I was worried that my birthday this year was going to be as boring and uneventful as it proved to be the previous two years but to my utter good luck it seemed to be not.
The reason was Soumen who had decided to visit me on the same week. As it was a golden opportunity for me to enjoy in my own birthday(which was rare due to various reasons),I decided to make most of it.
So,after partying the previous night,I woke up on my birthday with a wide smile on my face.I had already made ample plans for the day,the first being visiting a temple, followed by a sumptuous lunch at 6 Ballygunge Place(my favourite Bengali cuisine restaurant) and then a movie at Inox.
Soumen came to pick me up at 9 in the morning.I was more enthusiastic than ever and was already decked up by then in my brand new birthday dress.Thus we headed for the temple.
It was a Shiva temple that we visited, located in the heart of the city, and was well known for its austerity and its power to make dreams come true.
The entrance leads to the gates from where we needed to get our shoes racked before entering the main podium. As we awaited our turn there in the queue to submit our shoes, my eyes fell on a little boy. He was about 6 years old, had a pretty face and appeared to be from the North. The reason why I observed him was, though he seemed to be from a good educated family background, he was washing utensils in the sink nearby the place where we stood. He worked very intently, cleaning and washing each of the crockery with utmost care and discipline. I was amazed at the sight and I genuinely felt intrigued by him.I went forward and asked his name. He looked at me, at first with awe and then his eyes crinkled as he smiled and said “Veer”. But to my amazement,he continued to say …”Naam Veer hain,par admi veer nahi hain”(Translation:Though my name is Veer, meaning brave, I am not at all brave)!!!I was stupefied at such an intelligent remark from a 6 year old kid. I then asked him where he was from.He said he hailed from Uttaranchal. He smartly asked me where I came from. Hearing of Calcutta, he seemed very happy and asked how far Calcutta was from Delhi..I said, it was quite far, and he continued in his sweet voice about his place and how far it was from Delhi. He was chirpy young intelligent boy, very innocent and had a pure heart. I came to know from him that he never studied and was working in a restaurant nearby since last year. After sharing few more insignificant facts from his life, he gave me a smile and hopped away cheerfully.
This small tryst had really touched me, and as I prayed to God, I thought about the plight of thousands of other kids who have the same story as Veer. Child labour still was well rooted in India. Even in a progressive city like Bangalore, its presence was striking. I felt helpless unable to do anything for them. I was ashamed at myself for being such a fool chasing the materialistic happiness all my life....When children like Veer went to bed at night hungry and tired after a hard day’s work, the so called “educated” people like us cribbed about petty things like not getting the choice of pizza at the restaurant or not able to make it to the first show in a movie or about a bad haircut...
It was high time we woke up and realized that there were far more important things in our lives than just wasting our time in running behind ephemeral pleasures and leading lives of hedonistic delights.
