Mr & Mrs Porter

I see them every morning at the railway station while I am rushing to work. They have a small family: Mr Porter, his wife, small daughter and their latest baby. They occupy a bench opposite to the platform from where I board the train for work. They seem to have made that bench their permanent home. In fact, they have been living there for such a long time that they could easily use it as an address for any correspondence:
Mr & Mrs Porter
Bench on platform no 6,
Kurla,
Mumbai – 400024.

There is nothing special in them is what makes them all the more special. They lead a poverty stricken life, yet find time to smile.

Mr Porter, as the name suggests, earns his living by carrying fish mongers’ and vegetable vendors’ wares from the station to the market. I am sure an average college student in a day must be spending double of what Mr Porter must be earning in a day. But, still he had a family and was living happily.

People get intimidated by the mere thought of having a family. They feel that they don’t earn enough to support a family despite drawing a monthly salary which could easily surpass Mr Porters five years salary.

The other day, I saw Mrs Porter bathe the infant early in the morning. She washed that tiny infant with a bottle of cold water. No soap or any other form of agent to rid the child of dirt.

The whole incident left me thinking. The hygiene part undoubtedly left me shock stricken. But what was more of an eye opener was that one could have a family in such conditions as well. That family was living life in the minimal resources.