THE BOY AT THE TEA
STALL
It is just another regular morning as I get dressed for my
coaching classes. On the way, I crossed the usual traffic, the dreary commuters and the same old shops. But one thing
that catches my attention every time is the tea shop on the corner of the road,
and young Ravi, who is always serving tea to the people who have stopped by at
the shop.
Ravi is 12 years old
and he has been working in the shop for the last few years. Life, as I know it,
is difficult for him. He has to get up early in the morning to prepare the
munchies that are to be served with the tea, and he has to stay in the shop
till at night every day. His owner is unsympathetic and Ravi gets scolded at
the slightest of pretexts. He has to stand
in front of the hot stove for hours on end, even in the scorching summer heat, when temperatures hit the roof. He cannot
complain for fear of losing his job.
Ravi has always been
skinny. His hair looks dry and rough, it has never been oiled, for sure. The
shirt on his body simply clings to him, and
his trousers are too big for him. He would hold them in his hands and tighten
the waist with the innovative technique of fastening it with a rope made out of
plastic threads. He would often stands expressionless, just like an old stuffed
toy.
Ravi belongs to a
very poor family which can hardly afford two square meals a day. His father
passed away when he was just five years old, and he has a younger brother and
an ailing mother, who used to earlier work
as a domestic help in other people’s homes. But prolonged
illness and lack of treatment worsened
her condition through the years.
Ravi is the only
bread-earner in his family. So, he has to do his job diligently.
Through there is compulsory and free education for children of his age, Ravi
has never been able to help children like him. I can feel his agony; he probably works a lot more than people
double his age.
I have written
several essays on child labour and how we should do with it, but after seeing
Ravi’s plight, I doubt if all our protest
will ever be able to help children like him. In reality we can do very little
for boys and girls like him, because they have to work so that their families
may live. However, I am still hopeful, and I pray that Ravi’s circumstances
change for the better and that he has a good life ahead.
