nikhil123
Jun 2, 2013
Writing Feedback / A 100 feet walk through a street of India [4]
Today, i realized that short glimpses of animate and inanimate things leave a permanent impact on you. I was coming back home
and i saw these beggars, or at least i thought they were. One lady, soothing her always sleeping child, that was something
very common so i didn't care that much, but then, i saw these two kids, in tattered clothes, roasting a corn on the footpath beside a busy road, laughing and fighting over who would eat it,
My eyes were frozen on them, for no reason, they had so less and yet so happy they were. Then, i looked at myself, i had everything, 100 rupees in my pocket,
nice clothes, loving family, friends, and yet, i haven,t had a laugh like that since ages...
As i turned around the corner, i saw three ladies, one with two children around her, all sitting on the footpath, one coldly, helplessly, and endlessly
gazing at the blue sky, and the other, a smaller child, 3-4 years old, eating a roasted corn with such a marvelous smile and happiness on his face and lips,
i couldn't believe how these children manage to be so happy in a world where some 10 years old cannot even live without smartphones and laptops. And we still
call them normal.., and these street children-malnourished and poor.
And then, suddenly, another sweet boy, 9-10 maybe, came running with a tiny metal car towards
his mother, smiling wildly. He said something to his mother and his mother replied in the most uninterested way. But still he walked away with the same smile.
It was so cold yet so warm.
As i finally crossed the road, i saw another family of poor on the other side, two children, having fun trying to balance themselves on a thin ledge.
But their mother, an extremely thin, poorly yet heavily dressed woman washing some utensils with some meager soap and water, washing as hard as she could,
she looked young yet too old, exhausted, hopeless and extremely tired from her daily ordeals, yet keeping a steady and watchful eye on her children,
frowning with every imbalance that her child faced while playing, keeping them safe and sound.
I kept watching the lady as i kept moving away, as many others had done, and many others will. But i wish, i could get them out of this, i wish i could take
all their misery away, make those children smile a little more and make those mothers rest their hands for a while.
This made me think how meager and ridiculous my problems were. And what were they?....not being able to get admission in a good college, losing weight,
building biceps and learning to play guitar...how stupid all this sounds now..., just how stupid.
Today, i realized that short glimpses of animate and inanimate things leave a permanent impact on you. I was coming back home
and i saw these beggars, or at least i thought they were. One lady, soothing her always sleeping child, that was something
very common so i didn't care that much, but then, i saw these two kids, in tattered clothes, roasting a corn on the footpath beside a busy road, laughing and fighting over who would eat it,
My eyes were frozen on them, for no reason, they had so less and yet so happy they were. Then, i looked at myself, i had everything, 100 rupees in my pocket,
nice clothes, loving family, friends, and yet, i haven,t had a laugh like that since ages...
As i turned around the corner, i saw three ladies, one with two children around her, all sitting on the footpath, one coldly, helplessly, and endlessly
gazing at the blue sky, and the other, a smaller child, 3-4 years old, eating a roasted corn with such a marvelous smile and happiness on his face and lips,
i couldn't believe how these children manage to be so happy in a world where some 10 years old cannot even live without smartphones and laptops. And we still
call them normal.., and these street children-malnourished and poor.
And then, suddenly, another sweet boy, 9-10 maybe, came running with a tiny metal car towards
his mother, smiling wildly. He said something to his mother and his mother replied in the most uninterested way. But still he walked away with the same smile.
It was so cold yet so warm.
As i finally crossed the road, i saw another family of poor on the other side, two children, having fun trying to balance themselves on a thin ledge.
But their mother, an extremely thin, poorly yet heavily dressed woman washing some utensils with some meager soap and water, washing as hard as she could,
she looked young yet too old, exhausted, hopeless and extremely tired from her daily ordeals, yet keeping a steady and watchful eye on her children,
frowning with every imbalance that her child faced while playing, keeping them safe and sound.
I kept watching the lady as i kept moving away, as many others had done, and many others will. But i wish, i could get them out of this, i wish i could take
all their misery away, make those children smile a little more and make those mothers rest their hands for a while.
This made me think how meager and ridiculous my problems were. And what were they?....not being able to get admission in a good college, losing weight,
building biceps and learning to play guitar...how stupid all this sounds now..., just how stupid.
