being the best

he eagerly stretched out , the newspaper on the table was something he was longing for. a long journey and he was at the airport waiting for his parents to arrive. he smiled slowly thinking of how happy they would be seeing him. all the difficulties finally might be done with, no longer living in poverty and struggle for a decent living.

he glanced at the newspaper and slowly shifted his eyes to the bottom where he was an interesting article. after all it was about his city. chennai. he slwoly read it , his eyes devouring the words. but as he understood the words , creases appeared on his forehead. he felt a familiar frustration and anger arising within him. he realized how these newspapers were living in a world of their own , with opinions for people with access to them. what about people outside that world.

the article was about chennai and it being the most amazing city. people were proud about the traffic, the crowds , the dust , the filter kaapi , pollution etc saying thats what made chennai what it is ? he was amazed ! didnt they realize they feel so since they have their own house where they can escape from all the traffic , their own car so they are not worried about pollution on the streets. what happens to the people who do not have access to it. shouldnt a city be measured against inclusive growth. access to amenities to all its citizens and not just to citzens with means and access to them. he couldnt fathom how people could be so myopic , could be so narrow minded about the judgements they have. what happens to the poor kid who is serving the filter kaapi to the person who is wearing the rolex while the kid without even his shirt on looks on eagerly to drink .. drink education .. drink a decent living.

why didnt the citizens write that chennai needs to see all inclusive growth. we need to see every person in the city with a roof on his heads with a basic standard of living. access to good food , shelter and clean atmosphere. its not only for the privileged or the people privileged enough to get education or people with rich ancestors. what about the public transportation system that was so crowded when he had to go to college that he fell off once. what about the hassles in getting electricity and water connections just because they didnt have enough money to bribe the officials. so people are proud of the malls and expensive restaurents and clubs ? why should one be proud of those things ? does it make sense to the majority of the people ?

why is it that certain parts of the city had clean roads , trees ... while others were dirty , without even a proper road.  didnt every person in the city have the right to clean streets , access to water and electricity .. after all they were paying taxes to according to their means. did it mean in this city if only you had enough money you had your rights ?