•Garbage to them is gold. It has acquired the position of a fine art.
•They work in the morning and disappear at noon. They live in poverty and can’t
afford even shoes or chappals. Other young boys wear shoes. But most of the
ragpickers like Saheb remain shoeless.
LOST SPRING
•Last year more than 10,000 ragpickers have lived there for 30 years. They
come there from Bangladesh in 1971. They have no identity or permits. They
have ration cards that enable them to buy grain.
•His full name is “Saheb-e-Alam”. It means lord of the universe. But he does not
know what it means. He roams in the streets with his friends. They are an army
of barefoot boys.
•Most of these rag pickers live in Seemapuri. It is a place at the edge of Delhi.
There is no sign of any development and progress here. The houses are of
mud. They have roofs of tin and plastics. There is no sewage, drainage or
running water.
•Garbage is wrapped in wonder for children. For elders, it is a means of survival.
BY ANEES JUNG SHORT SUMMARY
•Women move around in tattered saris. Children grow up. They become
partners in survival. Survival in Seemapuri means rag-picking.
•Anees Jung comes across Saheb every morning. He is searching for gold in
garbage dumps. He came from Dhaka. He does not even remember his old
home. He does not go to school. There is no school in his neighbourhood.
PARTI
