The Hindu Business Line : <I>Children of a lesser God </I>

Scene at Kanchipuram bus-stand, 11 a.m.: Three Chennai-bound buses parked side by side. Between two buses, a small girl wearing a dirty salwar-kameez bends both the hands of a small boy, who, from his physical appearance, cannot be more than three-years-old. The girl looks 15, and she is effortlessly directing the boy to perform acrobatics that would do a villain in a Rajnikant movie proud.

The boy then stands straight on the girl's shoulders, and greets on-lookers with a namaste. Simultaneously, the girl beats a drum and as expected, the boy completes his routine of acrobatics in five minutes; then he goes begging inside each of the buses, while the girl does the same outside. Some onlookers throw a few coins, even while the show is on; both would have collected around Rs 25. Co-passengers in the bus told me that the boy and girl are from Gujarat, having arrived here after the earthquake. But instead of being at school, the girl and the boy were begging.

At a time when the Government has banned child labour, here is an example where children are working for their very survival. While it is easy to blame the Government, what do we do? We have thousands of IT professionals who earn upwards of Rs 40,000 in their first job. They could easily contribute Rs 100 every month to educate poor children. And so could well-placed businessmen and corporate houses. Similarly, the social clubs that organise eye and medical camps could also champion the cause of such children. What I saw is common at public places. What is necessary is affirmative action. Acrobatics for a living, when one is just three-years-old, is inhuman, and cannot be justified by any society.

A. B. Sivakumar

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