He must have been five or six years old. Unaccompanied he deftly made his way into the ladies compartment of a Mumbai local at peak hours in the evening.
What struck me as remarkable in this quite unremarkable child was that he was cradling a pile of books written by popular authors desperately looking for a good bargain. There was Durjoy Datta, Twinkle Khanna, Khalid Hosseini and a host of others to choose from.
Most of the women gave him a cursory glance or just smiled sweetly. One straightened a book in the pile and went back to her cell.
He continued to look imploringly and expectantly at the ladies but none obliged. Then suddenly lady luck did smile on him when a young college girl made her choice and bargain. He quoted Rs250. "Rs200," said she. The deal was struck.
The little bookseller had money in his pocket and and one book less to carry.
My heart went out to him. Did he at least know the alphabet? I think not. Most probably he would grow up to be a street smart businessman unless there was at least some basic education in store for him.
I believe the little lad should have been kicking a ball somewhere or doing his homework. Alas! somebody thought differently. It is truly a sad state of affairs. So many children are spotted begging or trying to sell their wares at traffic signals. Quite a few work in factories for paltry sums. A few are rescued but many remain hapless victims of the system.
What struck me as remarkable in this quite unremarkable child was that he was cradling a pile of books written by popular authors desperately looking for a good bargain. There was Durjoy Datta, Twinkle Khanna, Khalid Hosseini and a host of others to choose from.
Most of the women gave him a cursory glance or just smiled sweetly. One straightened a book in the pile and went back to her cell.
He continued to look imploringly and expectantly at the ladies but none obliged. Then suddenly lady luck did smile on him when a young college girl made her choice and bargain. He quoted Rs250. "Rs200," said she. The deal was struck.
The little bookseller had money in his pocket and and one book less to carry.
My heart went out to him. Did he at least know the alphabet? I think not. Most probably he would grow up to be a street smart businessman unless there was at least some basic education in store for him.
I believe the little lad should have been kicking a ball somewhere or doing his homework. Alas! somebody thought differently. It is truly a sad state of affairs. So many children are spotted begging or trying to sell their wares at traffic signals. Quite a few work in factories for paltry sums. A few are rescued but many remain hapless victims of the system.
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