Girl in Pink Stripes....

Amidst the blaring horns and screaming voices in the gas station, I saw a little girl sitting by the window.

She was literally immune to all the noises and distractions. Probably she has got used to all of these long ago. She was a normal little girl maybe around 10 years or so, wearing a pink stripes t-shirt, born to a lower middle class family in Mumbai.

Being a Sunday with no school she could have easily spent the day on a couch watching some videos or playing games.

Addiction to gadget is one of the most dangerous disease in this era.

But there she was sitting by the window flipping books one after the other. She had a little fluffy rabbit to give her company and they snuggled on the sit out.

Her tiny table was mostly occupied with books and stationary stuff. Occasionally mom would turn up with something to eat or drink and there she was for the whole Sunday morning.

This Sunday she was not in the small flat anymore. She visited Egypt, met some dinosaurs and also went under water.

When sunlight fell on her face there was a glow of satisfaction, knowledge and fulfilment rather than the exhaustion of gadget fever.

I would never know about the girl's future whether she ended up rich and successful.

But one thing is certain she will never be alone. She has embraced the world of books and there is no looking back.

She will always inspire me to catch up on the pending book rather than binge watch on some web series for the nth time.