Bollywood Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui Or Factory Worker Vijay Kumar: The Arduous Journey Of Going Back Home
There is no place like home; and if you are sitting at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, just like I am, you are privileged. As 1.3 billion people of India are in lockdown, finally the privileged have found their ways to the kitchens and broom cupboards, but we are all safe in our homes. Those who are suffering the most are the ones who once built roof over our heads. They are left stranded, being forced to walk hundered of kilometeres to go hom...Read More
What is the first thing that you do during the time of crisis? Let's suppose, you had a bad day at work. Won't you wait for the day to get over so you could go back to home? Even when you are on a vacation, after some days you desperately wait to go back home, why?
Because there is no place like home; and if you are sitting at home -- the one that has soap, water and roof -- during the COVID-19 pandemic, just like I am, you are privileged.
AFP
As 1.3 billion people of India are in lockdown. Finally the privileged have found their ways to the kitchens and broom cupboards, but we are all safe in our homes. Those who are suffering the most are the ones who once built roof over our heads. They are left stranded, being forced to walk hundereds of kilometeres to go home.
One of them is Vijay Kumar, a worker employed in footwear factory in Tikri, Gurgaon who originally belongs to Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh.
BCCL/Representational Image
Kumar, who has not been paid since March, started the 600-km journey to his hometown on Saturday evening along with his wife Suman, daughter Arushi (2) and son Sunny (4). At the Delhi border, police stopped them from walking barefoot. He then waited for hours along with his family under a flyover at Ghazipur, hoping that he will get a bus to his home town.
"There was no way but to go back to Sitapur because I was paid nothing since March," he was quoted as saying by PTI.
"I thought I will catch a bus on the UP border. But there is no transport here. I just have around Rs 700 and there is little help from anyone. If nothing is available, I will walk with my family to go to Sitapur," he added.
AFP
For the same reason, Nawazuddin has also headed home. The shooting of movies and TV shows has been stalled since two months, and all actors have been self-quarantining at their home. Nawazuddin, however, has reached back his home town in at Budhana in Muzaffarnagar district, UP.
After taking permission from the authorities and obtaining a travel pass , he along with his family traveled in their private vehicle. He had to undergo medical screenings at about 25 check points along the journey.
After reaching his Budhana, the family is now under two-week mandatory quarantine phase. The actor and his family had tested negative for the virus.
"Because of coronavirus, there's not much work. So, he thought it's festival time and also our sister died four months ago, so, for that, it was necessary for him to come home. He thought he'll bless his younger brothers as well," Nawazuddin Siddiqui's brother Ayazuddin was quoted as saying.
Nawazzudin's sister had passed away some time ago. This year there wouldn't be any celebrations for him and his family during Eid, but still, the family wanted to be at their home during the festival.
Twitter
Just like factory worker Kumar, Nawazzudin also went home because he has no work in Mumbai. While Nawazzudin had his private vehicle to travel back to his hometown, Kumar didn't. Nawazuddin had the money for which he worked hard, Kumar sadly is still finding tough to survive.
It's sad that while we don't want to step out of our homes to risk the infection, the poor and the jobless, lest we forget, are out already. It is tragic that as we demand alcohol, haircuts and salons, while several others are not even sure if they will get their next meal.
BCCL
If this doesn¡¯t make your heart cry, here is a fact. While you were sleeping on May 8, a train cut through 16 migrant workers who fell asleep on the railway tracks as they were tired after walking several kilometers in order to reach their home. On May 16, 24 migrants were killed and more than 30 were injured when the trucks they were travelling in collided at around 3 am in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya district.
BCCL
In another heart-wrenching incident, a 12-year-old girl died after walking over 100 kilometers from Telangana to Chattisgarh's Bijapur. She was just 11 kilometers away from her hometown when she took her last breath.
Are we still talking about Dalgona coffee?
Garima Satija leads the Entertainment vertical of Indiatimes. A storyteller at heart who enjoys the thrill of writing, she is sometimes found daydreaming about living the lives of movie characters. Also, she hates talking about herself in the third person.
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