Hope

Bangalore- once a garden city was soon becoming a garbage city. Due to the opening of the IT corridors, people from every nook and corner of the country were coming here in search of job opportunities and to try their luck. A lot of infrastructure development had happened in the city in recent years. The standard of living of the people had become very high. You would think the standard of living in Mumbai is very high, but surprisingly it's Bangalore. People working in IT companies drew high salaries and lived a mechanical life. The city was fast losing its human touch.

Shilpa lived in this busy city. She worked as a teacher. In comparison to the people who worked in the IT companies, her salary was peanuts but she loved her job and did it honestly. Being a teacher was not everybody's cup of tea as they have to work so much. In addition to doing the household chores after going home, they had to prepare for the next day's class, prepare question papers during exams, correct...........phew the list is endless. Plus have oodles of patience for handling children in different age groups.

It was the Science day celebrations at school and as she was the physics teacher, she had an important role to play in it. The teachers distributed work among themselves. Selected children for compering the program, checked the script, told the children to make PPTs, asked them to make charts for display on the bulletin boards, and discussed making working models for keeping them in the exhibition. All was well as things were taking shape slowly and teachers and students were putting in all their efforts to ensure that the program will be successful. But Shilpa was very tired due to her endless trips to the computer lab and Science lab. It was as if every bone in her body was aching. Once the bell rang, she took her things and came out of the school. She spoke to the students for a few minutes about their projects, waved goodbye to them, and crossed the road. The heat was building up in Bangalore. She could feel the sweat on her face. She pulled out her handkerchief and rubbed it across her face and then stuffed it into her bag. She was waiting at the bus stop for her bus. The sight of the Volvo bus made her so happy. In this heat travelling in the Volvo would mean ultimate heaven. She got in the bus. Along with her a few others also got into the bus. She saw that a kid from maybe class five from the school where she taught was also in the bus. When the conductor asked him for the ticket, he gave him a five rupee coin. The conductor smiled and said, "this is an AC bus, the ticket is ten rupees." The boy said," But uncle I have only five rupees. I don't have any more money." Shilpa who was sitting there was listening to the conversation. She signalled to the conductor that she will pay the remaining amount for the kid. While buying her ticket, she paid five rupees for the kid as well. The kid smiled. He came to her. She knew that the kid would now promise to get five rupees from home and give it to her. Most children would do the same. But this kid smiled and said, "Thank you, ma'am, one day when you don't have money, I will buy your ticket." Saying this he got down at his stop. She didn't know what to say. HOPE.........that is what the world lived on. She was amazed by this kid and was thinking in her mind, even I will eagerly wait for the day when you will buy the ticket for me, my dear child.