Friday, November 4, 2011

I am Seven, Orphaned and Homeless

I am seven, orphaned and homeless but I’m not alone. I have a brother who is four. We come from a beggar who soon after my brother’s birth, fell prey to drugs. Eventually she died on a footpath and bereaved us of mother’s love forever. We don’t know who our father is.

We do not have a home, we do not have relatives, but we have a family. We are each other’s family. We have many friends of our own kind. Their parents let them play with us but never invite us home, never let us enter their shacks and we are always left to fend for ourselves at night. They occasionally give us a roti and we happily share it between us. I’m always very hungry but I usually give a piece or two extra from my share to my brother; he is just a child.

We live off the streets. We beg.

My friend’s family is a balloon seller. Her dad said, “I’ll let you help me with work as soon as you’re old enough for it and if you’re good at it I’ll give you thirty rupees every day.”

I really want to be good at blowing balloons, making colourful toy animals by tying various shaped balloons to one another and even at selling them so that Uncle gives me forty rupees and not just thirty!

We are poor. No one takes care of us but us. We often go hungry and sleep on hard footpath with just a single blanket to protect us from the wind and cold, sun and rain. We are happy. Our joy lies in small things.

Our joy lies in tasting that first piece of roti in days. Our joy lies in counting that one coin that we earn extra than the previous day. We enjoy the smell of food that wafts out of restaurants. Lying beside each other, hand in hand hearing the cars zoom by, gives us a thrill. When we see a child as old as us, belonging to a rich family, begging its mother to buy a balloon, it sets us giggling. All that crying just for a balloon! Hahaha!

We are poor but at peace with ourselves. We are wanderers. We are free souls.

Picture courtesy: Shivangi Shah

22 comments:

  1. Happiness is a small thing .. which is to be felt with a great heart. nicely written nikita.

    www.readitt.in

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  2. nicely told

    "all that crying just fr a balloon" - the way the world is to a different pair of eyes

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  3. Money can not make us Happy .....
    very nice writeup.

    http://craftisland.blogspot.com

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  4. I had written something on similar lines.
    This post just twinges the reader. Its that powerful :)

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  5. And, a really nice picture to compliment the post.

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  6. This is lovely. So touching..
    Here we are, always wanting more and more. And look at them, they have nothing, and yet they go on with the flow of their lives.
    Beautiful post. Touched it!

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  7. Crystal- Thanks! :) Can you link me your write up similar to this?
    Philo- Thank you soo much!

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  8. http://exceptionallyme.blogspot.com/2008/11/and-life-shall-go-on.html
    Here. :)

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  9. Its strange how at times there seems to be no solution in sight to address such issues. No matter how much you try to do your bit, there is another one standing just a couple of steps ahead. Nice post!

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  10. Crystal- I'll check it out! :)
    Ashutosh- You're right! And thanks! :)

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  11. mmm..beautifully written...and good thinking...keep it up..:))

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  13. and materialism leads nowhere, one is not to find true happiness under the shadow of wealth..

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  14. my frnd deals with same...but its a bit philosophy..http://ashishonchange.blogspot.com/
    i write some philosophy but its..www.jhadeeprajjha.blogspot.com

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  15. touching, I was wondering tonight what could I do to make this world a better place.. still looking for an answer, but you write up gives some inspiration and a boost.. heart-warming

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