“Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi yet miles away from it metaphorically.’ Explain.
Seemapuri is a place on the outskirts of Delhi where 10,000 ragpickers, who migrated from Bangladesh to Delhi in 1971, live with their families. They live in structures of mud, with roofs of tin and tarpaulin, devoid of sewage, drainage or running water. No one can imagine that such a place exists on the periphery of Delhi, the capital of India. It stands in stark contrast to the metropolitan city of Delhi.
In Delhi, there is luxury and affluence, there are a host of opportunities and dreams. On the contrary, in Seemapuri there is squalor, hopelessness and despair. The inhabitants here live in abject poverty and are illegal occupants. Ironically, the ragpickers have lived here for thirty years without a sanction or an identity. The only thing they do have are the ration cards, which not only enable them to buy grains, but also get their names on the voters’ list. There is no chance for the people of Seemapuri to strive towards the attainment of the opportunities offered by Delhi. Thus, although Seemapuri is located at the periphery of Delhi, in the real sense, Delhi is as far as miles away from it.
OR
Seemapuri, a place on the periphery of Delhi, is metaphorically miles away from it. The people of Seemapuri live a life of misery and are in a perpetual state of poverty. Rag–picking is their means of livelihood. For them, it is something wrapped in wonder. They live so close to Delhi, the most modern city with all the latest amenities, technologies and skyscrapers, but their houses are merely structures of mud with roofs of tin and tarpaulin. People from all over India go to Delhi to find a job or get settled there, but the rag pickers lack even basic opportunities like education. Seemapuri is a place where there is no sewage system and drainage system and running water. All these years, they have lived without an identity and they are still living like that. In spite of having no proper identity and permits, they are surviving. They don’t have ration cards which can put them on the voter’s list and enable them to buy grains. Survival is all that matters to them. This is why they pitch their tents wherever there is food.