The Charioteer is a story taken from a collection of stories (Half a Rupee: Stories) by Gulzar, and offered here as an independent read. It is from part two, which is about poor people, slum dwellers of Mumbai and perhaps of the largest slum known in Asia - although by standard US definitions most who call themselves middle class in Asia would be considered poor. Realities of lives of poor in city slums are comprehensible if one puts oneself in their position, but most of those in position to change their lives and make it better in fact do the opposite due to not doing that - not considering what they would like if living in those circumstances - and so the poor end up living far worse.
Surprise, surprise - a slum on ground with ill constructed huts might be far worse than an apartment block well constructed with small apartments and proper plumbing even if every apartment has a bathroom and toilet for its residents. For starters, in a slum with huts on ground people might have possibilities of sowing a plant or more, and in an apartment one needs to buy equipment and limit the plants to what can grow in pots, so most poor won't and so the place stinks.
The Charioteer is about a man who cleans the little ferries plying from Gateway of India in Mumbai to Elephanta Caves on an island near Mumbai, and his life of back breaking work that is never ending from dawn until the last ferry return. Rich tourists from the famous Taj Mahal hotel close to the Gateway of India are from rich western nations and they arrive early, while there are various tours conducted with packs of tourists from various parts of the world and then home tourists from that take the ferry for a day's outing. The cleaner has to clean up trash thrown by them, and silently does not oppose those that throw it in the ocean in spite of being instructed otherwise. Cleaning up people's vomit that falls unwittingly in the boat rather than over the rails into the sea is difficult enough. But - when he gets home, and takes on the role of the head of the household that has his wife and grown up children and their spouses and his grandchildren, he then is the king of his own world. It is the story of every poor man working hard for a living.
Gulzar to some extent and Sahir Ludhianavi to a far more committed extent were leftists - Sahir was about to be arrested for h in his chosen or default home in the other part of India as it was before independence, and had to escape to India as it is post independence, and yet he said it was lucky for Mumbai to have him, rather than admitting he was lucky he could get away and not be arrested to spend life in jail, rather than the respect and fame and prestige and satisfactory work he had during his life in India. Gulzar in that tradition sympathises with a suicide bomber who plans to blow up a prime minister, and writes a story and publishes it, apart from a film or more he made on the topic.
Wonder if they had courage enough to battle for Malala and her ilk. Easy to target a democracy, especially one that does not penalise you for being in minority politically.
Saturday, March 29, 2014.
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