On a beautiful
December afternoon, the laughter and sound of children running around filled the
two storey public primary school building. The under-facilitated and poorly
furnished establishment screamed poverty just like the students who attended it.
Despite its location beside a highway to nearest town, the establishment seemed
to have quietly hid itself amidst the small hills and tall trees. The few hard
working teachers that the school could boast were also outdoors basking under
the warm sun which felt precious amidst the cool air blowing. To everyone’s
joy, the sunshine kept good company. Or it seemed that was the only cheerful thing they could afford.
Ved and Jarin stood at one corner of the playground watching the kids make the best use of their recess time with a torn down soccer ball. They kept shouting, running, kicking and laughing. The rough, uneven playground full of small stones did not stop them from playing. The cool air and the warmth of the sun kept wrestling.
“They
look so happy. And the attendance rate looks good too. Since the past four days
that I am here, everyone’s been regular to the school.” Jarin told Ved without removing his sight from the joyful crowd.
He was visiting this school since past few days with his foreign friends who were volunteering to teach arts for these rural kids. Jarin was very happy and felt proud in one corner of his heart to be able to successfully invite them to his hometown for a good cause. Regular attendance was hard to achieve in a rural public schools where kids were often saddled with household affairs from a young age; he knew. Although he had a comfortable upbringing, living in a small town had allowed him to note poverty. He knew how some people had it and some were cheated. This sour truth pinched him deep inside.
“Well…” Ved,
a tall, slender man in his mid thirties who had been fascinating Jarin with his
fluent, beautiful Sanskrit verses ever since the art classes started, moved a
little closer with his signature half smile. He has been teaching
in this school for many years now and knew his students and their backgrounds
inside out.
“Yes…yes.
They look happy…”
Jarin
signaled asking for a quick interruption. He reached his front-right pocket of
his jeans and pulled out his vibrating cell phone. He quickly scanned
the screen, silenced the vibration and put it back in his pocket.
“Sorry
Ved ji. Please, go ahead.”
“It’s
Ok. Well, what was I saying? Yes, I was saying… I would say they are content.
At home, their parents are busy trying to earn two meals a day. They hardly
have time for their kids or let alone care, monitor their education. In their
dwellings, there is loneliness, poor food, poverty, and most of the time
un-cooperative parents. They come to school to escape all the darkness, misery
and poverty that engulfs them there. Here, at least they get to meet friends and play.”
Jarin
nodded in affirmative, his gaze still fixed on the children playing. The ball
came rolling towards him which he stopped with his right leg. A small boy in a dirty,
torn navy-blue sweater paired with blue shorts came running to fetch it.
“Sir,
why don’t you come play with us? Come on… I will place you in one of our teams.
Come on.” The boy insisted looking at the ball and him.
“Yes,
sure. Why not? Let’s play.”
He
entered the playground. The sun kept smiling as the cold air kept making
rounds.
