Pedalling Progress...

A typical scene in suburban Mumbai, captured by my blogger friend Magiceye. A young girl, possibly,  temporarily the head of a family, taking over the childcare, shopping and household work, lugging kerosene cans to the Ration shop, while her parents, are off to work, possibly at a new construction site.

Rampant construction in Mumbai has resulted in bringing in cheap labour from the rural areas, and entire families have moved. In the meanwhile, in rural areas near Satara, in Maharashtra, and some places in Bihar, young girls who were pressed for time attending rural schools miles away while doing their household duties, are being given free bicycles under some schemes and encouraged to attend school. 

You win some. You lose sum.  And some simply bypass a childhood, wistfully watching, what could have been .....

Life is

about choosing

between a fourth wall

and

a ceiling,

or

a crying baby sibling

and making chapati dough,

while your parents work overtime

at a posh

contsruction project.

Life is about

a childhood

accelerated into puberty,

as she stays home

to cook,

clean,

wash clothes,

queue up for kerosene,

ignore fights,

and look after

her brother,

the star member.

While her girlfriends

in her village

now get free cycles

to attend the school

5 kilometres away,

she trudges by,

school-less,

carrying the young brother

through the potholes of life

so one day,

he too can cycle by

like this,

in style....

Celebrations

In honor of a young friend embarking on a new journey. And another, God's own child, who will skip along with her.......what a way to begin the Divali celebrations !

A young wilful tree
wild in the forest
but respectful
of the elements,
revelling
in the magic
of the seasons,
and playful
with all those
tweeting birds
and
symian swingers,
delicately ,
resolutely,
shrugs off the
monsoon water
lazy on the leaves…….

The call
of the little
shrub,
golden green
in innocence,
brave amidst
unexpected landfalls
and whirling waters
is loud and clear….

It is to be a lifetime
of
learning to grow
in fun,
in the midst of
many colors,
imbibing from the
Earthy Mother;
a toothy grin,
a sudden pout,
eyes full in anger,
and sometimes
yearning
in anticipation
of a pink frock,
tiklees,
dolls, books,
and ocean walks
holding on to a bigger hand,
amidst
the chakmak
of the bright lights .

For the Mother tree,
its a sharing
of the sap
she imbibed from the earth;
reeling
in empathy,
joy,
shining hopes,
indulging, maybe
someone
just as wild and fiery
like her,
then
bowing in gratitude
to the
One That Cares
and celebrating
the best Divali of her life !