POOR BOY

                             I was walking through the street, in an autumn morning, thinking about the movie which I saw last night.”Taare sameen par” what an amazing movie it was…………….. it was an eye opener. On the way   my eyes caught on a baby boy, sitting alone on the road. He had a small plate with him. He was very tired and I felt a deep sense of attraction, a kindness towards him. He was begging to everyone on the road for his meal. I took   Rs.10 from my pocket and gave it to him. I think it was the biggest currency that he ever got. So I could see a great smile on his face. He was so happy.

                               I met him almost every day from then. We didn’t know each other. But he felt just like my little brother. I didn’t ask anything about his family. One day he was not there in the street. I searched him but I couldn’t find him. I searched for him. But I couldn’t find him.  One day when I went to the next street to meet my friend Mr. Rajesh who owns a hotel. So I went to meet him in his hotel. There I saw that boy in the hotel. He was very busy in cleaning the table, washing plates etc. I was startled!!

                             I asked about him to Rajesh. From him I came to know that the boy’s name is Rona, whose father had died five years before. His mother is completely paralysed. So the whole burden of the family is on his head. So he has to bring up his family. He recognized me on the first sight and smiled at me. By hearing all about him I wanted to meet his mother. Then I went to his home. Actually it is not a house, but just a hut whose wall is made of some kind of a thick material of paper. His mother was lying on the bed. She was completely paralysed after the death of his father. As a social worker I decided to make a solution for this problem. So I visited his home frequently and did everything what I could for them. Whenever he went for his work, I spent the whole day with that mother. I started to imagine her as my mother.                 

                                        One day when I reached his home,he was not there. And his mother was on the bed as usual. She lay there still.  So I thought that she was sleeping. I went closer and tried to wake her up for food. But there was no response. I called her again. But she never got up. Yes she had died. I was shocked. What should I do? How shall I tell it to him? I felt it like a fake dream. As I told him, the heart breaking news, he started behaving like a mad boy. But still he was not crying. After the funeral, Rona became a big question. I don’t know that how can I help him?? Where shall I go??What will he do??

                                    I decided to take him to my home. But my parents discouraged me from this effort. According to them there would be a big risk in giving a shelter to an unknown child. Without lending my ears to them, I took him to my home. On the initial days my parents accepted everything silently. But after some days the situation became bad. They began to shout at him and also they told him to clean the house. They hated him very much. Because being army officers, they are very punctual. So according to them the boy will destroy the discipline of their family. This was their reason that made the parents to hate him.

                                      One day my parents met with an accident, they were lying on the road with no help around. As usual people were very much interested to take photographs rather than help them. No one was ready to take them to the hospital. Unfortunately,Rona came that way and took them to the hospital. Their condition was very critical only because he had brought them to the hospital at right time, they were saved. And when my parents realized the effort made by Rona to save them, they began to love him. Also they allowed him to stay at home forever.   

           

 JISMOL  JOHNSON P