Unsung

Among the various ways that language preserves bits of our past is through turns of phrase that jump centuries and classes. That art has long been supported by the privileged is no secret and without the largesse of the nobility, many a poet, painter and the occasional philosopher would not have had the time to produce what they did. Naturally, much of their art acknowledged the greatness of their patrons often overlooking their sordid realities. Songs composed in their honour therefore were the norm, not anomalies. Carried through in that spirit, 'unsung' continues to be used for overlooked contributors whose efforts were never appreciated in a manner or time period which could have helped them find success or acclaim.

In that league of extraordinary people fall the group of people locally called 'tihadi' in Uttarakhand. Daily wage earners ready to be recruited on a daily basis for whatever odd jobs that a neighbourhood required. Here in the outskirts of Dehradun too, you would see milling around in the dozens near a designated location at 08:00 AM looking for employment in this rapidly urbanizing part of town. In a quest to clean up invasive vegetation from our campus lake, it is this pool of readily available handymen that we drew from to eventually accomplish the herculean task of ridding ourselves of our Central American overstaying guests. The so-called water lettuce or Pistia had gorged itself on the nutrients of our lake and taken up residence covering every patch of water available. Our office softened backs were more than ready to give up after the first few buckets of removal. It was due to and only due to the engagement of these relentless extractors that the tons of green goblins could be dumped out of the water.

11th December 2022, Dehradun

Wintering ducks and itinerant birdwatchers have them to thank for getting their favourite haunt back. They, on the other hand, are back again at the designated location at 08:00 AM hoping that the next day or days will put some money in their hands, some to feed themselves and the remainder to send on to their families back home in Uttar Pradesh or Bihar or Bengal. Problems get fixed, buildings go up and gates get hinged by these very hands but the luxury of choosing to not do anything may never be in their fate.