Courtesy: www.waterislife.com
The slums of India, living under the grim shadows of poverty, illiteracy and unemployment, hide several untold stories; stories of survival, sometimes of passion, sometimes of success, sometimes of ruthless determination, but mostly of wretchedness.
This PSA by www.waterislife.com draws up a nightmare list of social evils both heartbreaking and mind numbing, a protagonist who is both young and mature, and a setting which is both familiar and difficult to imagine.
The story traces the life of a young girl whose mother is a sex worker and whose baby brother dies in an accident. She is forced to marry the man who molests, and possibly rapes, her.
The pithy narration is in the little girl's voice and she begins by telling us in a matter of fact tone that when she was born, she did not cry. Nor did she cry when she found out what her mother did for a living. Not even when she was forced to work as a rag picker did her eyes water. And no, she did not cry when her brother died. In fact, even being married to a monster did not bring tears to her eyes.
It wasn't because she didn't want to, she says. But because she can't.
The message at the end of the PSA, telling us how extreme dehydration can make desperate situations seem worse, will leave you stunned. While the save water campaign is not just important but immensely relevant and essential, one wonders whether it trivialises the other social problems shown in the video. What do you think?
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