I was with my friends in manali. It was trip of 2-3 days. A whole day with friends seems like a whole year full of joy. We were crossing the long bridge and all of sudden I saw these two kids. A sister with his small brother with a bowl filled with oil in their hand. India is filled with so much diversity of religion and belief. They are representing devotee of ‘Shani Dev’, lord of the planet Saturn. The boy was kind of dumb, but his sister was good in comparison to him. She was instructing him, kind of teaching him and he was following her. It remind me of my childhood days; I was similarly dumb like that boy and it was my sister who took my responsibility for a very long time. She taught me a lot in my life. She hold my hand and made me cross the river, even when I don’t knew how to swim. Maybe that’s why these kids attract me and I click them.
They were begging money for their survival. As it’s the most easy thing in our country. People here are filled with belief and people just help them. But in actual case it’s not what they need. We are responsible for their lame condition. How..? What we do..? We are helping them for survival. Maybe you gonna ask this. Yes that’s how you are responsible for it. In the way to show mercy and help them by giving them money, it’s not the right way. If you are so much keen and interested to help them, then instead of giving them money and which made them lame. Try to do something which will help them to stand on their own feet. That’s what they actually need. There are lot of ways of teaching, including school, you can also share your talent with them. I remember that one kid I saw, when I visited to the temple of lord shiva, baijnath kangra. The kid there was playing a punjabi music instrument ‘tumbi’, he played a lot of tunes and music with it. The sound was so pleasant that I wished to stand and there and listen, and through this, he was earning money for survival. That’s how we can earn through our talent. That’s what we need to do. India has population about 100 crore. And 26 crore people here are poor. And you are expecting job for each one. How’s that even possible. Why to go for a job when you can give job to others. It’s about entrepreneurhip, well today I am not going to talk about it.
As I was clicking them with my phone camera, the girl realized and I don’t know why..? She get afraid of me. She tried to escape quickly. But her brother was similar to me, standing there as it as. This thing pinched me. I just can’t describe what sort of past she went through, so as she get scared because of being clicked by me. I don’t know what she had experienced in her earlier life, and even I can’t imagine it. She was scared of something that I don’t know. Like she was doing crime and I caught her. Like she feel that she was doing something terribly wrong by standing there and begging money for the survival of her family. From last 70 years, each year we are celebrating our independence day. But still we are not free. What freedom means to you. Only not being slave of outsider is not freedom. Feeling safe, for yourself and for your choice and for your voice is called freedom. And till today we are still learning how to respect other’s choice. Still our street are not safe. Still a lot of people dying because they are not wanted by few people. People with power wish to own the world. And here we are instead of protecting each other, still arguing and pulling each other’s leg. I will not say that we are free, not until that girl on bridge feel safe for herself. And at last I want you to ask yourself a question, why?
She was afraid.
Me on:
DARK ANKI 
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