SLUM’S NEW YEAR CELEBRATION

KALAKHAD SLUM PEOPLE SHARE THEIR FEELING ON NEW YEAR AND THE PROBLEM FACED LAST YEAR.
The whole city was busy in celebrating the New Year by attending the party in pubs, fine hotels and by cooking delicious dishes at home and enjoying with friends. There was a group of people who were celebrating it in a different way. Some of them even didn’t celebrate the New Year. They are the people from the slums.
The people from slums didn’t celebrate not as they don’t want to but as they were trying to come out from the recession and the going price. They are the class of people who were affected more by the recession. When asked from a fruit seller who used to sell guava in his bicycle, S. P. Jadav (55), says, “Our New Year starts in March with the celebration of Gudi Padva. On that day we buy new dress and cook Puran Poli, the traditional food of Maharashtrian.” He doesn’t have any expectation from Primpi-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation on this New Year. When asked that why is it so, he added, “The Corporation haven’t done anything till now for us so it’s foolish to expect something from them in this year. They just remember us during elections.” They are facing problem with the rising price. They just expect that this year the price of necessary items should not touch sky. They get dal, sugar, and oil from the Government shops. But rest they have to manage by themselves. Whereas Arvind Sharma (35), who’s from Uttar Pradesh and owns a tapir here, says, “I celebrated my New Year with my friends. We just cooked few dishes and wished ourselves. What else can we do?” Kopendra (20), a student studying Arts, says, “I celebrated with friends and wish to get job this year.” Another student, Lakhan (22), who studies and at the same time manage to help his brother in his shop, says, “I enjoyed my last year and celebrated a lot with my friends. We all friends were collecting money since October and then contributed and enjoyed.” A housewife, Sangeeta (45), whose husband owns a blacksmith shop, says, “We all friends gathered on eve and cooked food. Then our husband’s drank alcohol and we danced. This how we welcomed New Year.”
2009 was a very bad year for all of us. They all have faced lots of difficulties and they hope that the New Year comes with a relief to them. The recession was the bad part of the year which affected them a lot. They all managed to survive the recession. When being asked about how they survived, Sangeeta says, “Only we know how we managed to do that. We have two families depends upon the shop. Whenever something comes get divided into half. We cut down our food to manage the recession. It was worst as we’ve small kids and they used to be hungry. Government did nothing for us during such a crucial time.” They managed as they were having a habit of saving few pennies from their earnings. S. P. Jadav, says, “We were really tensed during recession. Everyday I used to think that how will I earn to feed my family. The prices of foods were touching the skies and bring them in very small quantity everyday.”
This was the and is conditions from decades. This condition has never been changed and guess will never change. On being asked about what their local cooperator, Anil Jadav, did for them in New Year Eve, they gave me a mixed comment. They have no expectations from the government in New Year. Government does nothing from them. They just remember them during elections and give them bribe. In the country where we have the biggest slum in Asia, the questions which arise are that what government is doing for their upliftment. This is what they ask the government everyday. But I think the local cooperator and municipal corporation are dumb and can’t hear their voices.