Friday, January 10, 2014

DOG EAT DOG BUT LIVE



I stopped at a traffic light the other day here in Karachi next to a massive water tanker on the right. On the pavement to my left was a small boy, ragged, dirty but so alert and swift, like quicksilver. The little boy (no more than seven, of the age where we hang on to a child anywhere near a road) had a small jerry can in his hand. He darted through the cars up to the tanker and filled the can from a tap set into the tanker's side. A man in the tanker leant out of the cabin window but did not stop him. The child grinned a cheeky thanks and darted back through the traffic just before the lights turned green once more. He was one of the innumerable urchins that dot the roads near traffic lights. They clean your car windscreen for you with some incredibly dirty soapy water and earn a few paisas for themselves. The whole incident was so illustrative of the symbiotic relationships that thrive in this massive city which is so alive but where nothing would survive if such relationships did not exist.

Long live enterprise and such enterprising children. All they need is a leg up, not someone teaching them to depress their ingenuity.

4 comments:

  1. I would like to know more about Pakistani English Literature as I am doing research on this at English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, India.
    Expecting your response,
    Shibily Nuaman VZ

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Shibily, What sort of information are you looking for? I am not the best person to help you with your question as far as I can tell, but I can perhaps put you in touch with someone who can.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rabia, It is so beautiful to see the young people choosing to work hard rather than beg in such adversity. I share the way you feel...

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your message, Ayesha. Yes, it is impressive just how hard working and enterprising these kids are, in spite of the odds stacked up against them.

      Delete

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