A lesson from a child

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This incident took place 2 months back while travelling in a local train with a bunch of friends.We had just finished our dinner when this boy came up to us.Dismissing him to be one of the countless child beggars travelling in our indian trains none of us paid attention to him till he addressed my friend as 'madam'in english.Thats when we took a second look at this young fellow.Seeing that he had our attention he opened a bag and took out a bunch of ballpoint pens ,pencils and crayons in many colours and sizes and in halting english said "if you buy this then it help me pay school fees and buy books.I study 2nd standard, english teaching school".He looked at us with his innocent smile, holding out his ware.Slowly in english he told us with a tinge of pride about how he attended an english medium school in his neighbourhood ,working nights selling wares in local trains to help his father fund his education.Our hearts went out to this determined spirited young boy who despite his disadvantaged background was proudly taking responsibility of his future into his own hands.How many of us grumble & blame our destiny for what we lack in life instead of doing something constructive about it?Let's spare a few moments to think about countless children like this boy the next time we crib about how hard our life is.