(The article uses the words "some" and "many" a lot of times. Its my personal understanding and not supported by any facts.
Being subjective in nature, these two words can be used interchangeably if the reader wishes to do so.)

For Him the Sun Never  Rises.. -- Nandita Chakraborty

I called this post haunting...I can never write such a post.
Like many others, even I have a "shut-down" mechanism (explained later), which I guess Nandita does not have.

icecandy :
well what I meant was that your posts contain all the issues which I have stopped thinking about...that’s why they are haunting to me...
I had to stop thinking because of severe depression issues which I faced in my college years and that’s not very far behind...
You are very brave that you have been able to maintain your sanity amidst thinking about all this, keep writing and I'll start commenting :)

Nandita :
I too am depressed and low at times..
But when I’m going through such a phase, I talk to myself a lot as if I’m with a counsellor..
and I am now trying to use my thoughts at that time in my writing...
Try to do the same-use ur weaknesses to ur advantage...what u r going through is unique to u...
use that in ur writing and let ppl gain an insight into the world and life..and gradually u will come out of ur depression..


Funnily in my case, self-talk does not work. I can't talk to myself at all in a first person talk.
Even third person talk fails miserably in my case. Hmm, lets not go into that for now.
Thankfully, I am depression-free for some time now.


The post of Nandita describes a beggar
"For him the sun never rises, the dew never falls, the day never begins,...birds don't call at dusk, buds don't bloom into flowers....
revolutions do not happen, protest marches do not take place, no bandhs, no dharnas.....
For him there's no anger, no frustration, no outrage or outpouring of dismay....."

but actually questions the onlooker
"I glanced at him only fleetingly ashamed of my curiosity at his nakedness, alarmed at his equanimity and quiet resignation to his lot....
Yet he remains etched in the memory-a sharp line drawn across the mind by that desolate dismal beggar...the scourge of our race...."

I know very well not to go thinking in this direction.
If I start, there might not be any stop. And that might finish me.
Lol..who said thoughts are not dangerous.

So instead of going into this direction, I choose the opposite one.
And that brings me to poverty. So why is poverty still prevalent in this world?
I don't want to go into a country-wise analysis. That’s too boring.
Just that poverty is present everywhere. Everywhere. Even in US.

The problem of poverty is not a problem of poverty at all.
For me, it’s an entirely different problem.
Lets take the participants of poverty and divide them into four known categories.
I don't want to say poor people are lower class. So I thought of a different way.
Suppose maximum money someone can hold is 10. Now I can divide people according to the money they hold.

1-3
This category is the actual poor. But do they want to remain poor?
Some definitely want to stay poor, but some do not.
The ones who want to stay poor find begging an easy source of money.
It’s not right to say that beggars do not work hard.
They do work hard but its actually non-productive work.
In broader terms, it has no use to the economy.

Some want to move out, but still remain poor.
Maybe they don't have enough self-confidence in themselves.
Or maybe they are just looking for a chance.

4-5
This category borders upon poverty.
Some might even have been in the 1-3 category and some might be in danger of slipping into it.
They understand the agony of financial trouble but many have little clue on how to attain better financial security.
They consider themselves lucky enough to have escaped poverty.
Most of them are dependents and loss of income of the breadwinner pushes everyone into the 1-3 category.

6-8
This category has you and me.
People in this category are more self-reliant. They believe more in their work than luck.
Some acknowledge the existence of 1-3 but others do not.
Farther from the poverty line, many develop a “shut-down” mechanism.
They shut-down their brains when such thoughts arise.

I think the fault lies in the education system.
Children are taught to shut down their brains to lots of things.
Inquisitiveness is discouraged. "Excessive" questioning is frowned upon.
So many develop this mechanism to filter out whatever they don't want.
They see poverty but do not register it. So they don't understand it.

Some also feel guilty about their existence and really want to do something to eliminate it.
These people think with their hearts in such cases and even try to persuade others to do something.

But some are actually happy to see poor people.
That’s the comparison for them, they think they are better because they can see people, who are worse.

9-10
The farthest people, the least concerned people.
But these are also the most influential.
These people are busy earning money and contribute the maximum to growth.
They can add jobs and also take away jobs.
They can donate money to fight diseases
.
Or they might just give money to poor people who also want to remain poor.
They might even pay less to 1-3 for the same or even more work than to others.


So except in one category, in all others we find "secret" supporters of poverty.


What about the government? Does it support poverty or not?
Govts are made by parties. Parties have to win elections. Elections are won on promises.
So poverty-removal is the slogan of all. Big spendings are announced in budgets.
But its not really helped much.
Firstly there is a lack of will-power in implementation.
If they remove poverty, the same people will demand new promises.

Secondly there is a lack of understanding.
They are trying to solve problems using archaic ideas.
Here also, I think the education system has to be blamed.
Newer ideas are hardly introduced and children are dumped with so much work there is very less time left to think.
Sciences are promoted. Philosophy is frowned upon.

How many parents don't provide correct answers to their children to "protect the children from harsh realities"?
This situation is so serious that it’s completely laughable.
Do parents realize that the realities seem "harsh" because they themselves were not told the truth when they were young?
So when these people grew up, they found a gap between their own understanding and what's actually around.
No wonder, it seemed a harsh reality. They themselves got shocked when they grew up.
Now in their “love”, they want to delay the shock to their children. Lol, but it will surely be a shock.
If someone breaks the circle, his/her children will find the world normal, not shocking.
That does not mean that parents have to start at an early age, its a process, it takes time.
Ever wondered why the children of (both) working parents seem more mature and smart?
They learn a lot of things themselves and seldom have parents around to do the damage.


Going back to my question, I think poverty is not about poverty.
Its not about money, its not about food.
Its about a lack of clear understanding and strong will-power.
Focussing on wrong problems can never bring right solutions.