Poverty is the curse of civilisation. Call it by any name, it demands food. Poverty- the dearth of food has been taking lives every day. The number of deaths and their age groups are intimated by World Health Organisation from time to time. But the actual figure falls short of the reality always. The famous British orator, litterateur and politician Edward Bark once said - “Man is an animal that cooks his vittles”. It means no other animal other than the man prepares his edibles and eats. Food is the condition of life for all animals. Man dies for food and fights for food. Man cannot win over hunger and is always dominated by it. Sometimes the man is involved willy nilly in such undesirable acts which otherwise he would not have committed if there is no unbearable hunger. Hunger makes us bow down in front of its strength peculiarly. Lots of songs, poets, paintings, literary works and films have been created worldwide based on the subject ‘Hunger'. Those have been appreciated, praised, discussed and awarded from time to time. But the problem of life and death in the form of hunger and poverty remains unsorted.

The real solution of this eternal problem lies in the employment opportunity of all as per their education and capabilities. It will then generate income for people under the poverty line enabling them to keep their bodies and souls together.

If the poor cannot earn sufficiently to fulfil his demand for minimum subsistence, if he cannot maintain parity between his demand and supply, it will create a tremendous pressure on the economy as a whole and the economy will suffer enormously. Ultimately the economy will collapse. Food and unemployment are directly related to each other. When unemployment becomes a burning issue of an economy, it results in the increase of many unsocial and antisocial activities. Everything can be controlled, not the hunger. A starved person loses the sense of ethics or rationality to judge between good and evil. Innumerable phrases, couplets and quotes are there on ‘Hunger’. Two such quotes are – “A hungry tiger is ready to eat paddy” and “Hunger is the best sauce”. Two phrases are from different origins, different languages and different populations. But there is an inherent similarity between the two different lines. The message is the same in both the lines.

Starvation is the common factor that unites people of different caste and creeds, religions and clans. We get some sporadic news sometimes but it does not create much impact on our minds or life. We become unperturbed. The devastating COVID 19 corona virus pandemic does not spare anyone. People irrespective of any social or financial status can be the victims of corona virus. The rich, the powerful, the poor and the weak – everyone is the target of the pandemic directly or indirectly. The people are so scared of that. Everyone is concerned about safeguard steps, preventive measures, statutory guidelines and protocols. But the news of death out of starvation is a matter of people under the poverty line. The Solvent, rich people are out of this crisis. This is essentially a problem for the poor section. So, rich people do not bother about it. Billions of dollars are being spent to find out a solution, a vaccine to mitigate the pandemic danger. But to remove starvation and poverty, no means have been thought out permanently. If governments would realise that to get food to live with is the fundamental right of every citizen, then there would never be any tragic news like a child on his starved dead mother. The photograph of people who died of starvation would not be visible on social media or would not be expressed in the poems of an urban poet. Mother Earth has provided us with all her resources so that we can consume food to keep our bodies and souls together. A joint and sincere endeavour could wipe out starvation and resultant death.