We were just walking down to the bus stop when my friend suddenly stopped in front of a gate.
"Hello, Jay", she said to some body. So I also turned around and looked at Jay. She was a girl of 14 or 15, dressed in a T shirt and skirts, her hands holding a bunch of hay about to be fed to a cow standing in her yard, already chewing her cud. Her hair was unruly, her forehead shone with sweat but.....the smile was brilliant. The other wise could-have-been-awkward birthmark across her forehead actually seemed to accentuate her wide grin. Her eyes lit up seeing my friend and she hurriedly pushed the hay into the opening mouth of the cow. Wiping her forehead with the back of her palm, she sprinted to the gate and unmindful of the cow's spittle on her hand shook my friends hands vigorously, her grin widening.
"Meet Jay", said my friend and it was my turn to be bestowed the vigorous handshake and infectious grin. Since I did not speak the local language, I queried her in English as to what did she do.
"I", said Jay, emphasizing it with a touch of her bosom, "I...student!!"
"Great", I told her, "and which class would you be in?"
"Class...oh, yes...I know..class..." then she simply counted nine on her fingers and held them up to me so that I had no doubts as to which class she was at school. The grin too was as wide as her two hands!!
All this while, my friend was looking at her indulgently. Turning to me, she asked: "Do you know what jay wants to be?". I blinked.
"Jay wants to be a wrestler!". Watching my eyes widen, Jay simply put both her hands half up, squatted in the classic wrestler's pose and then tapped both her thighs. I could not miss the sudden change of her expression into that of a wrestler in the ring, eyes focused on the opponent and breath coming in short spurts. Looking up to me, Jay managed her thoughts in English:
"Want to play for India....me good, you know....coach tell me...lot of practice..."
Some one else would have said in volumes what she told me in four short expressions. The grit and focus of a keen wrestler showed. I wished her all the best and blessed her by touching her head. As both of us left the gate for the bus stop, I was lost in thoughts. My friend asked me quietly,"you are thinking of the child's background and wonder how she would achieve her dream?"
I sighed in answer. Jay lived in a small house with parents both of whom were ordinary labour. They had one cow and two bulls, but no land. She went to the government school, because there is no fee. She ran errands for neighbours and earned pocket money to both help her parents as well as pay to her coach. Any other girl child in her place in India probably would have been 'given' in marriage at her age. Her parents, the simple labour folk, would not dream of doing so. They were content that their daughter was happy doing what she did. Knowing that sports coaching takes a lot of money and even sponsorship, all I could do was to sigh. Wish I had the money and contacts to sponsor that child. My friend only said, "Amen".
There are hundreds of children in this world who are capable of doing the impossible. They say, the path makes itself for those who tread with grit. Jay knows the path and I pray that the path makes itself so that she could travel to her destiny. So grant her God! Amen.
"Hello, Jay", she said to some body. So I also turned around and looked at Jay. She was a girl of 14 or 15, dressed in a T shirt and skirts, her hands holding a bunch of hay about to be fed to a cow standing in her yard, already chewing her cud. Her hair was unruly, her forehead shone with sweat but.....the smile was brilliant. The other wise could-have-been-awkward birthmark across her forehead actually seemed to accentuate her wide grin. Her eyes lit up seeing my friend and she hurriedly pushed the hay into the opening mouth of the cow. Wiping her forehead with the back of her palm, she sprinted to the gate and unmindful of the cow's spittle on her hand shook my friends hands vigorously, her grin widening.
"Meet Jay", said my friend and it was my turn to be bestowed the vigorous handshake and infectious grin. Since I did not speak the local language, I queried her in English as to what did she do.
"I", said Jay, emphasizing it with a touch of her bosom, "I...student!!"
"Great", I told her, "and which class would you be in?"
"Class...oh, yes...I know..class..." then she simply counted nine on her fingers and held them up to me so that I had no doubts as to which class she was at school. The grin too was as wide as her two hands!!
All this while, my friend was looking at her indulgently. Turning to me, she asked: "Do you know what jay wants to be?". I blinked.
"Jay wants to be a wrestler!". Watching my eyes widen, Jay simply put both her hands half up, squatted in the classic wrestler's pose and then tapped both her thighs. I could not miss the sudden change of her expression into that of a wrestler in the ring, eyes focused on the opponent and breath coming in short spurts. Looking up to me, Jay managed her thoughts in English:
"Want to play for India....me good, you know....coach tell me...lot of practice..."
Some one else would have said in volumes what she told me in four short expressions. The grit and focus of a keen wrestler showed. I wished her all the best and blessed her by touching her head. As both of us left the gate for the bus stop, I was lost in thoughts. My friend asked me quietly,"you are thinking of the child's background and wonder how she would achieve her dream?"
I sighed in answer. Jay lived in a small house with parents both of whom were ordinary labour. They had one cow and two bulls, but no land. She went to the government school, because there is no fee. She ran errands for neighbours and earned pocket money to both help her parents as well as pay to her coach. Any other girl child in her place in India probably would have been 'given' in marriage at her age. Her parents, the simple labour folk, would not dream of doing so. They were content that their daughter was happy doing what she did. Knowing that sports coaching takes a lot of money and even sponsorship, all I could do was to sigh. Wish I had the money and contacts to sponsor that child. My friend only said, "Amen".
There are hundreds of children in this world who are capable of doing the impossible. They say, the path makes itself for those who tread with grit. Jay knows the path and I pray that the path makes itself so that she could travel to her destiny. So grant her God! Amen.
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