‘Poverty’ in Diversity

I was deeply engrossed in a thriller novel……..was on the verge of finding out how the murder had taken place….when suddenly my concentration was broken by a noise coming from outside…….

I live in a 3 storey apartment. The plot next to my apartment is vacant and is normally used as a garbage disposal bin by the other tenants. Here I would like to add that we do have a facility to dispose the garbage in the common bin on the ground floor!

My interest in the vacant land, however, is mainly because of the tall eucalyptus trees that shelter a family of squirrels and different kinds of birds. It gives me immense pleasure and relaxation to sit by the window and gaze at the trees against the background of the sparkling clear blue sky. It is also fun watching the squirrels scrambling up and down the trees…at times with a prized possession of maybe a fruit and at other times playfully chasing each other. The squirrels, I have noticed, have a special way of communicating with each other. They make a kind of ‘chick-chick’ sound while simultaneously tweaking their tails.

The birds have their own way of communicating. I always thought that crows have a monotonous harsh ‘caw-caw’…..I, however, noticed that the ‘caw-caw’ might be repeated but the pitch, the tone and the frequency are different. Occasionally the melodious ‘coo-coo’ of the cuckoo would punctuate the ‘caw-caw’ of the crows. I simply love my room for the wonderful world that surrounds it.

Oops! I was talking about the noise that diverted me….I guess I got away….

Coming back to the noise…..I thought it was either a stray dog or a mouse – they normally come here to find a bite or two from the piled up garbage. I usually give slices of bread or few biscuits to the dogs. Hence when I thought I heard one, I got the packet of bread and was about to throw a slice out of the window. It was then that I realized that it was not one of my canine friends….in fact it was another human being…..a rag picker! I was shocked and ashamed.

I was shocked to look at the poor guy going through the packets and packets of garbage in order to find something that can be salvaged and exchanged for a little money or for a morsel of food.

I looked out of the window again…….and this time I seemed not to notice the tall green healthy eucalyptus trees against the background of the sparkling clear blue sky. Neither did I notice the scrambling squirrels nor the coo-cooing cuckoo…..instead what I saw was an empty plot strewn with garbage – the things that are worthless to us but which might be invaluable to someone….as it could buy him a piece of bread.
I was ashamed to be a part of the world where such diversity exists……