An inadvertent turn I took while starting off home from office, made me glance at the pavement where two kids were playing. Sort of familiar faces, but more familiar were the other two faces of their slightly elder siblings . Two faces which I ought be able to remember only from memory for I would never be able to see them again. A recent drowning incident took away the lives of those two elder siblings, guess they would be around 8 & 10 years old. Was that an accident ? I don't think so , for an accident is something which we don't expect to happen, but this tragedy has always been a question of "when" ?
That particular spot on pavement, has always been a sore sight for me. A couple resides over there with their children since many a year, sort of becoming their fixed residence. I see these kids nearly everyday, especially the two elder ones. Sometimes I buy them breakfast or something else, sometimes give away some change and many a time shoo them away. Me shooing would not matter much to them as sooner or later they would find someone else to give in to their demands. Their innocent antics are sort of an amusement, which many other of my office mates out for their breaks would vouch for. The visual of the younger of two always pulling up his pants which never seem to stick to his waist, lingers in my mind. But every time I saw these kids, the callousness of their parents in leaving them to the streets gets reflected. Their financial plight would have made them to leave these two kids to the streets but what bewilders me is they managed to have two more kids knowing very well that they would not be able to provide them with even the basics of life. The way these kids were set loose, the tragedy was always a time bomb ticking. On that fateful day the kids along with couple of other friends managed to go until the backwaters of Tankbund which is a couple of Kilometers away, for a swim. Not knowing how to swim they drowned in it. I just wonder, when would have their parents realized them missing ? or did they not even bother until the news reached them.
Whenever I used to pass by the pavement along with my friend, we always had this question, does any one have a moral right of bringing a child into this world knowing the limits of they providing for them. I think, talking of moral right is a far fetched thought but at least basic common sense or for that matter the fear of bearing additional burden. The other aspect of this incident is that the administration was swift in putting up barriers at all access points to water sources in the area ( much appreciated) but what they seem to have missed is that a 8 and a 10 year old kid should not have been at that spot in the first place, they ideally should have been in a school. Do not know if this incident has provoked an action even in that direction.
Who is accountable for the lives lost ? parents ? circumstances ? society which forced the circumstances ? lack of a support system for the under privileged ? Could I have done something better, seeing and knowing the plight of these kids for many a year ?
Another thought troubles me as to what was the purpose of their lives ? they never got a decent chance to live ... were their lives ever meant to be lived ?
The saddest part of the whole thing,in-spite of the incident I see the other two siblings going around freely as was with their elder ones.
