Dany Not Thief
Is there any one who would monitor atrocities on the homeless and parentless children? Dany was only 12 when her mother abondoned him at the house-hold where she worked as a maidservant.They say she had become mentally unbalanced after her divorce. Dany studied in an informal school then..Her employer retained him as domestic-help . Right from the morning he was made to do the chores and run errands besides washing dishes clothes,cleaning the house fetching groceries etc.It was too much for him.Dany escaped from the house and found himself a job in a dingy restaurant in the neighbourhood.Situation here turned to much painful for him after a couple of days.He was woken-up around 4 in the morning and would go to sleep around 1 am . He would get breakfast around 11Am lunch at around 4 pm and dinner around 11.30 in the night . The day started with filling up a huge tub with drinking water which he fetched from 100 steps.he had to wash utensils,dishes and serve customers, help the cook , fetch groceries etc.After a few days his soles swell and his hands discolored -rough, blanch and leathery. He fell ill a couple of times.The only facility he got was less work and a few pills from tne pan shop. inspite of running high fever he could lie on his back only when the shop was closed around 12 pm.Even then the fellow workerswould trouble him with their mischief. One day I was having tea at the restaurant when I heaerd the wimper and cry of the boy. I was moved to discover, that he was being beaten up mercilessly by another boy, kicks slaps and fists raining on him. with his hairs in the boys fists.I intervened and rescued him from the clutches. only to be met with sarcastic remarks from the owner of the restaurant. One day I offered Dany free boarding and lodging until he found himself a better job in some shop a 9 to 5 one .Dany soon found a job for himself in a provison store against a salary of Rs. 1200 pm. It was much better for him apparently. Although the work was very hard . He would transport heavy loads of provisons on the bicycle provided by the employer.He had to make scores of trips to deliver supplies of provisons door to door.It was past nearly half months when He was bitten by a stray dog in one of the colonies where he had gone to deliver groceries.He reported the matter to his employer only ot be slapped and abused by him.He was thrown out of the job.He was told he could be retained only if he got himself vaccinated . Not knowing what to do he went to a chemist shop in the locality. The proprieter was kind enough to to give him an anti-tetnus injection. Soon Dany became a paria in the lane and the locality.He was shooed away by everybody.It was nearly past one week when a local informed me about the incident and told me" bechara mer jayega." One sunday, i could not help i was able to locate him after a lot of searching- In apark . I took him to safdarjang Hospital and got him vaccinated.No sooner we had come out of the emergency ward that he nearly collasped -his lips turned white. The attending nurse informed me that He must be empty stomach. .Then I learnt that he hadnt had any think since morning and that he was shy and inhibited in saying this to me. He was too afraid to take the full course of vaccination I tried to collect money unsuccessfully to buy him vaccines from the market which is less painful. In the Safdurjang Hospital they stiil give injections in stomach. Dany rejoined his work the other day.Then One day I was told by a grocer that Dany was beaten up mercilessly by the son of his employer and that his hand and feet was tied and that a sum of Rs. 4000/- was recovered form his pocket.I staggered with sorrow and anguish Soon everybody started calling him a thief. Dany was peniless homeless and jobless.I could not bring him to my house this time for the filthy taunts that was passed on me quite now and then by unscurplous people of the locality. However I provided him with money or food whenever it was possible for me. The news of theft came to the local ruffians and loafers as a bonaza. Stealing of mobiles and petty thefts went up in the area. Dany's name was dragged in everytime. One evening when I returned from work.I heard the news that one local bully had pulled up his right ear so hard that his ear came off by a couple of centimetres and that he bled badly . I contacted him several times nad encourage him to leave the area but he seemed to have been got a little too much attached with the place and other children.After sometime Dany left for some undisclosed location. Long after Dany had left, his name would come up whenever there was a petty theft in the area. I shudder to think of Danyas thief.