Just a few metres away from the Deonar dumpyard, a woman is roaming with a weighing machine and a height ladder in the adjoining slums. A father picks up his daughter and places her on the weighing scale, a woman raises her concern that her weight might have dropped because of the fever she had a few days ago. But Jyoti Late is having none of it. She inserts the previous data of the girl from her overflowing notebook into the machine that tells her that her weight is normal for her height. Everybody is relieved and the girl goes back to playing in the narrow bylanes of Sanjay Nagar with her friends, who also had their weight checked. This is merely routine for Late, who is making a life and career out of ensuring the healthy growth and survival of the children of Deonar dumping grounds.
Deonr-11
Mai Ghar pe bore ho rahi thi islie kaam dhund rahi thi,”
Jyoti Late
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Photographs: Karan Khosla