Radha

Mumbai city has got almost everything, some things that it wouldn’t have ever thought of. It touches the skies with one of world’s richest private houses and worlds biggest slums too. May be it won’t be wrong to say that it has been beautified with everything. Rolls Royce cars to bullock carts; it has got everything. Which are those dreams in fact? I have seen and spoken to people who stay in sea facing lounges and to shift abroad soon; but Radha never even thought of it. She just said I am happy but I want to go to school someday.

 Those tired eyes barely had slept last night; tears on her chicks were dried and marked her face like a wound. She says her father calls her ‘Niki’. Someone has given her a broken pendent that she thinks is of silver and she shows me that as if she has the unique one of it. She met me yesterday for the 4^th time. The first time she met, of course she asked for money; second time the same but for last two visits she just sat next to me because I never paid for both the times. I asked about her family. Father is labour, mother works if she gets any work and her 2 sisters everyone on road. Father earns Rs. 200 and half of that goes on Alcohols. ‘…par papa accha hai. Ma marti hai, school nahi jane deti. ’She said. She got admission in some Government school last year but wouldn’t get uniform; consequently first day to school became the last one. The reason is Radha has to earn money to support her parents. If I compare myself with her I don’t remember if I would have thought of it someday. She asked me to at least buy her something to eat then I asked what she had eaten for the day, last night she had bread and omelette.

                She is not a beggar to me but she made me feel like one. I never really loved to go to school, I never thought of future. Probably, those 7 yrs old eyes have seen world more than me. She meets me near sea shore and we both sit for about half an hour. It’s just been four days but now she has the time limitation. She has to move back to her work. She again has to go to street and hand over money to her mother. So she can go and buy something for dinner. She says this without any emotion. Her eyes are so innocent that they apparently can’t understand the depth of it. Attitude is the symbol of what you are, regardless of the pressed clothes and address of your residence. The last talk that we had was very interesting it ended with her question ‘agle saal school kab chalu hota hai?’