Long Haul

1232 km is a book by Vinod Kapri, a senior journalist, and filmmaker. I’ve reached halfway through the book and felt an urge to write about it. It is also available as a documentary film, which is probably a quicker way at it. 

The book illustrates the journey of seven migrant workers to their homes in Bihar, India. We saw what happened to thousands of migrant workers, laborers, vendors, launderers, and many other daily wage workers during last year’s pandemic-induced lockdown. A straightforward 5 minutes announcement of the lockdown kicked in lifestyle changes for all of us. However, maybe none of us realized how HUGE that change could be for some of us!!

On the one hand, where corona was spreading its arms, news channels and newspapers were flooded with heartbreaking visuals of the conditions of these workers countrywide. No food to eat, no rent to pay, no milk to feed their children; these people were lost and hopeless. Anyone would be! No ears to listen to their problems, no one starting from their direct employers to the administration sitting in top decision-making positions to understand their situation. To top it all, some of our “brave and strong” frontline officers were mistreating and ruthlessly beating them. Are these people really human? Or they have a giant monster head that is invisible to the common man’s eyes!

Anyway, the post would at least make double-digit pages if I start venting out my thoughts on such topics. However, that is not the intention of this post. The blog is a reminder of the sad state of affairs that our countrymen walked through. Forgetting everything is not a solution; remembrance of the bad (even if it happened with others) is also a step towards progress – for it reminds us what NOT to repeat and what NOT to tolerate! This reminder is especially crucial for people like me, who otherwise claim to run an NGO and serve the people but did not step out even once to help these people stranded with no help on roads.

Covering miles on foot or cycling thousands of kilometers with no assurance of water or food in the scorching heat is something we don’t even dare to think of! Yes, we probably became aware of the situation very late; yes, we didn’t know whom and how to help. But all these seem like excuses now. If even a handful of us had come on roads for the rescue of our fellow people, no one would’ve dared to maltreat them. Be it as it may, we can try to be a little more empathetic towards someone in distress from now on.

Anyhow, there were many who came forward and extended help. Some even became a part of their struggle. The book expresses it all, and hence I would not. Instead, I would motivate you to read the book or see the movie and myself to complete the book. Good efforts by Vinod Kapri!

Let’s be a part of each other’s life changes!

Avani Raj Arora