Protected me in your womb.......
I'm a part of you,
Abandoned me......HOW COULD YOU?
Where are you?
Can you hear me?
Look Where I Stand,
Where I Belong.........
-----------------------------------------------------
Found besides garbage forlorn,
My cry one couldn't hear,
No one to see my tear.............
How I grew up?
First step on burning hot road,
First syllable neither "MA" nor "PA"...........
My Home,
Railway platform or wide street,
Dreams under the starry sky in the scorching heat...........
I wake up,
As a STRANGER to this world,
& the world STRANGE to me..........
Eyes:Search for shelter,
for food, for water,
& Search for MY BELOVED............
Hands: To work (LONGING TO HOLD YOUR FINGERS)
To beg,
Wipe cars on traffic signals,
Sell things in train,
Serve tea in hotels,
Making fireworks, polishing shoes..........
Isn't it great that I work?
As a Child (LABORER)
I don't want NGO's help,
Nor any benevolence............
Yes, Summers burn me,
Rains drown me,
Winters chill me.............
Every night,
I Pray,
Not for me,
For someone like me,
If he have breathe this polluted world,
NEVER ABANDON HIM.
If No,PLEASE LET HIM STAY............
IN THE WARMTH.........OF HIS MOTHERS WOMB.........
ONLY..........FOREVER.................
P.S.Even the Child Labors Act haven't reduced the prevalence of CHILD LABOR in our country.
though I have written this post.....somewhere I feel even m responsible for its prevalence after I purchase things sold by those children in the local trains.......HAVE DECIDED TO STOP IT!
Thoughtfully crafted expression of pain.
ReplyDeletevery impressive and thoughtful post....
ReplyDelete@ Vishal Raj d pain must me much beyond than expressed
ReplyDelete@ rohini thank u!
What you see is the world in the way it is, fair, unfair. Little souls trying to survive in big world, makes me feel guilty when I complain about life.
ReplyDeleteYou have made a truth shine and seen by expressing it so beautifully in words.. tell me by stopping to buy from those little angels, will you be able to make a difference..you know whenever I buy from these lesser fortunates, I see smiles cropping up in their otherwise blank eyes..good to see you bringing up the painful subject.. but then we all sympathise..feel good by talking good.. and the world continues exactly the way it is designed to.. what else..I can contribute by praying to God to help the lesser fortunates ease out their pains by getting them whatever support they can get to lead a positive life..
ReplyDeletestirring. really stirring.
ReplyDeleteMakes me feel small when I complain about my grief and pain..
And motivating 2 do somethng bout dis malaise...
@Rajat & Gazal Bharadwaj.....yes we alwys complain abt our pain & a bit disturbed life......n ask d Almighty "WHY ME?".......wen we look the sufferings arnd we realize our pain is much bearable den theirs.......
ReplyDelete@Ramesh Sood.....its true smiles do crop up.....but somehow i feel...by doin so m I encouraging it more? n even I pray to lessen their pain.....n live a happy childhood.....which each child deserves.......
I was sitting in the rickshaw... This small boy comes to me and ask me to buy Gajra from him I said no with a gesture of my head ... he said "Please lelo ghar per bahoot sare rakhen hain sab bechana hai 3 lelo ... 2 lelo ... how can you say no to these things ...
ReplyDeleteI see that gajra leing around my side table I have no use of it jus so he could have some money i bought it ... for his little smile that he gave me while handing that gajra to me .... is this contributing to child labour???
What use do I have of that flowers beaded in a thread .... will he not use that money to at least buy some food to eat or even jus a toffee as a feast .... is this Child labour ???
Is'nt the confusion of whats right and whats wrong lingers in your mind from the start till the end when you deal with these situations ... thinking which path you could actually take to deal with issue like these ??
writing about it makes a good blog post .... but its a vivous circle ..!!
BTW .. I the words used to articulate this issue is very good and very impactful
I liked the way you have brought out the presentation in simple words. It do depicts many unsaid emotions of child workers.
ReplyDeleteStraight forward and hitting the right area with naked truths.
Great effort.
Keep bringing out such social issues as being a blogger social responsibility is implicit in my opinion.
This post is listed in "I Recommend " category of my blog.
My apprehensions are
1. .somewhere I feel even m responsible for its prevalence after I purchase things sold by those children in the local trains.......HAVE DECIDED TO STOP IT!
--> The moment we stop purchasing stuff from children, the immediate impact will be on their stomachs, forget about eradicating child labor and education to all children. The basic source of child labour in India is Poverty. So, if we want a child to stop working and start going to school, the first thing we have to ensure is his basic economic needs of survival.
Our act of not purchasing things from children is like building half a bridge. The bridge completes only when we show him an alternate source to feed himself. The best thing to do is to sponsor atleast one child labour. The sponsoring need not be money. We can teach them in weekends atleast/ offer him books/convincing any small school to give concession for him/.
Technically speaking child labour is a socio-economic- political problem which needs stern commitment and dedication to deal with.
Yes, we have got only laws, but no enforcement.
2. I don't want NGO's help,
Nor any benevolence............
-->We need actions buddy. Our thoughts turning into fruitful actions in the right direction do makes the difference in many child lives. Even i dont say it Benevolence. I call it responsibility. And it is because of those few committed NGOs many children are going to school rather than to work. We have a NGO called HOPEforNeedy which works for child education(orphans/slum children). If every one of us start supporting one child, then eradication of child labour is possible.
Anyway, keep up the good work.
Keep expressing :) :) :)
@Ritz....i do understand wat u mean...but dats wat we hve 2 come out from.....CONFUSION!.....u r absolutely right.....it is VICIOUS CIRCLE.....but need to b discontinued, broken
ReplyDelete@Mahesh.....thank u 4 d appreciation n d thoughtful comment......n yes der r committed NGO.....n said it rightly....its a ....N A SOCIO-ECONOMIC-POLITICAL PROBLEM.....RESPONSIBILITY...which taken by each 1 of us will surely eradicate child labour....i wud definitely take it.....
A very thought provoking post.
ReplyDelete:( Sad but true. Beautifully expressed!
ReplyDeleteProtecting people against child labor has become a lost cause. Its also partly due to illiteracy. To be frank, my college canteen employed children to clean tables. We tried talking to the management but in vain. Good post.
ReplyDeletepoignant...
ReplyDeleteI applaud your attempt at bring up such a sensitive topic. It sure made me thin and sigh in despair for not being able to do anything about it :'(
ReplyDelete