Save the girl child

Beti bachao beti parao

On 11 October, the day of Dussehra, I was returning home in the morning with my son Kartikei. At the  red light our auto stopped and a beggar child dressed as Kali Mata approached us for alms. Istuck a conversation with the girl as I was curious to know more about her. I said that if she answered all my questions I would pay her what she earned in a day. She asked me for Rs 100 which I promised to pay her after she answered my questions. I found out that her name was Seema and she did not go to school. Her mother wanted to send her to school as well but she could not go as she had to earn money for the family. She told me that she lived nearby, in a small structure made of rags at the wall of the stadium nearby. She pointed out her home and I saw her mother with a lot of small naked children milling around asking passer-by’s for money. All this was very depressing I thought of the travails of this family and the difficulties they must be going through raising so many kids in the streets.

In the evening that day I went with my son to watch the burning of the effigies in the Ram Lila ground. While walking on the crowded road we saw around 10 to 12 girls walking holding hands. I approached the girls and asked them why they were walking like this. What they told me was weird and sad in a way. They said that they were walking like that so that they would not get lost as it was unsafe for women and they could be killed. They said that they had been advised to hold hands by their mothers as it was a bad world for women. This made me wonder about the safety of girls and how they feel insecure and threatened.  

After Ravan dehan we were coming back from the Ram lila  ground at around 9 pm. I noticed a temporary road side shop opposite market that was selling trinkets. A well man was manning the shop with the help of two young girls who were working enthusiastically. The two girls were the man’s daughters. I stuck a conversation with him and asked him if he ever regretted that he had two daughters not a son? With folded hands he told me that he would always thank God for blessing him with these two gems.

Shilpotsav -2016

U.P Tourism in association with Noida Authority and with the support of Govt Of India (MOT Handloom), Greater Noida Development Authority, Yamuna Expressway Development Authority, Ghaziabad Development Authority and Meerut Development Authority has been organizing Shilpotsav Noida, since 2009 at  Sector 21/A sports Facility Complex, Noida Stadium, Noida. This year it has  started from 18 October and will continue till 28 October. Shri Om Prakash, honourable Tourism Minister, U.P inaugurated the Mela on 18.10.2016 at 6.30 PM.

The aims of Shilpotsav is to to promote artisians from Uttar Pradesh and other Indian states to bring tourism, culture and handicrafts on a common platform and to highlight "Unity in Diversity". There are approximately 400 stalls of  handicrafts and other miscellaneous  items from various parts of India like Rajashan , Gujrat, Uttrakhand , Uttar Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Karnatka. Thailand's participation in the utsav has has  brought an international dimension. Various Food stalls of Rajasthani food, Awadhi cuisine, Gujrathi food, Haryanvi and  traditionl U.P dishes etc  attracts the young crowd living here away from their families and the senior citizens who are willing to eat these varieties at home but are shy of asking their daughters in law. It is like mini India cultural evening- 5.30 to 6.30 PM  the participation  from various schools attracts the parents. While the main cultural program from 7 PM to 10 PM attracts the  people from all age groups. After being in the mela for hours people like to eat at the various food stalls.. The  two  gates one on the Village theme and the other one on the  Lal Quila theme are just about  sufficient to control the crowd turning out in large numbers. In the Fun Zone approximately 10 electronic rides are available for Kids and youngsters. It is a ten days shopping, cuisine, fun and entertainment carnival. Different sects of music like bhajans by Trupti Shakiya and gazals attracts elderly couples to the mela ground, Rock band Delhi Indie Project leads the young crowds to be jovial and to dance.Bhojpuri music brings people from Purvanchal they all want to dance too.  The gazals were reciprocated by the wah wah voices all around, people were appreciating  Ashutosh Shrivastav and Suresh Kushwaha for their performances. This time the Entry ticket is Rs 20/- which disappoints many visitors. But the  Authorities maintained  free entry on the day of inauguration and the real buyers knew about the frees entry on the first day. If the ticket would have been Rs 10 there would have been more visitors. The budget allotted for the festival is Rs 1,25,00, 000. The authority official CEO PK Aggarwal, DCEO Somya shrivastav , PE SC Mishra and tourism department deputy director Amit Shrivastav assured    that the Police and the Noida administration were fully prepared and geared up to deal with the huge crowds expected at the Shilpostav.