Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Thumbprints

A hundred years ago or maybe just yesterday, somewhere in a typical Indian village - an illiterate man desperate for funds will put his thumbprint on a piece of paper for a few hundred rupees. Sometimes less.

This Thumbprint, a small amount of blue ink and a small smudge on a paper that has strange squiggles will spell his ruin.

He won't know whether he has signed away his ancestral land or pledged lifelong servitude for himself and his family.

Eventually, this displaced farmer/artisan and his family will spend their last rupees for unreserved seats in a train that will pack them and hundreds of others like them into a train compartment. They will have just enough space to sit on their luggage or lean against something or someone and they will nod off and dream that soon they will get high paying jobs in the big city and within no time at all they will be back in the open fields and the haven of the home they have left behind.
On a freezing winter night or on a searingly hot summer afternoon, this family along with hundreds of others will find itself hungry and penniless at the exit gate of the New Delhi Railway station.

They will gaze at the thousands of honking cars zooming past. They will turn their faces away when busses belching smoke and dust rumble past. And if they are lucky, soon, they will find themselves in a Delhi slum.

5 or 6 square feet of space for the entire family, an asbestos roof over their heads, a tap shared with at least 40 other families and only the streets to serve as toilets.

The daily struggle to find work and food will banish all dreams of ever returning home. The children will become rag pickers or beggars on the streets. The father will drive a cycle rickshaw and haggle for every rupee, with women too lazy to walk. If the mother is lucky, and not pregnant, or feeding an infant, she will find work in a middle class household. She will wash dishes or sweep floors for a few hundred rupees every month.

This journey which started because of an innocent thumbprint can end with Thumbprints of a different sort.

Subbu (Subhashish Datta), a young Painter with a vision to end the oppression and poverty which is directly linked to illiteracy has pledged to make 35 paintings with using just his thumb as a brush.

Here they are









These paintings will be converted into high resolution images and posters and available online on ebay and other sites. The proceeds from the sale of these paintings and posters will go towards building a school for children from the slum communities of New Delhi and Gurgaon.

To know more about the school that will benefit from Subbu's effort log on to vidya-india.org

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's an wonderful effort. We should support to complete this mission.

Anonymous said...

Great work. Quite inventive and appealing.

Anonymous said...

Brilliant work. Keep going

Anonymous said...

SIMPLY GREAT.

Anonymous said...

Have known Subbu for long enough and am therefore not suprised but touched with his thoughtfulness.Cheers Subbu :)

Anonymous said...

very good work

Anonymous said...

Incredible...KEEP IT GOING!!

Anonymous said...

ITS GR8 SPECIALLY THE 3RD PICK....MISSION OR NO MISSION TALENT COUNTS.

Anonymous said...

Interesting Stuff. I think that problem could be solved much sooner if there would be a leader to follow. Need more and more big sites and online thing would make it clear that they realy care about the issue,

Anonymous said...

It takes a lot to turn one's thoughts or dreams into efforts.. efforts that become missions... and missions that finally turn into miracles... This is what Subbu and his paintings are all about! I am really proud of all that you are doing! Keep it going!

Anonymous said...

SOCIAL CAUSE,KEEP THE MOMENTUM ON.WE CANT DO YHIS ON REGULAR BASIS BUT WE ARE ALWAYS THERE TO SUPPORT YOU.

Anonymous said...

U GUYS ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO SUPPORT NATION.WE R WID U ,ALWAYS

Anonymous said...

I guess today I realise the true meaning when its said "A picture speaks a thousand words". Each impression here has different feeling, different emotion and a different story to tell. Lets all bring alive these emotions by supporting this. Kudos to Subbu.

Anonymous said...

I guess today I truly understand the meaning when they say 'A picture
speaks a thousand words'. Each impression has a different feeling,
different emotion and a different story to tell. Lets all bring alive
each emotion by supporting this. Kudos to Subbu

Anonymous said...

Its a great feeling when someone is doing such a great stuff without any support, great man, you are simply great.

Anonymous said...

you can always win the race if you are truly believe in it to win. Its not about winning or loosing. Its just participation that matters, thats what you are doing and we are with you..... always.... forever....

Anonymous said...

we need more people like 'subbu' to come in front and do the needful for the people in need. Lets join 'subbu journey' to make India a great country with fully literate people around.