Whether you live in Nagpur, or anywhere else, everyday someone knocks on your door asking for something. You would think twice before handing over something to a person you barely know. But here you don't hesitate. In fact you are obliged to do so. That person is asking for your garbage. Yes, that stinking semi solid monster that you can barely smell, so you hold your breath, and hand over your garbage basket to the garbage collector like you are firing a cracker.
A Tough Job
The garbage collector looks at the garbage, then looks at you in disgust. You wonder why it was you who got that look and not the garbage. You go on with your life. Meanwhile, the garbage collector, almost clinically, starts segregating your mess, most of it with bare hands because they don’t have the necessary kit to wear; a common story of a Nagpur based garbage collector.
Seems like for people hiring them, garbage is more valuable than a life.
The waste may contain solid waste such as plastic, glass, paper and even used sanitary pads and condoms. But wait, there is wet waste as well like banana peels, leftover food and food gone bad. The garbage collector must have told you a few times about waste segregation so that it makes their life easier. But looking at the mixed garbage, the look of disgust that you got seems justified.
Angels of Dirt
Looking at garbage, let alone touching it makes one want to puke. But here we have dirt-clad and foul smelling individuals doing it with bare hands. Weren’t angels supposed to be neat and heavenly? Guess we got that wrong. After all, only angels on earth would be kind enough to clean someone else’s mess, get humiliated, take it with a smile and do it all over again. Humans are not capable of that.
As the day ends, your garbage bag is full again. As you can’t wait to hear the melodic tune of “Gaadi wala aaya Ghar se Kachra Nikaal”, the garbage collector hopes for a cleaner future.
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