The tough path takes a tight ropewalk.
Everyone knows that our lives are like those of funambulists. A slight
imbalance and we are pushed to the corners of sorrow and regret. When we are in
the surplus of our own belongings it is always difficult to fathom the pains of
those who have less than us. The incident happened when the Udyog Nagri express
left Orai station in U.P for Kanpur. I sat at the corner of my seat. The
compartment over flowed with people and we exchanged sweat smells along with
the local chitchats. The talk of politics is the general norm for commoners of
U.P and every third person can boast to comment good on recent political
situation. The whole discussion was involving when I heard the rustle of few
chains and leather belts. I turned and saw at the gate of our compartment.
There he stood with a bag across his shoulders. A torn shirt, unkempt hair and
a shabby trouser adored him. His eyes had the spark of a motivated salesperson.
He walked through the crowd. He kept calling for customers. The boy was hardly
fourteen and he had the airs of a confident man. He kept attracting passengers
using his talk tactics. I was amused by
his adroitness of speech and all my involvement in the political discussion
vanished, I turned to see how he managed to sell the chain and belts. A
passenger agreed to buy and negotiation followed. The man gave him a fifty-rupee
note but instead of taking it, he bent and hinted him to put it in his pocket.
Then I tried to peep through the milling crowd in the compartment and see why
he did so. What I saw completely shocked me. The boy had both the palms missing.
He had two limbs without the appendage required to use it. He was there making
and doing business. I was amazed the way he handled his load communicated with
fellows around. He smiled and moved ahead whistling. He passed by my seat, he
saw me staring at him in amazement. His palms were missing. He held the load in
his elbow and whistled, sang and sold belts and chains to earn a living. What a
great way to earn a living. The little
chap was an angel who chose to work even in his handicap. He passed few more
passengers, and due to the crowd, few of his leather belts slipped. I kept on
watching what he would do. This boy had trained his palm-less hand to pick up
his wares. He used his finesse to take control of troublesome situation. He was
really taking control of his overall situation. The little angel boarded down
at Kanpur Central (U.P) to board another train back his route to Orai. This was a little angel who I think was not
selling belts and chains but he was selling hope for us.
There are millions who suffer
daily across streets around you. Spare a thought for them. You can find ways to
make them smile. A small step is beautiful. Give a smile, a kind word or just a
polite look. This will be a small step for a journey towards fighting this
social curse of child labor.
Mail your suggestions to ling2liang@gmail.com. Your ideas can help change the world, Spare a moment contribute a THOUGHT for a child labor
