An emaciated little Sachin, 2, trots along with half-clad Priyanka, 3, chattering in Tamil, while 10-year-olds Sanjay and Rahul, are busy sifting iron scraps from heaps of garbage dumped before one of the rows of shops dealing with waste materials in the Jolly Mohalla.

The settlement, dinghy shanties built with tin and bricks, does an economic service few privileged citizens know about-they collect a bulk of the city's throwaway wastes and help generate wealth.

Some 500 people are cramped in the 50 shanties. But most of the smelly rooms that few visitors dare to peep into sport a television that ladles out dreams and news of the rich and the powerful. Few dare to dream of wealth, but many have heard of AR Rahman and his magic film, though very few could recall the name or pronounce it.

Beneath the untold misery of living in sub-human conditions, is perceivable the mirth of the kids and their infectious optimism. "I know Rahman," volunteers Maragatam, an 18-year-old girl who works in a shop dealing with plastic wastes nearby. "Slumdog, isn't?" she blurts out with a tinge of excitement. "I am buying some crackers to burst in the evening because I saw on TV that it is about slum children winning in life," she says in a mixture of Tamil and Kannada. The vivacious, pretty lass is the sole bread-winner for a family of 5. Her father is dead and her mother works oddjobs and spends the money on drinks. Nanny Annayya, washing nearby, tries to correct Maragatam, telling her MGR was the greatest.

One can hardly expect the runaway kids playing football with abandon in the BOSCO playground to know anything about the film Slumdog Millionaire and the Oscar awards. As of Oscar they do not know, but the film they do, courtesy the promo snatches on TV. "Slumdog," says 14-year old Antony who ran away from home a few months ago, unable to bear the "horrible " situation. "Nalla padamayirike, Enak romba istam," (Nice picture, I like it) he says as he keeps running after the ball, not stopping for chitchat. "Yes, I have seen it," adds his friend Karthik, who announces his name even as he grapples with the ball. Where did he see it? "On TV," comes the answer. "I will become a Slumdog," Antony throws a challenge even as he chases the ball to the other end of the ground.

Fr Geo Kalladanthiyil, director of BOSCO, says as he watches the unfortunate kids play, "Many of these children are talented and keep abreast of the major developments by watching TV and reading newspapers. They look frail and may be ill-clothed but they are talented in some way or other." Kumaresan,14, for instance, draws paintings which if placed beside a masterpiece could pass off as a master's creation. 

In a dusty, squeezed alley of Jolly Mohalla is a building that houses slum kids whose parents are either too poor to feed them or unwilling to take care of their kids. There, in a corner, sits Chellamma, 7, who wants to be a doctor, with Sathya, 9, who see in their aunties, Jansi and Sheela, her role model. They use every opportunity to see a film on TV. The kids have nothing to look forward to, but they goad Javeed, 12, to sing. He ran away from his home in Shimoga after suffering a round of belting by his uncle. Without much prompting, he breaks into the popular Jinke Marina, while the kids around break into a dance in spontaneous abandon.

PK Surendran/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication