The Day will come.....

It was a chilly December winter in Cuttack. A cold breeze was sweeping the Mahapatra Road. There

was an extreme silence hovering in the area, that’s not unusual in winter. Suddenly a loud cry broke

the silence of the place. What was it ? And of whom ? It seemed to be coming from a nearby place. I

went out in the balcony and tried to find it out. At the corner of the road near the tea-shop, a boy was

weeping . Who was he ? Was he Ramu ? Yes, he was . How can I fail to recognize him ? He was

probably seven ,when Nathu has brought him from his village to get some help in his newly

opened tea-shop. He was very innocent ,unknown of what he will have to go through. I was unaware

of what has happened today , but something for sure has happened. Suddenly I saw a man coming out

of the tea stall and taking him inside. It was probably Nathu. I better thought not to interfere and went

inside to have my cup of tea. I finished the tea and went into the bed to have a nap. Soon after I was

lost in the thoughts. I tried to recapitulate my first encounter with him. He was too small, thin,skinny.

His hairs strands were dry and rough and certainly would not have been oiled for months now. His

shirt on his body was there for namesake, tattered in some places and his trouser did not fit him. It was

as if only a single leg of the trouser was enough for the boy to fit in. He was standing expressionless

just like an old stuffed toy. It was as if Nathu was making the most out of the little body . It was

ridiculous . I went near to him and asked

"What's your name?" , he said in a polite voice "Ramu".

"What's your age?"

"Seven Years"

"Where do you live?"

"In Village"

"Which Village?"

"Mahajanpur"

"Why are you doing this job?"

"Saab , If I will not do this then how will my family survive. I have two sisters. Ma is also not in the

best of the healths .She does a lot of work . Her medicines are costly. I can earn medicine for her from

these money. These are most precious to me. My mother says "We are destined to be labour."

And what about your father?"

"He doesn't live with us."

As we were in the midst of the conversation ,we heard a penetrating voice from the tea stall saying

"Ramu , Ramu where are you ? Customers are waiting, Serve them tea." "God knows what this boy

does ? If this situation persists , my shop is a goner ". It was Nathu. "How could a person speak in such

a raucous voice for so long?" Ramu rushed inside on hearing the voice saying "Ok Saab". I was

stunned to see such a maturity in a seven year old boy . "Sometimes Destiny is a bit cruel" , I

shuddered . Next few days I was busy with office assignments so I could not find the time to meet

Ramu . Office life is seriously monotonous . Tension and Enjoyment, they both run in parallel . One

day my work was over a bit early so I rushed to home to have some momentary relaxation . I slept for

an hour . Probably at 7 in the evening I was awaken by a call . It was from my parents . I talked to

them and then went to the kitchen to have myself a cup of tea . And to my shock I could not find any

packet of milk inside the refrigerator, probably I forgot to bring them on my way back home . But now

what to do ? The lust for sleep was costing me . Suddenly I thought of Nathu stall and was relieved to

find it open . Usually he closes around seven . I went straight to the Dhaba and asked for a glass for tea

. I sat on the desk lying there . Within moments I found Ramu standing in front of me with a glass of

tea in his hand . He gave me the glass wearing a little smile on his cute face. I wanted to talk to him ,

so I inquired whether he has finished his daily chores. He replied in affirmative. I asked him to sit on

the desk next to me but he was hesitating , so I didn't force him. He sat on the ground.

I asked him "How do you feel here working here?"

"Saab who on the earth will like to do this ? Its all about fate which makes us do so. I am born to do

this and so I am doing."

I was speechless. I went forward with the discussion.

"Do you like to study?"

"Yes Saab"

"Do you find the time to study?"

"The stall is closed between 2-4 pm , at that time I use to study."

I can see the glitter in his eyes when he said the last line.

"Have you got the books with you?" . I too was getting excited to know about these little things.

"Yes. Wait" and he went inside asking me to wait. Soon after he came out with something in his hand

and brought it to me and said "Look Saab" . I saw two books One full of Pictures of birds , animals

and One Maths, both in Hindi, which were in tattered condition . I preferred not to go into the

knowhow i.e. how he got the books and so on.

"Like Maths" , I asked.

He nodded in affirmation.

"What is 2+2 ?"

He said , counting on his hands "4".

Good , I said . He felt happy about this.

"Do you know of some birds?"

"crow, pigeon, parrot, sparrow" he said in english.

It was really good. It was a cloudy weather and I felt the tinges of rain on me . I gave the glass to

Ramu , said "Bye" . I paid the money and went to my place.

It was nice to see a boy who was working for his survival and also dedicating time to study whenever

he got the time . On returning from home I was confused by the fact that whether Child Labour is good

or not . I thought for a boy like Ramu , whose family is stinged by poverty , his working was a source

of his survival .Truly said “Poverty is the worst of the crimes and the greatest of the enemies” , and

here it was about to engulf the innocent dreams of an innocent child. Somehow he is earning daily

read and butter for his family , how on the earth is this bad ? And for those who say its not good is

there anyone, any single person, who has the zeal and is generous enough to help the likes of Ramu

and so. I wouldn't say none, they are , but few and the likes of Ramu are very large in our country .

Child Labour is bad because it hampers the dreams of innocent children like Ramu . They want to

enjoy but cannot . But the root cause behind this malaise of Child Labour is poverty . If there is

poverty , there will always be so many Ramu . How pathetic is the situation of Ramu ? Ramu cleans

the utensils and serve tea to the people but doesn't have enough money to buy himself a glass of tea .

Poverty is ironical in the sense that the poor cannot also reach those whom they want to love , and they

can hardly escape from those whom they no longer love and Ramu was no exception . Next few

months were extremely hectic . I rarely used to find the time to meet him . But I used to see him while

going to office . I always found him busy with his work , so much work in return for the meagre

amount that he was probably getting . I wanted to help Ramu to fulfil his dreams , but somewhere I felt

might this hurt the sentiments of him . Time passed . I was being transferred to Bangalore , I was very

delighted as I will live with my parents . Somewhere I felt for Ramu , I could not do any thing for him

. I wanted Ramu to realize his dream and I decided to talk Nathu before leaving the place . On the day

before leaving , I went to the tea stall . It was around 6 in the evening . I ordered a glass , Ramu was

there within a few minutes with a glass of tea . My eyes were eagerly searching for Nathu . Ramu gave

me the glass . I asked him about Nathu . He didn't reply rather there was a thin smile on his face . He

had a packet in his right hand . He wanted to show something to me but was hesitant . I asked him

about it . He gave that packet to me to open it , I found a school dress inside it and a few books and

copies . I took out a copy . "The cover had the following written on it

" Name - Ramesh Kumar

Municipality School , Dhami Road ,Cuttack " .

I was elated . There was also a slip inside it . On it was written in Hindi

" Thank you for making me realize my mistake .

I was wrong . I want to amend for my mistake .

Nathu "

I was dumbfounded . Ramu had a passion towards study and finally the day had come . I wanted to

thank Nathu but he was out of the town for a day . I gave some chocolates to Ramu , congratulated

him and came back to my place to finish my packing .