PTI photographer Atul Yadav recounts his meeting with Rampukar Pandit on a Delhi roadside and the powerful image that captured the tragedy of migrants across India.
Rampukar Pandit, whose mournful face became emblematic of the tragedy faced by poor migrants currently, is currently in hospital, but all he wishes is to return home.
The powerful image of the distraught man, struggling to reach home in Begusarai, almost 1,200 km away during the nationwide lockdown, was widely shared across all media, becoming a defining image of the trauma of lakhs of migrant labourers stranded away from home.
Rampukar's wife Bimal Devi had walked about 3-4 km towards the hospital on Monday when their young distant nephew, on his way to buy ration on a bicycle, saw her and instead of going to a shop offered her a ride to the hospital, Rampukar said.
The RJD leader was moved by the latter's tale of grief and loss and made his photo the profile picture on his official Twitter handle. He also shared the footage of his interaction with the hapless man.
It took a lockdown for us in India to even recognise that the plight of migrants needs to be addressed. They were faceless and unrecognised. They were unappreciated and even hounded. They were poorly paid and exploited, notes Ramesh Menon.
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