Tag: garbageman

Anas is his name. ‘Anas’ means loving, affectionate, friendly. Look at the size of his collection bag, I call it ‘a cauldron of love‘. It is not his love for cleaning other people’s waste but the love for his family of six who he has to feed. Anyone would be jealous of a warehouse of those proportions. It is only 8 in the morning, for him ‘the day has just begun’ and ours is only the third lane in his ‘ first round’. Anas Mahmood is the garbage collector of our neighbourhood. A permanent smile stays pasted on his face.

Anas has cuts on fingers of his right hand. He says, “people are careless, they leave broken glass and other sharp objects in the bags I empty.” He has a separate place under the cart for ”kabad, gatta, bottles and plastic”, those and “discarded packaging helps me make about 80/100 rupees extra per day.” Since Covid people order a lot of stuff online and as a result I get to collect a lot of discarded packaging.

‘Winter is over’, he says, ‘Bosant is coming and this is the time of the year when I am hit by jukham‘, he sneezes and coughs as I step away. I will be fine by Holi, just a month away.’ A dead beedi is dangling between the two middle fingers of his left hand. Taking it to his lips he lights it. Coughing and laughing in turn he moves in and out of the driveways of the houses where garbage bags are lined up. Aren’t you scared of catching an infection? I ask him. ‘Tell me what else to do?’, he questions. No one pays him for garbage collection – neither the residents nor the developer of Millennium City or the municipal authorities.  

“बीमार हो जाओगे – वही हाथ से कूड़ा उठाते हो वो ही मुँह पे लगते हो – छिः” A woman reprimands him from the first floor balcony of her house. Shaking his head and brushing aside the warning, Anas pushes the cart ahead to the next house. Anas, I recall was also the name of a companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). ‘Anas ibn Malik’ was known for his loyalty and service to the Prophet and is considered a role model for humanity.