I recently clicked this on my way back to hostel and isn’t it quite a revelation?
As you can see, there is a tailor seated in utter darkness, pedalling on his sewing machine, aided by a little torch. That’s his office. Without any roof or modern amenities. Just a tree above him and his craft on fabric. He is listening to something on his phone which makes up for his entertaintment quotient. He has a lot of stitching to do and the only reason he was spotted by me is because of the headlights of the passing vehicles. Otherwise, he remained as incognito as empathy in this city.
While growing up, we used to hear tales of famous people who studied under the street lights. This fellow here must be familiar with such motivational stories too. By all means, he doesn’t have the time to dwell on second-hand inspiration. He is busy earning his honest bread and fuelling his dreams—perhaps he has a dependent family, either nearby or in a village he visits once or twice a year—without getting noticed at all. Almost all cities in our country, pumped by the boom in economy, are run by individuals like him. Irrespective of gender, they are the real ambassadors of hustle.
Say what you may about a city—and I have often expressed my share of angst against the deadly combination of cement and apathy—people dare to seek a better tomorrow here. A city makes things possible; it hits that sweet spot between will and skill. No mere coincidence that our villages are growing thinner every passing year, and the patience of our villagers, thinnest. Why would you want to do with ‘enough’ when you can vie for ‘more’? Especially when you are willing to pay the price with your sweat and sleep?
A few decades down the line, this man would move on in his life, this road may not even exist on G-Maps anymore, and this tree might have fallen too. Nobody will remember how people, despite obscence amount of obstacles, dared to push the boundaries of their fortune.
This is absolutely stunning. Evocative! It brings my focus to the importance of the people. The beauty & the hardship of the day-to-day of life. Thank you for sharing this.
You are my favorite 💙 amazingly narrated