Two Rupee-Innocence

It was Monday morning and I was juggling my way to work. I take the MRTS commuter from Chennai Fort to Taramani on every week-day for work. It saves me a lot of time, pretty fast service that it is. And one of the best way to beat the morning traffic.

I had missed my 8.20 train by a few seconds, like as many a time in the past, thus forced to spend ten precious morning-minutes on the concrete-table of the station. As I waited, there is this child whom I see quiet regularly in the morning. He should be around three years old, malnourished, pot-bellied, clad in dirt and to make his already-little-miserable-world more miserable his legs where paralyzed with polio.

Very active and sprightly beyond his hardship, he makes an effort quiet often to rise on his weakened-waned legs to make a step or two only to fall on the ground as his own legs forsakes him.

The child looks neglected, should be some one’s child, I thought; and should have a name too but no body seemed to know. Well no body was bothered too, not even me as I am writing about him, the neglected little hero of this write-up.

He was quiet a gabby character, he goes out for a small talk now and then with all the passers-by in the station. Like today he remarked that there was something on his face to a man and this tiny tot got a mature reply from that man too.

Today he was carrying a lot of coins stacked in his hands. I wonder of he even knows what those stacks of coins could buy him. For that matter what money will mean at all for those feeble soiled hands. He had more money in his hands than any body of us would have when we were about his age, ironical indeed. He was merrily playing and tossing those coins like the chef of a pizza place. He was dropping and picking up the coins through the gaps of the grilled iron chairs upon which he was resting.

Besides he was asking money to all the commuters, he should have either picked up the habit or may be he was forced to do so or may be his handicap was also forced on him, who knows? Because I almost always see him in the morning and in the evening he is gone, may be he has a home to rest!!! I think all he knew was that he should ask for money to whomever he could possibly see in the station, and this he would do with a lot of command, don’t know if I should laugh at it, some realities thought laughter evoking are sad. For I could see a lot many laughing (at his innocence), for the way he was asking for money. To a couple of young ladies he said “Rendu rooba kodu” “Illena kaalai odachiruvEn” in his nascent Tamil, meaning “Give me two Rupees, otherwise I will break your legs”; heights of innocence.

May be the poor little thing doesn’t know what he is doing, and also why he should be doing this; and definitely doesn’t know how it should be done too. But he seemed not very disappointed even when nobody gave him money. May be ignorance is bliss, but definitely poverty and polio aren’t!!!!