November 14th is the birth anniversary of our first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and it is celebrated as Children 's Day in our country.But because hardly anything is being done to alleviate the pathetic condition of millions of poor impoverished children, its become a farce - just an excuse to immortalize the undoubtedly great Nehru, architect of modern India.
Our children are victims of poverty, illiteracy, disease, abuse, child labour and human trafficking. The good work being done by social and Christian organizations is just a drop in the ocean.
I read in today 's newspaper that in Orissa , the state in which violence against Christians precipitated to unfathomable heights, more than 100 schools run by Christians lie in ruins. A group of Orissa children went to New Delhi to rally against it and to show their support for their ransacked schools. They say the Orissa police tried to stop them because they did not want these young children to tell their horror stories to the outside world.
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Children 's Day 2008
I am posting two videos of a street child in Bombay.
The second video was filmed after a gap of 3 years.
Ravi is a peacock fan vendor out on the streets. He has
never been to school. He has learnt several languages
on the pavement which is his classroom.
In his broken English (2nd video) he talks about
the Hanging Gardens of Bombay which are laid out on top
of a large water tank and the Parsee graveyard
or Tower of Silence.
Posted by Amrita at Saturday, November 15, 2008
Labels: Festivals of India/ Video
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 Fertilize my soul:
That was so interesting, Amrita. I didn't understand the first video, but the second was quite heart warming, although I was quite confused about the hanging garden story. Quite an intelligent young man, isn't he?
Thank you for sharing this. I remember reading City of Joy a long time ago and I sobbed and sobbed as I read about how the children were in bondage. At that time, I was involved with International students and knew an Indian student from a high caste and quite wealthy. When I told her about the book, she read it too and was quite surprised. Said she had no idea. Weird, huh?
God will hold those who hurt these precious children accountable.
so humbling.
where are you in realtion to most of the violence amrita?
Bless you for sharing your situation there with us.
hugs~
Very strange that this girl did not have a clue about what is happening in India, Sita. Sometimes people don 't want to be involved in change or raising a voice injustice.
In the first video Ravi is trying to sell his wares in differnt languages - French, German, Spanish,Russian, Arabic, Persian (Irani, he calls it)
The Hanging Gardens are situated atop a huge water tank.They put dirt over the tank and planted a lovely garden on it.
Hi Robin,We are quite far from the violence ridden state but the enenmies of the Cross are everywhere.
This young man has had such a life. My children had they not been adopted would have most likely been trafficked. I wanted to take all the babies in the orphanages home. I could only do two. I do have a lot of prayer children.
Small organizations are a drop in the big ocean, but in that drop, to the children they reach, they are saving their lives so to them it is everything....
BTW: Congrats on India making it to the moon! :)
Oh my word, I can only speak wnough Frnech to get by!!!
xo thinking about you....
Dear Amrita,
Just a beautiful post, despite the fact that children do go hungry in many parts of India and of course have no access to Education. And the shame that 100 schools run by Christian Missioneries have benn gutted in violence in the state of Orissa. Really there is no place to hide our face when we think that the Government is blind to the needs of the poor children, and then blind to those who are not, that is to say, they are blind to the missioneries who give the children the much needed education. Lip service is all they have to give, even in an election year.
But that bring me to the two video clippings - and i wonder at the street children in Mumbai and their survival instinct and their street smart brains which picks up so much with ever going to school and I see the laugh and smile on Ravi's face, and I know, that he is happy wherever he is and has a community of people around him, whop are all struggling, but yet the shine has not left their eyes nor the smile on their faces. How very wonderful is His work!
Julia
Dear Amrita,
..That we shall work and never get tired.
Your posts are so important enlightening a whole world.
Learning to know you has meant more to my understanding of the everyday life in India than a thousand newspapers or TV-reports.
From Felisol
Post a Comment