happy anyway

Sunlit afternoon, deafening traffic, busy streets and having had to travel from Ratnapark to Hattigaunda after long hours of work, this certainly was nightmarish. As I prepared to catch a safa tempo to keep away from the cramped up and suffocating micro vans, I realized the journey would be time consuming. I couldn’t really complain because I had made the choice myself. Not bothering too much about what the journey would be like, I parked myself in the corner of the tempo wondering how I could make that tiring and slow ride, productive.

Minutes went by and my attention was diverted towards the conductor in the tempo. Now mind you he was no ordinary guy doing his business. It was a kid of may be about ten years of age, dressed in low waist jeans buckled with an old brown belt paired with a blue vest and over sized slippers. The boy was only four feet tall and I can’t deny the fact that he was one of the cutest kids I had seen.

Through out my time from Ratnapark to Hattigaunda, my eyes were fixed on the lad. I was amused by the way he carried himself and even more by the way he was doing his job. Making bubbles in his mouth, he would scream out names of places provoking passengers to catch hold of the moving tempo. The ease with which he hung himself on the entrance of the tempo was entertaining although I was skeptical whether he would lose balance. But no! He was super comfortable and knew what he was exactly doing and did it all with poise. He held notes like an expert money dealer flipping coins and shuffling them. What was even more appealing was the way he addressed his passengers. He knew how to send quick responses to questions asked and also yell at a customer (as if he was the boss), when necessary. It was unbelievable that a boy of ten carried so much skill and expertise in his boots. As I am writing this piece, I can picture that child, so sincerely doing his duty. He had no sense of weariness or fatigue whatsoever. He had no signs of complaints about the heat of the afternoon or the annoying traffic. The charming face he had lit up with every second. Honestly, the kid blew my mind. There was a moment I wanted to talk to him and ask him if he ever wanted to study or rather chase a dream and become someone else. I wanted to know if the boy was happy in his world and so on but some how I could not get myself to talk to him probably because I was so lost admiring his expertise.

But one thing I know for sure, the boy knew the art of living. What ever big or small, he had created a shell around him and he was very happy in that world. Questions of child labor did not even tiptoe my mind because the boy seemed as if he was doing what he was doing out of free will. I must say, he definitely had achieved more satisfaction from his job in comparison to any of us who work for a job, a well paying one. At the end of the day, isn’t it the contentment and tranquility of mind you are striving for? The kid had it all and he painted himself a beautiful picture of life, living each moment to the fullest.