Vagisha Gunasekera and Prashanthi Jayasekera give readers a glimpse of a day in the life of Devika, one of Colombo,s numerous street cleaners. The terms and conditions under which street cleaners like Devika have to work are then emphasized. They have no access to medical leave, paid leave, pension funds or security benefit of any kind. Readers are taken back to Devika,s early and wretched life where she encountered numerous misfortunes which eventually made her adapt to a life on the street. Devika,s health is then explored and readers are explicitly made aware of the unsanitary gear that is provided to street cleaners by their employers. The non-existing bargaining power and restriction of the freedom of association with the employer is then highlighted through Devika,s own experiences. Devika is not poor according to the widely accepted definition but seemingly narrow measure of absolute poverty. This does not take into account the nutritional requirement and other basic needs of hard workers like Devika. Readers are given a tinge of the social life of Devika and her husband which is largely centered around her temple. The authors conclude by stating that the complex web of social, economic and political relations that work against her social mobility has the potential to eventually diminish her life force and many others like her.