Travelling Circus

A young boy of not more than six years of age walked inside a Churchgate-bound train’s women’s compartment along with his younger companion on a busy weekday at around 3.30 pm. Both of them were dressed in filthy clothes but their faces were painted with elaborate mustaches to attract the attention of the indifferent commuters. They wore round caps with a string attached to top that supported a stone which dangled at their ears.

They rolled their heads every now and then which made the stone rotate around their heads while playing a dholak. When that didn’t succeed in impressing the commuters, the older boy did a cartwheel in the narrow space between the seats. Some of the women cracked a smile at this stunt. He did two to three more cartwheels when he noticed that most commuters were looking at him rather interestedly. His younger friend cheered for him the entire time. The boy moved on to his next act which involved a small iron hoop.

He lay down on his stomach with the hoop around his waist. His friend then managed to squeeze his frail body through the gap between the iron hoop and the boy’s back. A few women gasped while watching the boys with a mix of horror and surprise.

The boy then put forward his plate hoping his act would win a few coins. However, of all the women who were amused by his attempts to earn a few rupees, only two dropped one rupee coins on his plate. The boy quickly pocketed the coins and moved to the next compartment along with his friend.

Sick Hospital

Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Hospital or Sion Hospital has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Recently, 11 of its resident doctors contracted tuberculosis because of squalid living conditions in their hostels. However, the filth is not only restricted to the RMO quarters.

When visitors walk into the main hospital building, the smell of decay and hopelessness greet them. One has to be careful not to tread on any relatives who are sprawled across the corridors either eating or taking a quick nap. The most dreaded floor, however, is the second floor with the paediatric wards.

Shrieking toddlers are seen squatting on the corridors along with their harassed parents who try to pacify their kids in vain. Many of these toddlers vomit, and even worse, defecate on the corridors right out of the neonatal wards. The parents don’t bother cleaning up after their kids ‘work’. If you’re unfortunate enough to step on the human feces or vomit, it is because you weren’t carefully watching every single step you were taking inside Sion Hospital’s paan stained building.