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'Agar Dilli mein hota, tho shayad hum mar gaye hote'

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Raghu, a resident of the Mongolpuri slum in New Delhi, clutched two soiled five rupee notes in his callused hand.

"Mastersahib, main garib zaroor hoon, lekin yeh paise aap Gujarat mein bhookampgrast tak pahooncha dijiye (It is true I am poor, but please send this money to the earthquake victims in Gujarat)," he told R K Singh, a teacher with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi school who was collecting money for the earthquake victims.

With moist eyes, Singh embraced Raghu, a rickshaw driver who had answered his appeal for funds for the unfortunate victims in Bhuj and other parts of Gujarat. Singh then left for Gujarat Bhavan at Kautilya Marg to deposit the Rs 4700 he had collected from the Mongolpuri residents -- rickshaw drivers, casual labourers, factory workers, washermen and the like. Following a directive by Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel, Gujarat Bhavan has opened a centre to collect money and other relief material.

"I had issued an appeal," says Singh. "My heart swelled with pride when these poor people, who struggle every day for two square meals, queued up to donate money for the earthquake victims. They could not afford it and yet they stepped forward." He added that his effort to ensure some contribution for the earthquake victims from his locality "pales into insignificance before the sheer large-heartedness displayed by these poor people."

Some gave Rs 11, some Rs 15 and some Rs 25. One rickshaw driver donated six two rupee coins. But all of them gave with with a feeling of grief for those who had either perished or been seriously injured in the catostrophe which, as Defence Minister George Fernandes put it, could well have taken over 100,000 lives.

In South Delhi's Batla House area, Muslim youth vied with their Hindu, Sikh and Christian counterparts to donate blood. "Even ruffians and history-sheeters seems to be moved by the Gujarat earthquake and its devastating aftermath. We have spotted quite a few anti-social elements standing in line to donate blood," said inspector Harish Rana, who in on plainclothes duty at the Holy Family Hospital area.

Gujarat Bhavan staffers Chirag Vyas and Rajesh Sharma said they too were impressed when "some goonda elements" in their area volunteered to donate blood. "Besides, people would walk in and hand over cheques of Rs 50,000. Many have given much lesser amounts. For those who can afford it, it's praiseworthy. But our hearts go out to these poor people who have not hesitated to give whatever they can, even under trying circumstances," say Sharma. So far, the Gujarat Bhavan's efforts have brought in cash and cheque contributions worth Rs 300,000.

In Mayur Vihar, Phase One, the residents of Vardhaman Apartments criss-crossed the colony in a rickshaw equipped with a mircophone and appealed to their neighbours donate as much as possible. While most people responded enthusiastically, it was the gesture of four rickshaw drivers hailing from Begusarai (Bihar) that bowled people over.

"They pooled in Rs 45 to buy a packet of atta," says a wonderstruck Rajesh Jain who is coordinating the collection of relief material and funds in the area. "I think that, while the contributions from my neighbours have been liberal, the act of these four boys will always be etched in my mind."

Illiterate people who cannot read are found either watching television news or listening to hourly radio bulletins for updates on the quake. "Yeh to bada bhayankar bhoochal tha. Agar Dilli mein hota, tho shayad hum mar gaye hote. (This was a terrible earthquake. Had it occurred in Delhi, we would have been probably dead by now)," said Lallan Mian, a paanshop owner, whose eyes did not stir from the tiny television set perched precariously in his kiosk.

The Complete Coverage | List of earthquake sites

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