Story of Chandu

Chandu....he is not a fictitious character, he is a poor boy, about ten year old, who, when asked about his age, said he don't know. Till last friday, his father, an immigrant from a village in Bihar used to come to collect the garbage at my home in Delhi. Since two days Chandu was coming to collect garbage instead of his father.

     Today when he came, I asked , "School jate ho?".. He said, "Jab baba the tab jate the". Then I came to know, his father died two days back. Poor fellow. He told me that he get just about 100-150 Rs for collecting garbage. He is now alone with his mother, who is also not educated. I asked, "Agar main tumhne sau rupaye doon to kya karoge, padoge?" He replied, "yahan kuchh nahi hoga, Ghar jake padenge". He will be going back to Bihar on fourth of next month. I asked him to wait for a minute and then I gave him two hundred rupee notes and told, "ek se apni kitaben lena and dusre se jo man ho karna". Chandu looked very much obliged and surprised too. When he was leaving, I asked , "Are apna naam to batado yar". He replied .."Chandu". I said to him..."Chandu, Padna...Padae se hi sab hota hai". And then Chandu left to pick garbage from other houses.

I hope this small contribution , which might not do much do help him financially, would certainly motivate him to do good in life.

When first day I saw Chandu, I felt frustrated. All this right to education and child labour laws seems hollow. We all know that the laws see just one side of problem. They don't give an option of rehabilitation of children like Chandu. I am sure his father did not want his child to be a labourer like him, picking garbage from houses. Before education, people need to survive. 

    I, with a feeling of helplessness, thought that what I can do! But that would really be pathetic. We can certainly do, at least a little. And I did what I wanted to and I wish I could do more...or may be I will do more. You never know when this small help can make a big difference. I request all to look around and if you see any young child being deprived of education, do at least something. Those two hundred rupees are nothing for us, it is the price of the movie ticket I watched yesterday.  But for Chandu, it's a Month salary....it can at least partially help him to educate himself....and imagine how much moral support he will get. He won't see this world as a cruel place that gave him a fatherless life with poverty and misery. He will be more optimistic and work hard to fight all hindrances and may be, will become a valuable citizen of the country.