A beautiful white skinny girl child who is perhaps not more than 7 years of age, soon captured my attention ever since I started seeing her. I don't know her name. But I see her every single day on the street close to my hostel in Bangalore. Sometimes she would be playing along with her peers or sometimes she would be helping her working parents at the nearby construction site. She always appears in scruffy attires and always barefooted. But, she is an adorable kid with amazing facial features. Her straight uncombed brown hair, Sweaty forehead, fairy face, and that naive gaze with her attractive tiny eyes along with a pleasant kiddish smile all made me a fan of hers.
Whenever I roam through the street my eyes will automatically search for her and without rolling my eyes more she would always appear somewhere in the corners of the street. Every time I see her I think of her hidden beauty. If she has decked up in some nice costumes, I'm willing to bet that her charm would be unsurpassed then.
But later I realized that her boldness is her prime beauty. Her sense of accountability in helping her parents like mixing the cement mortar, serving the mortar to the cement trays, passing it to the co-workers, and her strong-headed bossy communications and proficiency in different languages made me in the awe of her personality that she has developed at her tender age itself. Though I must admit that many a time I have frowned upon seeing her working for the livelihood.
A few days after, one scene shook me to the core. I saw her lifting a cement tray all by herself, An insanely overwhelming real visual of what I have seen in the pictures of child labor. It moved my heart. Still, I can't figure out whether it was anger or grief or sympathy or I don't quite know what all combo of emotions took over my mind when I witnessed that from near. Inside I cursed her parents who were standing beside her and not stopping her from doing that.
That single off-putting event struck over my mind with all its force which kept bothering me even after I passed her and it kept me bummed until I came to see the next scene of her life's journey. I saw her studying in front of a temple on the pathways of the street. Away from all the distractions, holding a mobile phone, and was fully engrossed in reading and writing something. I also noticed a pencil box and some other stacks of books placed alongside her. I assumed that she might be attending the online class. She was not looking at anyone who passes by but only focused on what she was doing right then.
An oddly satisfying and thought-provoking scene that filled immense pleasure to my dry heart and wiped off all the misconceptions that I bore about her after that heartbreaking scene at the construction site. I felt guilty for carrying a mere slum image about her even for a few days. She is way more than that, perhaps beyond all my narrow views. I started pondering and wondering more about her traits. I have been enthralled by her alacrity and efficacy in handling X amount of activities in a properly scheduled manner.
How come a child can exude this much maturity at this age especially in this unfavorable ambiance. It is quite obvious that she is exposed to this real world from the yolk stage itself. She is relishing the bitterness and sweetness of the realities as it is. Not every so-called privileged kid can perceive and savor the real essence of life in the exact way how she is enjoying that. For them, everything is available through their well-heeled parents. They don't want to bother about anything. They consider happiness is what getting gifts when they achieve good marks and when promises get fulfilled by their parents. But these privileges are slowly killing their productivity and retreats them to face challenges and failures in the life ahead...
That's where this slum girl becomes a Super Hero.....
I'm sure that she is not getting enough attention and care from her parents. But I'm glad that she is not deprived of education. Her parents care about her studies and that is what I've been seeing all through these days at the temple steps. Knowingly or unknowingly her parents are helping her to develop a good sense of individuality and independence. I don't think that they had attended any parenting classes to raise their kid. It all comes instinctively. They don't scream at her to study, but she studies. They don't compel her to help, but she helps. They don't give her any promises, but she is happy enough and always seems agile to undertake any responsibilities at any time.
She doesn't need to go to any personality development classes or spoken English classes to improve her personality and language skills. Her premises and circumstances have already taught her everything about the basic lessons of life and now she might have entered into some advanced lessons.
I'm embarrassed to divulge the truth that how many countless YouTube tutorials I've watched to develop my communication skills, professionalism, teamwork, and time management skills just to appear for an interview. But to be very frank, I miserably failed at it. But she amuses me every day, how effortlessly she is handling all those basic skills. She speaks multiple languages and effectively communicates with everyone around her. The way she interacts with the people and how others are reciprocating with her made me the sense that none of the practical life lessons can be learned from textbooks and tutorial videos.
She is not at all confined in a virtual cage. Yes ...she too attends the online classes. But after that, no other electronic gadgets beckons her to further experience the superpowers of the virtual intangible world. But she is getting benefitted from both the physical and virtual world. That makes her distinguished amongst the other privileged kids.
Pause and think ... Who is more privileged? Our heroic slum girl or the other financially advantaged kids? What I personally come to understand is that When the latter goes to prestigious schools she prefers to see this whole world as her school which creates more space and opportunities for her.
So she can grow, learn and prosper in life without losing its worth. Her life is just about to begin...She is still inside a shell .....
May the deity bless this "Wonder Bengalurian slum girl" to lead a fearless meaningful life .
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