Tuesday, 1 May 2012

Barthez - 16

Whilst attending my cousins Nikah ceremony at a lawn in KMC complex on Sunday night, I came across a young kid barely 12 who was picking up the table cloths after the dulha had moved to the dulhan side for photography. In between his cloth-picking I got a chance to speak to him. ''Saab aap mere baare mein jaan kar kya karenge (what will you do after getting to know me?''). He had a valid point. His story was painful and I do not feel like repeating it here. He was born into a poor family and to support his family he worked overnight.

His battle was a hard one. There was no government support for his family nor were they enrolled on the list of any NGO. Breaking out from the vicious cycle of poverty was a daunting task for him.

Amidst the negativity and doom that loomed his future, he remarked with a positive stint in his eye: ''Mujhe angrezi parhne ka shawq hai (I like to read English).'' So much as I wished, I could not do anything for him at that point in time except that I committed to drop by the next day with something of value to him that would assist him in achieving that aim. The number of Barthez's on the streets is silently climbing as we wait for political leaders to brush aside their differences and vested interest and do something for them. Being a taxpayer, it is kind of frustrating to see this trend. As I write this, I have in mind the success story of one such boy. Miraculous as it may seem, it certainly was the result of determination and hard-work. Let's hope the same for our Barthez too!

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