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.