Anand Mahindra Slammed for 'Glorifying' Poverty After Sharing Video of Child Sculptor

Industrialist Anand Mahindra uses his social platforms to elevate many extraordinary people whose talents never see the limelight. He is known to have lent a helping hand to people in need and aided them in distress. In a recent video, which Mahindra retweeted from another user, a little boy can be seen sculpting a clay idol of Ganesh with deft and intricate movements. His talent impressed people and Mahindra tweeted, “His hands move with the fluency of a great sculptor. ???????????????????????? I wonder if kids like him get the training they deserve or have to abandon their talent…?”

However, many Twitter users said that the tweet seemed to be glorifying poverty instead of addressing the root concern, where the child may have been forced to take up the profession to meet monetary needs. They said that the focus should have been on enabling education for the boy and such other children instead.

Earlier this year, Mahindra shared his opinion on why India “makes the most two-wheelers in the world”. Surprisingly, it was a photo of a man and a woman on a motorcycle, together with a pile of mats and a towering stack of plastic chairs. Mahindra tweeted: “Now you know why India makes the most two-wheelers in the world. We know how to carry the highest volume of cargo per square inch of wheel… We are like that only… #Sunday”. Necessity is the mother of invention, it is said, and necessity in this case might well have meant poverty.

Twitter users saw no cause for celebration, even though people’s tenacity in making their daily living is certainly commendable. Of late, many movies have also come under fire for glorifying poverty or romanticising it into cinematic fodder.

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