-Ratnesh Katulkar
"Pandit Nehru loved children very much; children used to affectionately call him Chacha (Uncle)... Today is 14th November his birthday, celebrated as Children's Day."... This was said very sweetly by the strict school principal in the morning assembly today. Before concluding his speech, he also told the children, "Today there will be only half-day studies. After your half-day, a fair will be organized in the school premises for you children. This fair is for all of you, so after going home, come back to participate in the fair."
Children never liked being tied up in school from eight in the morning until 2.30 afternoon.
Bablu, who was standing in front of his class' prayer line, was even happier. He was in the fourth standard, and the combination of a half-day and the fair made him feel so happy that he couldn't contain his joy.
Bablu not only stood at the front in the morning assembly but also sat at the front row in class. It wasn't because he was exceptionally intelligent; the only reason was that he was very thin and weak, and the shortest among his classmates. The rule of the queue was smallest to tallest. Bablu fell victim to this rule.
To be honest, he didn't like standing at the front in the prayer line or sitting at the front in class because it meant he was right under the stern principal's watchful eyes during prayer, which felt like a punishment. In class, sitting in the front meant his notebook would be checked first and he would often be scolded or hit by the teacher. The teachers, whether they taught twelfth grade or primary classes, or even the principal, loved hitting children with scales or sticks.
Anyway, today was a day of joy. At the end of the prayer, national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' was sung, and with the collective chant of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' (Long live Mother India), all the children went to their respective classes. At the beginning of the first lecture, the teacher reminded Bablu of Children's Day by showing him a picture of Chacha Nehru holding a cute chubby baby from a social science book. Bablu, once again happy, he started counting down to the half-day leave. The second, then the third, fourth, and now the fifth period passed by, and with just half an hour left, the bell rang for the half-day leave and then the fair.
Lost in these thoughts, Bablu was suddenly shaken by the appearance of the scout teacher in the class. He saw all the children stand up and say in unison, 'Good morning, Sir.'
Despite sitting in the front row, Bablu had not noticed the teacher due to his daydreams about the half-day leave and the fair. 'Who among you is in scouts? Stand up quickly!' the scout teacher said in his usual style. Three boys stood up, including Bablu. Before he could understand, the scout teacher revealed the secret, 'You three scouts! You will not have a half-day leave today; you need to stay back for the fair setup.'
The scout teacher was gone, but this command shattered Bablu's joy. He had no option but to stay back in school. He couldn't disobey the command as the scout teacher had noticed him. Disobedience meant beating with a stick... Besides, he remembered the scout principles of ideals, service, sacrifice, and dedication.
Lost in thought, suddenly, the bell rang for the half-day leave. All the children happily packed their bags and left. But Bablu had to stay back. His two scout friends told him they would go home to eat and come back. Now he was alone in the class. He opened his bag to take out his lunch box, only to find it wasn't there. Knowing it was Children's Day and a half-day leave, his mother had not packed any tiffin.
There was no option but to stay hungry, so he tried to quench his hunger by drinking water from the tap. He thought if Chacha Nehru was here today, he would have loved me too... I wouldn't have to stay hungry. Sometimes he wondered if Chacha Nehru would have come to this school, he would have shown his affection to him too...
In this dilemma, three to four boys from a senior class came, who were not only older but also scout. Seeing them, Bablu went straight to them. After all, not just teachers and the principal, these senior students also instilled fear in younger kids. Their age, strength, and senior class status gave them the right to beat younger children.
Today's command was to carry the tables and chairs from the upper-floor classrooms to the ground. Upon reaching the upper floor, he saw some scout boys already there. They had to carry the heavy wooden tables and chairs down the stairs to the ground. Carrying these heavy furniture pieces down the stairs was no less difficult, and carrying them to the ground was a great punishment for a thin and weak child like Bablu. On top of that, not having had tiffin today, he felt dizzy while carrying the tables down, but he had to follow the command. After nearly two hours of hard child labor, all the heavy furniture was brought to the ground. Meanwhile, large tents were set up in the ground.
Now Bablu's clothes and face were drenched in sweat. He was trying to quench his hunger by drinking water intermittently. Finally, with the work done, he took a breath of relief and went to wash his hands and face at the tap behind the school building.
When he reached the front of the school, he saw the fair had already started. Seeing the colorful tents of the fair, his fatigue vanished, and he quickly moved towards the fair. There were various stalls, from sweets to hot samosas, jalebi, and many dishes. There were also game stalls, but seeing the sweets stalls, Bablu felt hungry again. When he went to a stall, he found out that he needed money to buy anything.
Turning around, he saw many of his classmates dressed well and accompanied by their parents. In the crowd, he couldn't spot any friends whose family's financial condition was like his. Finally, he saw a classmate wearing an attractive jeans jacket with his father. This classmate wasn't a friend, but as a fellow classmate, they would occasionally talk. Seeing no friends, Bablu felt a sense of belonging and went to him, but the classmate didn't even respond to his smile.
Bablu felt dizzy standing in the middle of the fair, weak from hunger. He barely had the strength to stand for a moment. His dizzying eyes again fell on the same classmate, but he didn't see him as a classmate anymore. He saw him as the chubby, cute child in Nehru's lap, and all the stall owners and parents feeding sweets seemed like Chacha Nehru.
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