It was 10 in the morning, I was still on bed, scrolling my Twitter News feed for the day with eyes half opened. And I hear my mother shouting from downstairs, she is slightly angry that I woke-up late and delayed Breakfast. Lately, as I turned 25, I have been constantly obsessed with my weight and even started to skip dinner on odd days! I slept late last night, as I could not resist watching a movie,which was 'talk of the internet' the other day. The Movie 'BULBBUL' on Netflix is about an oppressed woman, who turns into a 'witch' and kills evil men. As I looked out of my window,it struck me that, it was just another day in a PANDEMIC world. Nothing seems to bother me on how the world might unfold that day.
As I sip my freshly made hot tea,glancing at a luxury villa pamphlet, I turn the pages of Newspaper to arrive at an editorial titled HUNGRY CHILDREN,as the words hungry children were quietly read inside my head,my mother brings me a plate with hot chapatis, and she also insists I add ghee to the chapatis!
An image above the article shows Seven children around the age of 2-12, three girls and four boys.One of the little girl's in the image is seen wearing a pink torn frock, looks weak with brown hair and dull eyes. she was carrying a two year old child, probably her brother. The article points out the pathetic state of affairs in rural India,as government schools are shut amid COVID fears, Lakhs of poor children are shunt out of free mid day meals (sometimes the only meal) the children are provided with, at Aganwadis. As I was reading this bit of information,a data that I read long back strikes me,it was about a Malnutrition Document,which stated that INDIA in the next 5 years needs to scale up its Anganwadi and allied Infrastructure to 120%, that is multiple times higher than what it currently has in place to lift 250 million children out of acute malnutrition,underweight and wasting! As i wondered about the STATISTICAL FATE of "250 million children" right at that moment,I get an app notification on my phone,it was my weekly health report.
Apparently, I had walked 238 steps on average last week!
Around 4 in the evening,I receive a text message from a boutique, the stylist told me that my silk blouse was stitched and she will get it couriered after an online payment.As I login into my Net banking to pay for the blouse,my mother tells me about a neighboring woman, who requested her house owner to consider a delayed Rent payment that month.It was becoming hard to make ends meet for her family in the midst of lock down, as their regular incomes crumbled and business ruined. The tenant felt so embarrassed about Overdue that, she would avoid stepping out every time she heard her house owner's voice next to their common entrance gate. As I was listening to my mother narrate about the 'humiliation' the lady had subjected unto herself. I, for a minute felt a sense of empathy,and even before I could fully empathize, a message pops up on my phone ,the payment for the blouse was debited, and it struck me that the PRICE OF BLOUSE was not very short of the RENT MONEY which had cost someone their RESPECT!
What is the sense of entitlement, felt in the hearts and minds of those,who ARE NOT reduced to poverty statistics?
And,how the minority of 'us' will NEVER HAVE TO worry about our basic DIGNITY being stripped off!
I'm just wondering If I Am allowed to call, that sense of entitlement, a PRIVILEGE?
What is privilege?
Then Internet says- A privilege is a 'special' right or 'advantage' that only one person or group has.
why is the term PRIVILEGE under used,rarely discussed and highly defensive?
Is PRIVILEGE an invisible shield that many of us employ, to underestimate the mundane sufferings of others?
Does privilege really mean something,you may never wonder out loud,but quietly in private are worried and embarrassed if you will offend yourself,when somebody would point out at your ignorance?
Mahatma GANDHI is recorded to have said- The mission of Humanity is to "wipe every tear from every eye". In an Utopian world of Gandhi wiping tears was to empathize with fellow humans,it was a call to respond to Human suffering.
In today's world, what are TEARS,to any INDIAN who acknowledges PRIVILEGE....?