Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Shoe Shine Boy

After spending more than 8 hours hunting for an single image which conveys the pathetic conditions of our street children who make two ends meet on the eve of Pundit Jawarlal Nehru on 13th November 1990, I landed with this picture when a friend and me had gone from the Times of India office building on M G Road to the Coffee House. On my way back I noticed this small child busily polishing away sitting in place for his drunk father who was not around. This boy wanted to make some quick money so that he could take it home to his mother and they could buy some groceries for the night supper. When I interacted with he had already made 8 rupees and was sure enough that his father will not come to the shop for another one hour. He wanted to make another 7 rupees since he had promised his mother he would return home with 15 rupees. So my friend and I contributed the rest amount so that he could leave for home early to his mother. This gesture really moved him and he promised me that one day he will find me to repay back this amount.
The next day on Wednesday, November 14th 1990, The Times of India - Bangalore edition had this picture on the front page with just one line caption - 'It's Children's Day'.

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