AN EXPERIENCE

The doorbell rang.

When I opened I found two small girls aged , may be, 9 or 10, with a small hundi in their hands asking for some coins for some temple function. An usual thing in Chennai. Very often one will find someone at your doorstep in Chennai and such seekers range from small children to women to old people. I am always left with the feeling whether to refuse or oblige, because the money I give may be used for some wrong purpose.

This time I did not want to refuse, because I have been thinking for the last few days that I should not always turn them off and probably oblige some of them. So I put a coin in their hundi.

Next, one of the girls asked me if I can give some money as they both are hungry.

I said that it is wrong to ask for money like that. But one of the girls continued to stay there. So I told her to go home and eat food which her mother may have prepared. She says that her house is far away and it will be late by the time she can reach home. The she added that her mother may not have prepared any food at all.

I asked her if he had something to eat when she started out from home. She said she had something in the morning but she is feeling hungry now. It was around 1.00 PM.

I again said that she should not ask all the people like that for money. Then I asked her what she is doing without being in school on the day. She said that she was asked to skip school for the day and collect money for temple function. I thought what kind of people she is having.

I said that if she had gone to school she would have got food.

She says she gets stomach ache if she eats the food given in her school. Is it the quality of the mid-day meal served in the schools?.

A small girl like that had an answer for all my questions.

I really did not know what to do. I stood there for a minute. Then I asked her to wait and closed the door a bit. This is a precautionary measure we are used to,lest they notice what is in the house and report to their parents who can then plan stealing. Times are bad.

I got two biscuits and gave one each to them. I told them to go straight home and eat food.

What kind of people we are having?. At such a tender age, these children, whether boy or a girl, are being misguided. Will we have responsible citizens in our country when these children grow up?. Something must be done to wipe away the ignorance of such parents.