Post-demonetisation, kindness a luxury too

NAGPUR: Ruksana (34) sits under the sun each day to provide for her four daughters and keep up with a Rs 900 monthly house rent. Seeking alms from devotees at Tajbagh Dargah, her daily earning totals less than Rs 50. She is among several derelicts in the city who have been at the receiving end of notebandi.
Ruksana’s home is not far from the dargah. Her husband, she said, suffered from a mental illness and abandoned the family four years ago.They haven’t seen him since. She tried to find work at eateries nearby, but the owners cheated her when it came to paying wages.
Later, asking kindness from strangers became a daily routine for Ruksana. However, post-demonetization kindness has become an expensive commodity. Before November 8, she was able to collect anywhere between Rs150 to Rs. 200 daily. Now, Ruksana feels she is lucky if she gets enough money for tea. She and others like her are fortunate to get cooked food twice a day during langars.
When asked how she came to know about demonetization she said, “I found out while watching news on the television from outside one of the neighbours’ homes.” She does admit she has no clue what it meant except that Rs500 and Rs1000 are now illegal. But she firmly believes demonetization to be the reason why people are apprehensive of relieving themselves of a few rupees.
She is two months behind on her house rent which led her to borrow Rs1800 from a local moneylender. The meagre charity she gets is not enough to keep up with a tentative daily installment of Rs. 90. “The man who has lent me money comes around every day demanding his instalment and speaks to me a very insolent tone,” said Ruksana.
Medical treatment has always been a luxury for alms seekers and in the current situation even a flu or fever could prove to be fatal. “The doctors also tend to charge for treatment and medications but if a certain medication is unavailable I have to shell out extra to get some from a chemist,” said Ruksana.
Her four daughters who range from ages 7 to 11 are too young to comprehend their mother’s struggle. With education missing from the agenda, the children here spend most of the day roaming around the premises, many-a-times scampering up to people asking for small change, a trait they evidently picked up from their parents.
There were several men and women on the dargah grounds who have chosen to fend for themselves through goodwill of others. A couple of men here claim their mental imbalance forced their families to disown them. They have lost the willingness to work for a living and prefer to scrounge for survival.