Is the glass half-full or half-empty ?

It was just another day in everyone's life .Office-goers buzzing with their smart phones, couples waiting to board the train to get to the other side of the city, children with over-loaded bags and vendors waiting to sell their goods on board.

Amidst all this hustle-bustle in one corner, 12 year old Ramu woke up and collected his half-full mineral water bottle .He smiled at the on-goers and rubbed his eyes clear. He gathered his large cement bag and set out on his daily chore. He collected the water packets littered all over the station .He filled his bottle with few of them which had left-over water and then threw the empty packets into his cement bag. He walked among the twelve tracks and collected as much as he could .Sometimes there would be fights with other kids in collecting bags. Ramu would walk tirelessly all day long collecting and filling his bags. Ramu passed by the nearby slums where he would halt and watch boys play cricket and see them hit a six or four. The stumps, bats and everything were made from scrap or were those of giveaways from the rich households on the other side of the slum. Some older guys came nagging at Ramu and teased him now and then. Ramu knew his fragile frame would never allow for fights and run at speeds he could to save himself.

He loved to watch the kites that were flown by some kids who were younger than him. He loved the various colors, shapes and sizes of the kites and often wish he could afford a kite. Ramu envisaged a life where he could be filled with kites and walked on. In his world there was only poverty, food scarcity and hatred.

Ramu stopped by at Annadurai’s Tea shop and had tea. He looked into the sky and the sun blackened his eyes. For a while Ramu could see the people with a ray of red aura around them .Ramu wiped his eyes once again with his nimble fingers and gave two rupees to Annadurai and picked up his cement bag and walked on once again .

As he reached the housing board colony he checked his water bottle and Mrs.Sheethal fed Ramu the left-overs from the previous day party. Mrs.Sheethal looked at Ramu and wished she could help him better his life but knew she was bound by certain inexpressible ties. She had her own worries and responsibilities that ate all her time and patience that to think of helping another was next to impossible. Ramu thanked Sheethal and left with a content heart and also finished the water in his bottle and asked Sheethal for more water. Sheethal filled Ramu’s water bottle and handed it over to him. Ramu thanked Sheethal once again and gathered his cement bag and continued walking in search of bags. Rani (the sweeper appointed to clean the colony garden) yelled at him for littering around. He walked ignoring Rani’s insulting remarks.Ramu was often a soft-target for the sweepers and other workers in the colony who took a strong dislike to the boy. They were jealous of the sympathy that he received from the people in the colony.

Ramu walked for almost an hour and his bag was almost full and he stopped to drink water from his bottle. Ramu quenched his thirst and walked on until the sun was setting down and it was almost 6 PM when Ramu reached Khadar Bhai’s old-paper shop.

Khadhar Bhai weighed the paper bags and gave 25 rupees to Ramu .Ramu’s teeth shone brightly and he walked to nearby push-cart selling dosa and idly. Ramu gave 20 rupees and bought himself three dosas and ate them. Ramu drank water from mud pot and started walking towards the station with a feeling of contentment. Ramu wondered how many kites he could buy with five rupees and was dreaming about it and walked on once again. He reached the same spot under the bench near the tenth platform and spread his torn bed sheet.

Ramu was about to fall asleep when he took five rupees from his pocket that he had saved that day. He recovered a coconut shell hidden in a crevice in wall, dropped the five rupees and shook the shell by closing one end. The shrilling sound of the coin within the shell gave Ramu happiness. Ramu smiled happily and content with his day’s earnings, gazed the sky for a while and then spread his legs turned to his left and lay down. His thin frame looked tired and worn out. It was about 11.45 PM when Ramu suddenly woke up and checked his water bottle. It was still near him and it was half-full and he fell asleep again reassuring him that he had water for next day.

India’s hunger ’shame’: 

3,000 children die every day, despite economic growth(Click to read more)

PS: This write up was inspired from a one liner given by  my friend -Sathish who asked me to write for his short film.