Deep into the pit
Surrounding dark sewage and dirt
With nauseated stench
And
Whole body drench
With human urination
And defecation
Manual scavengers clean
Risking lives
Leaving family bonds
Sitting in cozy toilets
And air-conditioned rooms
Pass our wastage
Into long winding drainage
We talk of technology
Development and ecology
But
With their bare hands, legs and misery
And no help of machinery
Work hard for their living
Dreaming of their families blossoming
We lack sympathy and sensitivity
For the protectors of humanity
(In memory of safai karmacharis who lost their lives in cleaning septic tanks)
Sheshu Babu is a writer from anywhere and everywhere
