Shirdiwalle saibabaa...... ayaa hain tere...... .......... ............ ......................

The rest of the line was drowned out by the din of the commuters boarding the local.I craned my neck to see the source of this rather poor rendition of the song and was in for a rude shock.A kid no more than 4 years old was swinging his hands to and fro and trying his level best to match his steps to his song.More out of concern than anything else i handed out some money as alms to be followed by many others in the compartment.Later that kid handed over his savings to its parent in the next station.The entire day that scene swirled in and out of my mind.I just couldn't digest the fact that any parent would send their tiny tot for begging ..that too at the rush hour!

At a point of time wherein we pride ourselves to the fact that the government has finally woken up from its slumber and has taken stringent measures to abolish child labour in the country,not to mention Aamir's TAREIN ZAMEEN PAR-- which cries out for equality among children. & letting children be what they are... i.e- CHILDREN............ and not a beast of burden of their parents expectations.... it was unnerving to see so many child beggars amble about in Kalyan station.What had the govt done for their rehabilitation??? All i could see was a deep black hole with no ray of light as their future....... What had the government done for urchins ... the future of tomorrow ..i pondered....
Is this the future of India??? Is this India shining??? i questioned myself repeatedly....

Time flew and before i knew it was time for me to return back home.The steady motion of the train and the gentle breeze acted like a lullaby and before i knew it i was catching up on my badly deprived sleep.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..............................
until i was jolted back to reality by a vendor selling piping hot samosaa and alu wadi.Fighting all my tastebuds i decided rather to be hungry than gorge on the samosaas and concentrated on trying to fall back asleep until something i heard made me numb with shock.The samosaawalla enquired about a regular commuter's family and she began chitchatting with him.On being asked upon his family were he quipped them to be fine.It was then that a series of questions resulted into them discussing on the evils of child labour... (I eyed the vendor.He was in his early mid thirties, well clothed and clean and looked literate too.)
He was heard saying "Samajh mein nahi ataa maa - baab apne bacchon ko kyu bheek mangne bhej te hain ...ya phir koi kaam karatein hain. Jab khud nahi kar pate toh apne bacchon par thop dete hain.Itna hi tha toh bacche paida hi kyun kiye woh? Bacchon ko toh school mein bharti karna chahiye.Tabhi toh ve padh likhkar kuch ban payenge.Desh ki tarakki mein haath bataa payenge.Warna humari tarah woh bhi iss race mein peeche reh jayenge.Patta nahi log kyu apne karmo ka phal apne bacchon par thop dete hain.................................................
Mujhe dekho mein PAANCHVI tak hi padh payaa .isliye aaj meri dasha aisi hain,par mere bacche ko mein school bhejta hun.Usse kabhi koi kaam nahi karata kyunki bacchpan ek hi baar ati hain madam par zimmevaari toh zindagibhar hoti hain..."""" ...... .................

I literally reeled back as the impact of his words hit me.Here was someone who actually understood what was the need of the day------A child to be treated as one.To be educated & be loved..... Though i was a mute spectator i somehow felt proud to be an Indian at that point of time.It was as though seeing the mindset of people change for the better.I could at that point of time actually envisage Abdul kalam's vision of India by 2020... And it was at that point of time i realised that help can only be given to those who are willing to change.Willing to try and make an attempt in providing their children with the basic necessities of life coupled with educating them.....
What happened today was totally unprecedented and uncalled for.Yet it has got etched onto my memory forever as one of the finest lessons life can enrich you with.. A lesson that "CHANGE" is the need of the day.Because its only when we intend to and truely desire to change from within that something can be done.Else everything is just sham.....
So people lets try and change for the better.Lets try and lead our locality(if not our country) into doing some charity or in taking up a social cause.... and making a difference.

As quoth by Shakespere.. "The world is one mighty stage and we humans are just tiny puppets created to enact our roles in the play ."

Why not play our role with such sincerity and perseverance to leave a mark somewhere out there?