I met him daily ,
in the morning ,
while parking my bicycle ,
he always has a smile ,
on his face .
He is very young ,
might be 10 years old ,
but his dedication is great ,
as great as the spirit of birds to fly .
Once I asked his name ,
he replied Ravi ,
in correct pronunciation,
he said the sentence in english ,
as children does in the classroom.
He said that ,
he saw a teacher teaching in the class ,
the same way ,
when he was collecting the ,
garbage of the garden .
I asked ,
why he was doing so ,
he replied smiling,
to fill my and mine family's stomach ,
I asked ,
why he doesn't goes to school ,
he murmured in a low tone ,
that ,
at the end of the day ,
we cannot sleep with ,
hollow stomach .
The hungry ache ,
can be vanished ,
through money ,
and this work gives me that money .
Studies and education ,
can give us identity ,
but our body need ,
a two time's meal ,
that is the far beyond ,
the reach of identity .
He told me that ,
he wanted to go to school ,
but he cannot see his sick mother ,
doing wage jobs and ,
his small sisters begging .
He wanted to fulfil ,
his dreams ,
but he cannot show his back ,
to his duties .
He explained me that ,
dreams are not always ,
meant to be lived ,
but ,
duties and responsibilities are always ,
exists to be fulfilled.
P