Risky fall : Guru taken a dive to take out his family out of poverty

By Jyotsna Singh/India

Jabalpur as a city is quite inviting. A small town situated between forest areas and water bodies. Once you step out of the main city this reality becomes more than clear. There are many places to visit, which have still maintained their natural beauty and splendour.

One such place is Bhera Ghat. Situated in the midst of mountains of marble, this waterfall attracts a lot of locals as well as tourists. It is thriving with activities which include making of marble show pieces, display of sindurs of many colours, eating joints and putting mehandi on hands.

One activity which stands out is of Guru. He is a resident of a nearby village and comes from an extremely poor family. He could not participate in any of the above mentioned activities as there was no money for initial investment. So, he took on to a rather unusual, and risky affair. He jumps from a height of many meters into the waterfall and make a living out of it.

He charges Rs 20 for each fall of his and this activity goes on, no matter what the weather is and what is the amount of water in the stream. It requires a lot of risk taking as there are stones at the bottom and there is a possibility of hitting them every time he jumps. “I did not have a choice. I have been doing this for over five years and still feel scared at times. My family is supported a great deal by these jumps of mine,” says Guru who is a thin young man with sleek body. There is no doubt that the his jump is a great sight as he looks like a huge bird taking a perfect dive out of natural fun. But we know that it is no fun for him. He says there are times when he is not feeling well and so many dives a day can ruin his health further. But he still goes on.

It started as a simple swimming exercise in a local pond. Then he saw some other people making use of their swimming and jumping talent to earn money. Five years back he also thought of trying his hand on the same. It was very scary in the beginning. But he stuck to it. And there was competition too. So he perfected the art. Today he is the only person in the area to perform such jumps and people standing in the safety of the railings cheer for him.

Such stories are ample, if we only look around. On the one hand we talk of skills movement in the country and the potential human power that can be supplied to the industry and on the other hand are such glaring realities that we can’t turn our faces away. The population of India is on a steep rise. The number of employable people will increase manifold. Where are the jobs and the will to provide suitable jobs to people? A simple question is, when will the human civilisation develop enough not to let humans do demeaning or life-threatening work so that they can lead a risk-free good quality of life?