The Little Boy Down the Lane.......

As my car stopped at the signal, a little boy tapped at the window begging for alms. He must be around seven or eight years old. The signal would change only after 120 seconds as it was a busy intersection and I felt inclined to talk to the boy. I lowered the glass and asked him if he did not wish to study. He said that he longed to but was forced to beg on the streets as his father had died in an accident at a mill where he was working. The compensation given by the mill owner to the family, was barely enough to pay up all the debts piled on them. His mother worked as a maid in a couple of houses but as she was very frail, most of her earnings would be used up to buy her medicines. He had come into contact with one of the “dadas” in that locality, who had defined the area where he should beg and hand over the daily earnings to him in return for which he would be given a fixed amount.

As the lights were changing into green, I asked him to meet me at the junction after the signals. I instructed my driver to cross over and park the car by the side of the pavement, to talk to the boy. “Sahib. Aap to khaali peeli isko bula rahe hain. Woh kahan aayega?,” was his reaction. Somehow, I felt confident that the boy was keenly interested in studying and hoped that my driver would be proved wrong. Sure enough, I caught sight of Prateek through the rear mirror, half running to reach the kerb.

I got down from the car and spoke to him. I assured him that I would meet all costs of his education such as school fees, books, uniform etc., and would also pay him a sum of Rs.1000/- per month for his mother’s medicines. I asked my driver, Jagan to get in touch with him and arrange for his school admission and also ensure that the money would reach his mother regularly. There was genuine happiness and gratitude writ all over Prateek’s face. It was the month of October – the month for giving and I was experiencing the joy of giving.

My business was thriving and having inherited the ancestral wealth as I was the only child in our family, I was very well off. My wife Sumana had been the pillar of my strength and we were blessed with a lovely daughter who turned sixteen very recently. Having never felt the pangs of hunger nor had been short of money at any time, I was happy to share a portion of my possessions with those in need and Jagan was one of my trusted confidants who would carry out my instructions meticulously.

While leaving Prateek overwhelmed, I had asked him to promise me that he would never ever resort to begging at any time. He did so eagerly, though he must have wondered how he could wriggle out of the clutches of the dada. Time passed by and more and more Prateeks got added in Jagan’s list of beneficiaries.

My daughter, Sulabha had appeared for her school final examinations and expressed a desire to pursue her studies in London. Apart from inheriting assets from my father, I had also imbibed his good qualities and administrative techniques. My business was well-established, and I had very sincere and devoted staff and also an excellent office with detailed systems and procedures in place. I could, therefore, peacefully think of planning our family vacation in Europe and take the opportunity to get Sulabha admitted in the college of her choice.

Having left all necessary instructions both in the office and home, the three of us packed our bags to London first. Sulabha had already applied for her scholarships and being a bright student, succeeded in having her way. We went around Europe and then decided to rent a place near her college and be with her till she graduated.

With distances being drastically reduced, everything was available at the tips of our fingers, and I had no difficulty whatsoever in carrying on my business from a remote location. 

After completing her graduation, she stayed on to complete her Master’s degree in English literature. As we were confident that she could now be on her own, Sumana and I went on a world tour and spent our twenty fifth wedding anniversary in Hawaii. Sulabha too pleasantly surprised us by taking a week off and joined us in the celebrations.

While we returned to India, she stayed back to finish her course. We had been away for nearly four years and when we returned home, we were happy to find everything in order and in fact functioning much better than in our presence!

On our arrival, I called Jagan to drive me round the city as I wished to breathe in the air of our motherland to my heart’s content. He arrived in the evening, and we set off on our long drive. It was nearing nightfall and all the lights had started glowing. We were about to take the lane leading to our home, when I caught sight of a boy who looked very familiar. I asked Jagan to stop and asked him if he could recognize the boy. He surely did. It was none other than Prateek! He was with a group of children, apparently engaged in begging from passers-by, just as Prateek was used to. 

I was crestfallen. I had great hopes that Prateek would live up to his promise and not resort to begging, but I had seen for myself that he had probably become a dada himself! He was counting the money each of the boys had “earned” during the day. I felt disgusted that no matter how we would like to shape the destiny of unfortunate children, they do not live up to our expectations.

I shared my feelings with Jagan and asked him to discreetly find out what Prateek was up to. I also asked him to try and identify the dada who was organizing this child begging in our locality so that I could use my influence with the authorities and try to put an end to it.

