DIWALI
LIGHTS FOR SOME, DARKNESS FOR MOST

Agra October 23 (IANS)

 

Amidst all the dazzle and glitter in the markets reporting unprecedented boom this Diwali, life for the common man continues to be one full of drudgery and deprivations.

 

Rakesh Baghael, working as a salesman, in an electronic goods shop, says "Diwali only brings into sharper focus the inequalities and disparities in our society. In our locality there is no light for past several days as a transformer has conked out, so what shall we do with the Chinese decorative lights."

 

A kilometre from the Taj Mahal, residents of Kachchpura village across the river, are still struggling for a bucket of water, as the Agra Water Works can not maintain the supply. "The Yamuna river is dry already and what flows down is waste and sewer from upstream cities," points out Surendra Singh of the village, fondly called Netaji. In the Free Ganj timber market unskilled labourers wait for the customary puja by the owners after which sweets would be distributed and "some of us will get a box of gift containing some plastic utility item."

These days the malls and the bazars are offering huge discounts on bulk purchases of plastic-ware.

 

"The upwardly-mobile midlle class so-called 'aspirational youth,'  hanging around fast food joints with fancy mobile sets in hands, is lured into belief that the 'achche din' phase  has indeed begun. It takes little time for dreams to shatter forcing many of these youngsters into the world of crime. If you analyse the crime data, you find the average age of petty criminals around 23, 24 years," says activist Anand Rai. 

 

"Believe me, the lure of the filthy lucre is drawing alarming number of young girls into sex rackets and flesh trade in this whole region. The small town girls coming for studies and staying in hostels that have mushroomed all over in colonies along Mathura road, are falling prey to drugs and alcoholic addiction," adds social activist Shravan Kumar Singh.

 

A new permissive society is in the making, as more and more girls venture out for work or studies from the vast rural hinterland of the Taj city that has all the platforms and opportunities for making a fast buck through questionable activities, comments home-maker and NGO activist Padmini Iyer.

 

Holding a Diwali gift packet in his hand, Mahesh Kumar rushes home on his shaky bicycle to share his joy with the waiting family members. "But when I reached home late in the evening I was shocked to see my mother struggling for life, as medicines could not be bought in time for want of money. The government hospital had turned her away two days ago after prescribing a page full of medicines that would have cost half my salary. For us Diwali or Holi, its one long agony to be endured," he said pain clearly reflecting in his voice.

 

A few hundred extra rupees or a box of sweets, can not bring about a change in our life, said frail and ageing Guddi, working as a maid in a house in Vijay Nagar colony. "In fact there is more work for us on festivals. We can not have a holiday as more guests are expected for the festival which ends up as piles of utensils to clean and more time needed to tidy up the house," she said.

 

No matter how much we clean our house and light up the entrance, Goddess Laxmi will not oblige us. "Our income is fixed and there is no scope for windfall profits," said Virendra Kumar, a compounder at a doctor's clinic in the city.

 

The farmers this Diwali are depressed as poor monsoon rain finished all their reserve on extra diesel for pump-sets. "Even with prices of agricultural produce shooting up, the agriculturists are not benefitting due to the poor holding capacity. The middle men are becoming stronger," says Barauli Aheer farmer Bhoop Singh.

 

The small businessmen, the petty traders, the suppliers with limited means, the tiny and cottage unit owners, who form the broad base of the economic system, are all being burdened with additional costs and expenses without the margins of profits going up. "Where's the cushion? The big sharks in various garbs are pushing us out of the reckoning. One day of good sales on a festival cant take care of a whole year's needs," says stationery shop owner Sudheir Gupta.

 

Full page advertisements by builders and coloniers or electronic goods and vehicle manufacturers can not hide the ugly reality of the Indian scene which remains utterly depressing. "For a section of the society the happy days syndrome may have begun, but for the vast majority, Diwali or no Diwali, the monotonous drudgery of existence continues," laments senior hotelier Surendra Sharma.