When we were discussing about the numbers of miseries of their life sitting besides the large glass window and relishing on the cups of “Darjeelings(tea)”, they were just down on the pavements, happily spending the late winter dusk of Kolkata by inventing numbers of games with pebbles, torn papers, sticks and twigs. When we came out from the restaurant they surrounded us with a claim of ICECREAM!! We the Kolkatans have seen these little faces at the traffic signals, railway platforms, moving buses, begging for coins. And this time they are asking for Ice cream! May be our foreigner friend with her blond hair has given their demand this height.
They are the street children of Kolkata, the street urchins, street paupers, children of lesser god, the children in need of care and protection and the bunch of thieves.
I have seen Subhash, a runaway from home, spent his childhood in Dum Dum railway platform, his addiction reached the height of smacking adhesive. We failed to keep him in children home because he felt there was not enough freedom for him. He bought a knife to kill his teacher (of near by street children education center) when he was eleven years old. And this eleven-year-old hero carried one of his sick street friend on his back one and half kilometre to a local health centre.
And the little divers of the Ganges! At the bathing-ghat of the sacred river they waited. Whenever a devotee throws a coin (part of worship) in the river, they dive. Within a few minutes they come up with the glittering coins in their hands. And their wet faces glitters with proud and joy.
They are mature, they are opportunists some time, but still they are children. If you can win over their putrid body odour, the lice amongst their sticky hair, their hostile attitude, the child will come out. Than you are bound to hear to their numerous questions, your copies would be filled with their unskilled drawings, they will give you funny nicknames.
Yes, they are vulnerable on streets, even when they are living with their families. They should not be left on street but where they will go? Law says they should be in children home, public says in jail and government says nothing but scaring them by evicting their families regularly.
The children are never asked. How they aspire their life? They must have a dream of a secured home but how the home would look like? Would it be free like the street? Would it be luxurious like the bunglows showed in Hindi films? Do they like to be in schools? How the school will be? You don’t know because you never ask, you never got enough guts to enter their own world. You know everything should be in the best interest of the children but you never know that what is actually their interest!!
“That naked street-child starving within me
Abandons her games in the dust
And stretching out her arms against the wind
wails in hunger:“Give me love!”
At this, her playmates,
The crow and the street-dogs
Stop their games of snatch and tag
And stand still for two minutes
Upon the garbage heap”
(English Translalation of Balbhashitam -
a bengaly poem written by Nabanita Debsen)
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Name of the children are changed
