be a able to bring all together.
No comments:
Post a Comment