Spiga

Seven and a Half Rupees

Once upon a time, at one of Mumbai's many railway stations, I was waiting to board a late train to Ahmedabad. My parents and my sister were with me. We were heading back to our hometown of Rajkot, via Ahmedabad, after a trip to Mumbai to meet a few relatives.

Our train was scheduled at 10:30 pm. And it was around 10:15 pm at the time. As usual, we were seated on the few benches there and I was looking around the platform.

I noticed a little boy, surely not older than five or six, a little farther away. Clad in a torn black t-shirt and brown shorts, the little kid was moving about barefooted, had a plastic bag in one hand and the fingers of his other hand seemed closed around something he was clutching to while requesting others on the station to take up his service of shoe polishing.

Unfortunately, nobody obliged. Slowly, he came over to where my father and I were seated. My mother and my sister had apparently gone for a walk around the station and were not present then.

As he approached us, I noticed that he was holding his earnings from a hard day's job in the clenched fist. It didn't seem to be much, as a little kid's hands can hardly hold too many coins, forget clutching to them.

He was silent. After having been asked to move ahead rather rudely by many of the people he came across, I sensed a natural dejection in him to convince my father and me.

He lightly waved the bag. My father asked him "Kitne me karoge?"

Sensing a potential customer, the little kid's eyes gleamed and he raised two fingers of the hand with which he held the plastic bag and said "Do rupey, saab.", the other hand as tightly bound as ever.

My father removed his chappals.

The kid then sat down, undoubtedly spurred on by landing a customer, and finally loosened the fist of his other hand. Some coins emerged. He sat down, placed the coins carefully beside him, and proceeded with the job on hand.

The dedication with which he took up the task was a treat to the eyes. Like a thorough professional, he opened his carry bag and out came a shoe polish and a brush. Very delicately, he opened the polish, dipped his brush into it and polished my father's chappals. What was more wonderful was that he gave it all his time, like a perfectionist, making sure that not a speck of dust remained.

He was soon done. The chappals were as good as new.

My father took out a ten-rupee note to pay the child, who had by now put the polish and the brush into his bag and gathered his previous earnings.

The child observed the ten-rupee note, and looked at his earnings. I could see that the coins were few and he began counting them. It was a small collection of one-rupee and 50-paise coins. One by one he counted the coins and I counted along.

The coins summed up to seven-and-a-half rupees.

The child, with an anxious look on his face and an innocent nod, looked up towards us and said "Saab, chhutte nahi hain.".







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14 comments:

  Bud-Wiser

Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 12:53:00 AM PST

Rather Touching!

Wonder if people will still say "saab, chutte nahi hai" for 50paise.

  Winnie the poohi

Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 2:35:00 AM PST

I guess the rickshaw wala's from bangy got to learn from this kid!

It is really touching.. I wish somehow that kid need not work..

but *sigh* its almost like a utopia..

  Anonymous

Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 4:59:00 AM PST

Its sad this state of affairs with kids working and most of us have been guilty about this! I remember when I was young, whenever a kid used to come home to beg, I used to tell him sweep the floor and I'll give you 2 rupees. I thought I'm teaching him how to earn his living but thats not the right way, is it?

Rakesh

  Winnie the poohi

Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 11:53:00 AM PST

Rakesh.. it was better than not giving him anything :)

  Unknown

Sunday, February 15, 2009 at 11:53:00 AM PST

Touching one!! I had similar experience in last November while travelling for Vadodara from Mumbai Borivali station. One boy of around 12 year old asked me for polishing my chappals. As I am not fancy about chappal I said nahithen he told saab bahut bhook lagi hai . But I was in a hurry and my train was about to leave. I searched my pocket and got 5/- coin and I gave him the same and ran for my train with a tear on my eye's edge!!

  hitch writer

Monday, February 16, 2009 at 1:44:00 AM PST

Honest boy !! truly wonderful that the kid wanted to return the 50paise back....

heartwarming story !

  J P Joshi

Monday, February 16, 2009 at 8:56:00 AM PST

Life, as it is........ in our part of the world. I am against child labour but at times I do wonder ........ at least with labour the child can fill his stomach. Many questions... no answers.

  InConvincible

Monday, February 16, 2009 at 9:35:00 AM PST

Hey dude !
Just want to say one thing !
Keep posting that kind of stuff yaar, it reminds that we are human beings. More importantly it reminds that virtues like one's dedication towards work, sincerity, and simplicity, are perhaps seen nowadays possessed more by the underprivileged.
This also reminded me of the scene in Movie Swades, thats how i imagined your story posted, thinking of that face.

  Jay

Monday, February 16, 2009 at 11:27:00 AM PST


@Chikki
Hmm. People would, at least kids will.

@Winnie the Poohi
'Bangy' is pretty cool. :-)

@Anonymous/Rakesh
That is the irony. You are doing nothing wrong, at the same time one wonders how morally right is their labour.

@Winnie the Poohi #2
Touche

@PNR
The tear was worth it, Mr. PNR.

@Hitch Writer
Yes. I was amazed too.

@J P Joshi
Paradox

@R.K.
Spot on about the virtues that we need to be reminded of again and again.

Yes, I remember that Swades scene too and there is an equivalence. It happens so that this story in my life took place around 2004 too, the year Swades came out.

  Hell's Angel

Monday, February 16, 2009 at 7:56:00 PM PST

touching!!

  N

Tuesday, February 17, 2009 at 5:27:00 AM PST

Touching...That kind of innocence is found only in kids.

  The Seeker

Friday, February 20, 2009 at 4:46:00 AM PST

That was a touching story!!!!

  Mampi

Sunday, February 22, 2009 at 4:03:00 AM PST

What a beautiful post !!!

  Nishank Mehta

Friday, February 27, 2009 at 4:37:00 AM PST

A truly heart-rending incident presented in an outstanding manner. Left the hair on my skin erected (in medical terms, we call it cutis anserina!).

I also noticed another thing - trivial though it probably is. Your hometown is RAJKOT!!! The place where I study and call my 'other home'...