In search of Home

"The smell of kash ful lingering in the air, the calm Rupnarayan river lapping at my feet, the serene picturesque dusk on the banks of the Rupnarayan is what awakens the longing in me to go back home...." said Dilip. Sitting with him over a chai on one of those days when the sun sets right behind our campus, he told me at length about his family and the memories he has been carrying over the years.

Dilip Das hails from Midnapore district of West Bengal where the (in)famous Rupnarayan river flows. It is infamous because it not only provides livelihood to thousands of people living in the adjoining villages but also takes away the same livelihoods when it floods the entire district. The monsoons see a terrifying face of this river which engulfs the villages like a huge dragon. Every year, thousands are rendered homeless because of the flash floods caused by this river whom the villagers worship as a deity.

There is another very interesting significance to the village where he hails from. The name of his village is Nandigram - the very village which went down in recent history as the site of the killings of 14 innocent villagers. He has been there and seen that. But, I didnt want to bring up that sad moment. Rather, I focussed on his memories of motherland and his life full of experiences we can never imagine.

Dilip Das works as a security guard at one of the most prestigious universities of India. He left his daughter, son and wife a couple of years ago in search for a job. His need for a job took him to places he had never thought of - sometimes in such remote places which were literally inaccessible by road.  But he had no other option as he needed money to marry off his daughter and pay for his son's education. On a bare minimum pay, he could not even complain as he could not risk leaving his job.

He first got a job in Nagpur where he served as a guard at a hotel. He had to share rooms with 4 other guys who worked as cooks and sweepers. Having had no other option, he continued for one year till he got a job for looking after a medicine shop at night. It was a winter when he was deported to look after a medicine shop in a village which was in the interior of Chandrapur district. The nights were chilling and there was fear of dacoits, he recalls. One day, he had to face the worse when he was made to stand at gun point and the shop was robbed. He knew his job would be taken away but somehow Lady Luck was on his side. After some months, when he did leave the job, he felt that that experience had taught him the value of conviction and commitment to one's goal. He says now that the one thought that lingered in his mind was that if he gave up the job, he would not be able to run his family. So, he faced all the humiliations and decided to stay on.

Listening to his travails in the hope of getting a proper-paying job, I could not but marvel at the spirit he had carried with himself all this time long. When I look at ourselves wanting a job in Mumbai or Delhi or some metropolis, I can't but marvel at people like Dilip who accepts whichever place he has to work in. I realized the reason behind this after some thought...It was because he was living for his family, while we live for ourselves. We are so much self-engrossed that sometimes we forget to look at those people who are a part our existence....