That night I could not sleep. I tossed and turned about in the bed with my mind constantly recollecting the image of Prateek collecting the money fr

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om the small children. I then consoled myself, that I had done my bit and if the boy did not change, I could not help it. All the same, I was quite upset at the incident as I felt that Prateek had himself become the dada in our locality.   

As it was the end of the academic year, I had been invited as the Chief Guest in a few educational institutions. Whenever possible, I happily obliged, as it gave me great pleasure to see the citizens of tomorrow and share my experiences with them. Wherever needed, I would try to contribute to the growing needs of the institutions as well.

One evening I was to address the students at Bhaidas Jamnadas school. Jagan was most excited and while driving me there, was trying to tell me something, but every time the phone would ring, and I could not let him complete what he wished to say. As we had already been delayed in traffic, as soon as we arrived at the school, I made my way straight to the auditorium. 

Thankfully, they had just started the programme and I was escorted to my seat when the invocation song ended. The students put up a very wonderful cultural programme and soon it was time for my speech and the prize distribution.

After being felicitated and having appreciated the performance of the students, I was ready to distribute the prizes. The teacher called out the names of the proficiency prize winners from the junior class upwards. Soon it was the turn of the fifth standard.

The teacher paused while reading out from the list. She said that this boy, a fifth standard student, had for the very first time in the history of the school, bagged all the prizes. The audience applauded and waited impatiently to hear the name of the student. When she read out “Prateek”, I was startled. It was the same Prateek I had been helping all along and who I had seen a few days back! I gave away all the trophies, certificates and prizes to him with a glum face, not feeling happy at all. Prateek tried to talk to me, but I brushed him aside and left.

Had I not caught sight of Prateek down the lane I would have surely been elated. I could not erase the figure of the small boy tapping my window from my mind, try as I might. I rose early the next morning and joined Sumana who was watering the plants in the garden. Seeing me, she turned off the tap and sat with me in the lawn. 

Our maid brought our morning coffee and biscuits and while sipping my coffee I saw that our guard was arguing with someone. I called out to him to ask what it was all about. Before he could answer, Prateek pushed him and made towards me. I did not expect him at that time, or for that matter at any time. I had asked Jagan to ensure that I never get to see the boy again and he must have sounded the guard who was refusing to let Prateek in.

Prateek straightaway fell at my feet begging to know why I was not wanting to talk to him or even look at him. Though I was least inclined to talk to him, I also felt that this was an opportunity for me to clarify my doubts about what I had witnessed a few days back.

Before I could ask him anything, he had his answers ready. “Sahib! That day you must have seen me with the child beggars and must have rushed to your own conclusions. Let me say, ‘sahib’ that I have never broken my promise to you. Both my mother and I are indebted to you for having put me on the right path and helping me achieve my goals. Ever since the day you stopped me from begging, I have been trying my best to stop others too from doing so. Not everyone is as fortunate as I am. There are numerous kids out on the street unashamedly begging just to sustain themselves. You may be happy to know that my friends and I with the support of the Dy. Commissioner of Police, who happens to be the father of one of my friends, have stopped the dadagiri in our locality. You cannot see a single child begging here. Our school friends have joined together to move in groups and dissuade the children from begging. The other day you saw me, I had asked the children from a neighboring locality to meet me with their daily “collections” so that we could all seek police protection and face the organizer from their area. I am also happy to say that our school students have taken up Operation Child Begging as a project since last year and we have to a very large extent succeeded in stopping this practice. You will also be pleased to know that after school, my friends move in small groups to teach the under privileged children who cannot attend school. We meet in the parks or wherever there is an open space and teach children in groups of fifteen or twenty. We also help the elderly in buying essentials or medicines for them, tend to their homes or gardens and pool the money we earn to help the children who come to us to learn. I had come to meet you to seek your assistance, but you were away….” 

As Prateek went on, I felt ashamed of myself. How could I have been so rash in judging him without even delving into the matter? I got up to hug Prateek while Sumana asked him to sit and have coffee with us. He had made my day. Though he was only a small boy, he had the leadership qualities in him. With a little support, he could do a lot!

The next day I hosted Prateek and his friends to lunch in a five-star hotel, which was a new experience for most of them. At lunch, we drew up a decent budget for their project – Operation Child Begging and I promised to lend them financial as well as all other assistance. The boys were certainly thrilled, and we dispersed feeling happy that we were doing our small bit to make the world a better place to live in. 

The Little Boy Down the Lane had grown in stature and I was proud of him.