The moment you started reading this very line you proved that you are not doomed. You may be sad, you might be angry, there might be a thousands of things going wrong with you, but at least you are not wasted yet. This writing here today is all about the forbidden darkness that exists beyond our eyes. It's about the creepiest basement of the world we live in. Yes, I am talking about those hearts, those feelings that never get the chance to see the light of humanity.
let me start with a simple question
"What is the worst thing that ever happened to you?" I really do not know what your answer is, but I am pretty sure when you complete reading this article and get its meaning you will consider yourself to be the luckiest.
The story begins from one of my personal journals from 2014 and with a fresh 'junk' mail in my inbox. I've always been alert while travelling and I have a habit of taking notes of fine details with photographs (if possible) of the places I visit, the people I meet, and sometimes their untold stories, which occasionally a very few of all the people I have made shared with me.
Back in 2014, I went to travel one of the Western states of India- The land of Rajputs. I met with lots and lots of local people and gathered a huge bunch of images and information about their lifestyle and other things. All of those were busy getting old inside my crooked journal pages until today when I let them breathe some fresh air after such a long time.
Today I received an email from an unknown address and, as usual, it was 'junk' marked but when I opened it, I found something very interesting. The mail had a few lines, written in broken English and at times using Hindi terms. It mentioned of a place (that I cannot disclose), a name and a photo attachment. The photograph had a group of kids of slum region-3 boys and a girl, the girl holding a baby and all of them merely aged 8-9 years. I couldn't recognise them until I read the full mail. The boy claimed that once I took this photo of them and emailed that to a local Shopkeeper's email address as per his request and now he wants me to forward a few more of those photos that I took at that time to the same email address. He agreed that he doesn't remember me, it's just my email address that helped him find me(the anonymous photographer to them). Since I clicked the picture and it was unedited, so thankfully it still had all the metadata which stated the year of shot to be '2014'.
I took down my 2014 travel journal from the shelf and found out all about them. The boy was known as Appu. The girl looked like a Nepali and they called her Nepi. The boy in her lap was Appu's brother Chhote and the other one was from Kerala, unnamed.
Thinking about the story? Okay, Pappu was from a decent family of M.P. After his father died, they put his mother on the pyre too. Then someday his uncle promised him to take them on a tour for a mood change. He and his brother were waiting on the floor of an express train and their uncle went to bring some ice cream for them...never to return again. He abandoned them and flagged their heritage as his own. They ended up in the area and their hands learnt the skilled art of pickpocketing. They shared all these with me because I offered them chocolates the first day I met them, and even took their photos, or else they would have to loot me as well, as the agreed.
Nepi was not orphan initially. In her childhood days, she remembered how pleasantly and peacefully the lived. But her father was an alcoholic and her mother ran errands in their locality. Once her mother passed away, all she remembers is that people beating his father into death, for they believed it was him who tortured her to death. One of her mother's friend arranged for an escape opportunity and that's how she ended up in the slum and somehow befriended Appu.
The other boy never revealed his name nor his story. He had some type of reserved attitude. He was more mature among them and probably had an even darker past.
From what they told me, they have no security of life or food, and children like them are accustomed to that type of lifestyle. He told me that for them there is nothing wrong or nothing right. All they need is some food and for that, they can do anything.
At one place of my journal, I found a quotation noted. It was an answer to one of my questions given by Appu himself. I asked, "Don't you want to study and become successful?".... The answer came, "Brother we take birth only to be treated like insects by other people. And somehow we also accustom ourselves to live like insects. It's all about fate."
Appu wanted the rest of the pictures because now he misses his companions. He's all alone and fighting his battles without his friends now. The girl Nepi, was abused and then she just disappeared. His brother Chhote died of malaria a year ago. And the unknown kid got brutally beaten up for some crime and the locals of the region sent him somewhere else...far and far away from them.
I do not know if I could deliver the essence of desolation, but the truth shall never be taken down. I am regretting to say that I couldn't help them in a much greater way and simultaneously it's also true that they neither expect no want any help from others. Their soft hearts bear the unbearable sorrows, they fight the unbeatable foes and they strive through treacherous flaws of life.
What I concluded from all these incidents are somewhat cruel and unreasonable, but yet it's valid. The problem lies with the very basic human nature of 'judging'. We people are just too judgemental and that's the gravest poison for human developments. These kids just have a very bad kickstart into the world of life, but as soon as they grow up, people judge them based of their pasts and they are gently repelled from the so-called 'educated' society. And that's pretty much of their story....judgements....denial....judgements...denial and this vicious cycle just keep repeating at every point of life, For eternity.
Hope you like it
Thank you!
PS: Kids in the references images used are none of the mentioned personalities above.
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(The images and names used here are not related to the real personalities. Any similarity with anyone or anything is purely coincidental)