Tuesday 17 June 2014

The poor are not 'poor'.

The friend wrote to someone who asked him what was special about the pickle, " ... they are made by a poor woman who is trying to keep her family afloat with meagre income. If you need some, let me know. Cut mango pickle."

No !


The pickles are special. They are made with much love and care. They are very tasty. And when I tell Varalu and Annapurna that people her appreciate their pickles, they beam down the phone, and the room lights up here 200km away. We buy the pickles because the beams light up our lives. And the pickles jazz up our meals.

And Varalu is not "a poor woman who is trying to keep her family afloat with meagre income". She is a generous soul, who despite being abandoned by husband, and having to bring up three tiny children, has equal concern for every other disadvantaged child in the village. She gives time and love and mentoring to all in need. Yes, she has to earn to bring up these children, and is willing to work hard on anything we can suggest she does. And she's hardly a woman, more a child - maybe 22.

...if we buy what the poor make, we need to remember this. We are doing ourselves a favour, by doing what we ought to do ... that is all. The poor, even if hungry, have much richness.

No comments:

Post a Comment