poverty

                                This year I got first standard.. There were some tribal children in it. Most of them little older. So I had to learn from their mood. For the first few days, those children came on time and helped with the studies. But suddenly their behavior changed. Things like coming late, talking less, and not responding started happening. Children who come late during paripatha are punished in school. These children accept punishment daily. No reaction, no crying, no tantrums. This was going on for 8–10 consecutive days. Finally, I decided to meet the parents of these children and find out the truth. Because most of the parents leave early for work, they need to know about the children. It was necessary to have information. After going to school the next morning, I immediately went to the children's residence. There was a drought in the settlement.   Only children were playing, while at the door of most of the huts, small children were eating on small plates. In some huts, babies were sleeping in slings. The children who were playing were scared of seeing me. the fear that the madam would get angry with them. It was evident on their faces. I went to the children. Asked about not coming to school, no answer was received. Just then, some women were seen carrying a wooden beam on their heads. I went near them and complained about the boys. Of course my tone is the same: "You don't care about children; you don't care about education; the government provides so many facilities but it is not worth it, etc." Those women listened to me completely, and then they said,'madam, we go to the forest in the morning to collect firewood; now we will take this wooden beam to the village, sell it, then take grain, grind it, and make bhakari. The children will come to school after eating it. In your school, lunch is served at 2 o'clock. ("At that time, the lunch break was at 2 o'clock.) How can these children stay hungry till then?" It felt like someone was hit under the ear. The entire attitude that I am a teacher and am very concerned about the students was revealed in a moment. The scars on the eyes disappeared. The children were taken close and told to come to school as soon as they could. It was not possible to speak much. Both the eyes and the throat were full. (Year-2002)