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SAM CLUB DAY ‘16

What an Empty Stomach can make you do

- Poonam Kumari Saha'2k13

It was the usual Christmas holiday: cold, foggy and en rely suitable for spending the day in bed, cuddled up
under a blanket without the pressure of having to repor o the ins tute early in the morning.

But who knew that in the next few hours, I would find myself standing above the Ganga river on the Munger
Ganga bridge, which is s ll under construc on?Only your crazy batch-mates know how to change your
reluctant mind!

The spectacular view of the river Ganga dyed golden by the sunlight, along with the ripe yellow mustard in the

fields dancing in the wind,mesmerized us. Equally enthralling was the majes c view of the steel structure on
which we were standing. Considering ourselves as the poten al engineers of the future, we found it very
insigh ul to see how engineering was being put into prac ce.

However, I was unaware of what else was there in store for me ahead.
Some construc on site workers in messy steel-colored overalls were busy making a scaffold. One of them was
expressionlessly pain ng a lo y structure by si ng on its edge, with only a flimsy rope ed round his waist for
support. He seemed quite at home in this precarious posi on! Yet another one was making his way down a

rope, kno ng it as he went to create a ladder.

Some workers were si ng in a group a er a hard day's work.I could hear a popular Bhojpuri song playing on
one of their cell-phones while some indulged in light-hearted banter. I was tempted to strike up a conversa on
with them. So, I asked those si ng for a photograph to break their monotony and bring a smile to their faces by
trying to convey that I valued their work. But I abstained from making even the slightest noise while walking

past those working on the edges of these high structures.

I felt a shiver run down my spine when I realized how dangerous these jobs were. What if someone were to fall
from this lo y structure? What if the scaffold collapses? What if the person making the ladder slips? I was
horrified, and my horror intensified further when I spo ed a large beehive on a roof of the structure. I
wondered what would happen if, when provoked, the bees a acked one of the workers in a swarm, causing him

to lose his concentra on and fall down.

These thoughts made my head reel. Till date, I have never been able to wake up 5 minutes early so that I don't
have to skip my breakfast. But, no ma er how harsh the weather is, these workers are constantly working and
taking such risks to earn li le money so that they could feed their poor families.

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