Food for thought

There was great excitement on board as most of us were travelling without parents for the first time. Soon we had our dinner, settled down and an order was passed that now we should clean up and go to bed. But wait! What was this seen flying past my window? Naaah, it wouldn8217;t be8230; Yes! It was! Puris and chapatis! So this was their idea of cleaning up8217;!Such a wastage should be stopped. So the escort teachers were informed and requested to put a bandh on this shameless wastage. So all this remaining food was collected and put into two huge polythenes.

Next morning we had almost forgotten, but someone brought out the packets of stale food. Soon a lame boy of 12 to 13 years came begging for alms. He was dressed in a tattered gunny bag, tied around his waist. His skin had several lesions and open, undressed wounds, there were sores on his bare, dirty feet. Seeing his plight, we gave him all the food. The look of sheer delight on his face! He literally fell on his knees and started shaking all over in excited disbelief? The little thing had just hungrily torn a packet open when a pock-marked figure came tearing down at him and grabbed away the food. The boy was shattered, and catching hold of the greedy mad man8217;s leg was dragged halfway down the station floor. The man was much bigger and stronger and kicking the boy square in the face made off with his treasure8217;.

Slowly the boy helped himself up when suddenly he noticed that a morsel of food which had dropped from one of the bags was being approached by a stray dog. In a mad frenzy he tried to grab away the piece. The dog, equally hungry, resented this and the next minute was on top of the boy growling fiercely. Suddenly someone threw a stone at the dog and he ran away, yelping down the station. I noticed that the boy was frothing at the mouth.Somehow this reminded me of the law of the jungle that, 8220;Might is always right.8221; 8220;Why can8217;t anyone do something about this? What is the prime minister for?

8221;8220;My dear, the PM of India is not ignorant and irresponsible. But how much change can a single man alone be expected to bring about in a country of millions of ignorant and selfish people who seem only to care about their interests. Don8217;t you children realise that even in small ways you show your selfishness by throwing away the food you don8217;t like. It is the same food which is responsible for this boy8217;s misery.8221; My teacher had driven her point home.

With a feeling of guilt we left. A hazy image of that boy on the station is forever in service for the same sense of guilt to come flooding back. I can8217;t say to what extent I have been affected but it has forced me to think and rethink8230;