Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Technicolour on the Streets


Little waves of excitement rippled through the crowd gathered on the footpath of the 125-year Ali Building, Shahid Bhagat Singh road. A man with a golden tooth and a glowing smile walked around really slowly, surveying with satisfaction the crowd gathered in front of the 21-inch TV set. Raju Rajendra Prasad is glad that street kids and others of no-fixed address could share many joys and sorrows all thanks to the Television.


A rag picker by profession, born to a Tamilian mother and a Kannada father, Raju Rajendra Prasad fondly known as “Anna”, believes in teaching street children and others through the Television. A 35 year old, with dark complexion, stands just about less than five feet tall. Raju lives on the same footpath, somewhere next to the TV, and he knows what it is like to be detached from the world outside.


More than 30 years ago, his father settled on the footpaths of Colaba, bringing with him a small boy- Raju. This is when they met Mr. Desai who taught him learning through games and stories and made Raju what he is today. Mr. Devendra Desai, the proprietor of the 101-year old R Desai and Company, is called “Seth” by Raju with the utmost love, admiration and respect. It was Seth who helped him buy his first TV.


Raju speaks of the days when he would watch the effect of alcohol on his own father, the effect of other addictions on others and his hatred for the same; he noticed the lack of activity for pavement dwellers. He talks of his own craving for owning and for doing.


“People would shoo us away when we stood outside their windows or near TV showrooms and looked at their television sets,” Raju said. “I saved money to fulfill the dreams of pavement dwellers like me.” He always dreamed of owning a colour TV. Formerly, the owner of a black-and-white TV, Raju upgraded it with a little help from Seth, “I bought a black and white TV in 1997. Later, in 2001, I bought a colour TV with Rs 10,000 out of my savings,” said Raju.


Mr. Desai lends electricity to Raju from his office, while Raju proudly pays Rs. 210 every month for the cable connection. Mr. Desai even enrolled him into a school where he attended for a month but then left. Raju said that it was not a place for him; he loved the streets and had to take care of his father. He may not know how to read or write, but Seth insisted he must know how to write his name and do simple mathematical calculations. Raju wishes to continue Mr. Desai’s tradition of teaching through games.

His usual day begins with sorting the garbage which he intends to do all his life just like his father. It's a wonder how people find pride and honour in all kind of employment. When you meet Raju, one realises that the kind of job does not matter much, as long as you have a job that pays enough for two square meals, however meagre they may be. He earns up to Rs. 200 for 1-2 hours of work, a simple man who is content with his livelihood and lifestyle. He lives with his father, an alcoholic. He knows of no other family other than his father and doesn’t yearn for any kind of company except his canine friends, whom he spends the rest of the day with.

Raju laughed like a small child when asked about his extra finger and said that people tells him he is very lucky! When he was about 6 years old, he became partially deaf, when his right ear was damaged in an accident, but he never let his disability or position come in his way. He blushes and hesitates when asked about marriage, and said that he was waiting for the right girl to come along.


He never misses the Sunday mass and calls himself a ‘good Christian’ who believes in the saying “Never say Never”. The man has an extraordinary will and spirit! Even his second TV getting stolen did not dampen his spirits and he went on to save for another TV. The cable and electricity wires were chewed at by rats on the streets, but Raju found a solution by borrowing an extension cord and had the TV running within two days.


Raju wants to keep the children away from addictions of Ghutka, Cigarettes, Alcohol, and Gambling etc. He understands that they must earn a living just like he had to when he was very young and so he hopes to educate his little friends, who spend their day washing utensils and other household chores, about life. He wants the taxi drivers, food delivery men etc to spend their after work hours watching news or a movie instead of gambling or sitting at some bar. He believes that not everything on TV is bad or unintelligent.


Pavement dwellers come from as far as Churchgate. He has other visitors too: office workers, taxi drivers, bus driver and now even beat policemen. Raju started off playing his black and white TV in 1997, for anybody interested. The TV set is switched on around 8 pm everyday and the crowd starts to gather by around 9pm. The spectators include children of around 7 years onwards to senior citizens. He does not allow anybody who smokes to watch TV and tells them how harmful it is, especially the children and makes it a point to scold them.


Raju makes sure that everyone finds a suitable place to either sit or stand at the back while watching TV. He insists that the people stand only on the inside of the footpath, which has a railing keeping the people safe from the speeding traffic right outside the Naval Dockyard. He personally invites the passersby to join them, who are amused by the sight of people gathered around a TV on the footpath. He makes a good host and his kindness is beyond comparison to anybody from his profession.


On select days, it’s a dose of Hindi cartoons or Children’s programs, on other days it’s Zee TV or Star Gold when everybody enjoys a 9 pm movie. There is the usual news show in Hindi, where everybody discusses current news especially Mumbai news; there are a few who explain to the others who cannot read the bulletin or are unclear on various issues. Raju is a huge cricket fan and sometimes even shows Day-night cricket matches. Recently, Raju bought a DVD player and now even shows English movies dubbed in Hindi. He learnt how to use the player and DVDs, VCDs that he bought from Colaba. The TV set is finally switched off at around 12:30 -1 am. The crowd disperses very slowly as the next day arrives. Raju believes that one must give your body enough rest so that you are ready for yet another day of hardwork and labour.


The children are always praising their beloved Anna and some even insist on sitting next to him. The taxi drivers and other boys who clean out the garbage are thankful that they save the money that they would have otherwise spent elsewhere; they are grateful for the entertainment and news. Amidst all this, we sometimes see a proud Mr. Desai watching Raju learning, and helping others learn.


There’s more to Raju than just the TV: he has adopted 12 street dogs and spends a lot of money only on biscuits for them. He even pays some doormen to collect leftovers from Hotel Taj Mahal for the dogs. Raju, is a humorous man of small words, love for children and dogs and the curiosity to know more.

It’s inspiring to see a person who lives such a meager existence with such a large heart and conscience. No wonder the community calls him Anna or big brother.

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see”

- Mark Twain.