You won’t notice him. He has the face of millions of Indians; his body language is of one who is shy, reticent and self-conscious. He doesn’t talk much either. It is only when he speaks about his work that Bittoo takes on a different persona – self-assuredand confident.And talkative. When I ask him his name, “Only Bittoohe hai,” he says. The 44-year- old plies SDC Foundation’s Plastic and RUCO Express Tata ACE truck, and helps collect plastic from the organisation’s various plastic banks, and cooking oil for the Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO) project.
Belonging to Saharanpur district, he shifted to Dehradun for better job opportunities, but mainly for education for his two daughters; one studies in class nine and the other in ten. He shifted from Saharanpur four years ago, where he helped in the family farmland. Once here, he initially struggled and did several odd jobs such as a lorry driver, manual labour, and painting homes. When SDC Foundation, along with a few other organisations, planted Dehradun’s first Miyawaki forest in Vasant Vihar, it was he who cordoned the area with barbed wire. “It was a demanding task and my palms and hands bled from the two-day job. But I liked the feeling of protecting the young saplings,” he says.
When a position opened up as a driver at the organisation, he jumped at the opportunity, he tells me. “It’s not like I’m earning more than I used to. But this is good work and I am liking it a lot – it gives me satisfaction,” he says. Some people sneer at him, he confides, and taunt him that he makes a living out of picking waste. “But I don’t care. I know I am making a difference, a positive difference. I get to meet good, respectable people who are nice to me, and I learn new things every day.” He hopes his children will be proud of him, although for them it is just a job at the moment.
At work, if he can’t come home for lunch, he has some rajma-chawal or kadhi-chawal from a food cart. “No chowmein or momos for me,” he says. At home, it’s usually his daughters who decide what is cooked.
Almost middle-aged, Bittoo has worked really hard to provide for his family and has seen days of extreme poverty as well. He hopes his daughters will have a better life than him and is betting his entire being on it. Like innumerable other Indians, who live unnoticed, unseen lives. And who hope they are noticed.
An exclusive series of life portraits of the people of Uttarakhand. A commentary on their joys and fears, struggles and resilience in the face of changing times, development and climate change, these tales will showcase those who often go unnoticed.
