Lucky by Chance

As the the temperature in Delhi dips to an all-time low and all we fortunates tuck ourselves in the warmth of our quilts and blankets at home ...there are more than 1,00,000 homeless people who survive these chilly and harsh winters by luck and some goodwill on part of a few kind-hearted...

There are 31 night shelters in Delhi constructed by the government and managed by a couple of NGOs. The average capacity of these shelters is 250 people, which means only 7750 lucky souls can find roofs to sleep under. Nobody knows what happens to the rest...

Many of them die due to the chill ... their deaths go unnoticed as they are unknown or don't exist in the statistical charts of the national capital of India.

Last night, I visited around 5 night shelters across the city, both permanent and temporary.

A lucky soul at one of these night shelters told me: "Jo aaj andar hai kal woh bahar ho sakhta hai...aur parso upar ho sakhta hai..." (Anyone who is inside can be outside tomorrow and possibly a past tense, the day after tomorrow.) Spaces in night shelters are given on a first-cum-first-serve basis.

Bracing the cold too, it appears, has become a survival of the fittest. But is it an even competition?

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