Thursday, August 07, 2003

The problem

Reached at 7.35 for a farewell party that was to start at 7.30, and not surprisingly, was the first one. While I was waiting for the others to turn up, and promising myself an ice cream for every 5 minutes of delay, I saw some street children. There were three of them, around 6-7 years old, one brother - sister pair and a girl. They were fighting, and the girl was threatening to hit the sister. The brother was valiantly trying to protect his sis. All this was happening pretty close to where I was standing, and I stared at the three, in the hope that they would take their fight someplace else. The girl took this to be a sign of interest, and started justifying herself "I went to ask those didi's there and she came and swore at me" - she said, pointing to the lil sis. The sis, looking totally guilty, was hiding behind the brother. The brother, I just noticed, had some problem in one eye. The girl was bigger and healthier than both, and was succeeding in hitting them. I told them - "This is a big place, there is space for everyone. You two go this side and you go that side". With a parting shot at the brother, the girl disappeared.
Some time later, actually, a lot of time later, when we were leaving for the restaurant, I saw the girl again. She was begging from some new group of people and fighting with some new guy. All this seemed like a game to her. Something that children do all day. The ignominy, the hopelessness of her situation had not yet sunk in. To her, this was life, and it was not bad. Wish she never grows up .....

The bill for dinner came to 2500.

What kind of a system is this? And who is responsible? Man, or the one who created man ?

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