Chennai: She has gone through a lot, and the harshness that life had to offer has only made her stronger. She spent years as a bonded labourer and lost one son to the irrationality and cruelty of the owner. Life could not have been harsher; her elder son who was around 5 years old, was not spared by the unreasonable owner. He lost two of his fingers while working at the woodcutting unit and it was then that the family ran away from the clutches of bonded labour for good.
A. Kalpana, the grieving yet, perhaps, one of the strongest mothers in the world regrets not being able to save her younger child.
Her father-in-law Mohan had borrowed some money and was working along with his wife at the woodcutting unit owned by Neelakandan. When Mohan fell ill and was unable to work, Neelakandan forced his son Anand (Kalpana's husband) and her to work at his woodcutting unit in Madhuranthagam taluk in Kancheepuram district and pay back the advance taken by Mohan. With liberty of free movement restricted, they had to work relentlessly. “The first week we went home on Sunday and got back the very next morning, but from the next week, this was no longer allowed,” shares Kalpana.
The family would spend the night in the open under tarpaulin sheets and that was how Kalpana's baby fell ill. “Karthikeyan was ill for over a month with fever. We asked the owner for money, but he sternly told us to get back to work and not think about anything else. The baby died one week before his birthday. The owner was not moved even when we gave the tragic news to him, he was indifferent,” shares Kalpana.
That was not the end of all their suffering. “We went to our native village for his last rites. Fearing that we would not return, he took my mother-in-law as ransom.”
One day the second child Anbarasan, who also helped the family with cutting wood and loading them onto the vehicle for delivery, accidentally cut two of his fingers. He was bleeding profusely. “We went running to the owner for financial help so that we could arrange treatment, but were rejected. With whateverlittle money we had, we took him to a local clinic and gave him some indigenous medicine, but he lost two fingers.”
Learning about their plight, a relative contacted an NGO and with the intervention of the RDO, they got out of the place.
Kalpana, rescued in 2013 from bonded labour, today is one of the community leaders of the Released Bonded Labourers Association (RBLA) and has taken part in more than 100 rescue operations. Her child is in class 5 now. She has a message for all the mothers out there. “Raise your children well so that they inspire others.”
Now she sees life as an opportunity to help other bonded labourers, especially the mothers, find a life. She also thinks about the need for basic support that any newly released bonded labour would need. “If I have the resources (monetary) I would like to give them support so that they can start a business. I don't want to see anyone going back to bonded labour.”
The woman who has also been part of three self-help groups has an aspiration that can only be fulfilled by Anbarasan when he grows up. “I wish my son would become an RDO to help people like us and rescue those trapped in dreadful bonded labour.”
