The Good Life.

It was late in the evening. Anushka was caught up in the office work today. She was very tired and when she saw the time in the huge wall clock on the office wall, she was shocked. “Oh, my God! It’s so late today. I need to wind this up fast and make my way back home,” she told herself. Finally with the work done she left office and boarded the always crowded BMTC bus. The buses in Bangalore were the only mode of public transport for the commuters. After two stops Anushka got a place to sit. Not a big deal anyone would say but for a regular commuter who had to stand on an average of 40 to 45 minutes to reach their destination on a daily basis it was a big deal.

As the bus was making its way through the heavy traffic to its destination, Anushka was watching outside the window. When the bus stopped at the signal, she saw a jewellers shop. Her attention was caught by the number of people in the shop. It left her wondering from where do people bring money to shop all the time. With that thought, she smiled as she also had a son who had never ending demands. A smile on his face meant the world to her. She would slog day and night to keep him happy. Being a single parent was not easy.

She pushed the painful thoughts of her past life out of her mind. Her destination came and she got down. It was a short five minute walk to her home from the bus stop. She wouldn’t mind it as on the way she could pick up vegetables and fruits for the next day. She purchased vegetables from the regular vendor and was walking back when she saw Sahil, her son talking to a boy. What caught her attention was the boy looked much older than him. It looked like the boy would not have had a bath since ages. He was looking dirty and was dressed in rags. On seeing Sahil with that boy, she thought, “What is this boy up to? What sort of friends is he keeping? Hope he hasn’t learnt something bad from him?”

She was thinking about this when Sahil saw her and waved. He came with the boy near her and said,“Mumma, meet Sneh, my friend. He lives near by.”

“Namaste aunty,” said Sneh and bowed his head.

“Namaste,” said Anushka gingerly. “Sahil, don’t you think its late and we should be heading home?” she asked.

“Yes mumma, I just came down for a few minutes to meet Sneh. We are done with talking, so lets go,” saying so he patted on Sneh’s shoulder, took a bag from his mother and they both headed home.

On reaching home, she asked, “Sahil, since when did you start making such friends? I mean I don't want to be judmental but you know I'm worried about the way he looked. Sort of unclean, dirty.”

“Dirty, unclean? What do you mean mom?,” he asked.

“I mean that boy. He was looking so dirty. How come you were with him?”

“Mom, his name is Sneh. I met him one evening when we were playing cricket. While we were playing the game, he was sitting in the park and studying. Just out of curiosity I went near him and saw that he was studying Physics. The same portion that I do. He asked me for help to solve the numericals and I did. From then we hit it on and became friends. He comes to the park everyday. He joins us in the game and later we discuss studies and head back home. He's very intelligent mom.”

“But Sahil, he was looking so dirty. Wouldn't it make sense to keep distance from him?”

“Ma, that’s because he lives in the slum near by. Conditions are not hygienic there. His parents have to struggle a lot to make a living. But Sneh is going to school, and creating awareness among the residents of the slum about health and hygiene. You should have seen him a few days ago.”

“You mean he was worst than this?” Anushka asked.

Sahil smiled sheepishly. “Na ma, he only used to stink.” And broke out in to laughter.

“But our friendship is slowly changing things for him. He’s having a bath everyday now. Also he goes to the near by government school and studies well. He encourages others to go to school as well. There's a spark him in to bring the much needed change in the society and I'm just helping him to spread the fire. The fire of awareness. He wants to work in a office when he grows up and change things for his family. If I can help him in realising his dream then why not?”

“Yeah, why not?” said Anushka.

“We do awareness drives in the slum about health and hygiene, sanitation, importance of education. If it does make a difference to a few people also then it is definitely worth it. And also may be he’s badly dressed today but things won’t remain the same always. Education will change things for him. Plus I thought if in my own small way if I can nurture his interest in education then I should.”

“Oh, my. When did you grow up. I never got to know,” Anushka said.

“Ma, you only say that appearances are deceptive. So I thought I will not go by Sneh’s appearance. What fascinates me about him is his intelligence and his zest to live a good life. He’s immune to his surroundings. He has not let the negativity in the slum have an impact on him. He’s not picked up any bad habits. Should’nt everyone have the right to good life.”

Anushka smiled and said, “Of course yes.”

She was proud of the values that Sahil had. If we all adopt the principle of “Each one, teach one” it will change the life of many people. She just hoped that like Sahil many other children will initiate in this cause and help many people to live the good life.

Our nation blessed with abundant human resources will soon be the leading nation in the world if we utilise our human resources properly. Spread of education will change the scenario in our country and we need to tap the potential in our teenagers to achieve this goal. Make them a part of this program and you will have a win win situation. And it will work wonders for our country and help us in achieving our goals of Swachcha Bharat, Sashakta Bharat.