A wonderfull day with new friends...

Yeah, I slept only for 4 hours after a hectic day to start another hectic day. My aunty called to wake me up and so I did, half an hour after her call and hurried to get ready.

After we started the journey, we relished on some chips and tea on the way while I directed a part of the way.

As we journeyed across the lush green carpet near the Titwala road, i had no idea what was going to come up for the day. I was going because my uncle wanted me to. As we moved to this place.. which was really inside in a place called Mamnauli.

I soon discovered we were in a rehabilitation camp.

We saw some ugly dirty kids having wild bath in a tank. As we moved in, some people greeted us and called us inside a room to have a talk. There, things soon became clear to me where we were. So here, I will give u some piece of my brain.

These kids were picked up from the railway station, tracks and platforms. they are kids of age 9-15 who have run away from their home due to certain reasons like beatings from drunk father, lack of food or money in the family, personal insults to the young minds, friend's influences, and several such reasons.

These kids run away and find solace in the railway tracks of Mumbai, specially VT where other kids like them play, enjoy freedom, beg, eat what comes, do drugs and eventually get into crime.

These children are taken into confidence by the Seva Sangh people, brought to this place, asked various questions about their parents, past, experiences, given hope to live a better living, find their parents and with their consent, send them back.

Interestingly, these kids know a lot of things. They know how to get money, how to use awesome cell phone models and laptops, they know to speak broken English which they queerly used to impress their new “didi“. They are HELL smart. and beautifully confident of themselves. OVER confident may be the right word.

These kids have lived several months and some, even years on the railway tracks and have turned immensely tough. They can kill another person with no trace of repentance on them. Yes, that rough. I guess that’s what the life out there in the open makes out of you!

the in-charge people told us many previous stories.

This child was asked to bring 5thousand bucks from his aunt in Mumbai to his gaon for his mother's cancer operation. The boy went to get the money, took the money and ran away. These rehabilitation people found him on the tracks and got him. Nearly, by the end of the camp, the boy gave them his father's phone number. The father could not come to get the child but after repeated nagging from his wife and the rehab managers, he finally managed to come. After he saw his son and while having lunch over there, they got a call saying the mother of that child was dead. Weird, funny world.

So back to where I was, I met the kids 1st when they were having lunch. We had got some Samosa's for them which they relished with their lunch. That’s when i noticed this interesting kid called Rajkumar. Indeed he was a Rajkumar! He looked at me with mysterious smile and mysterious eyes. He caught my attention immediately and became my favorite.

After they had food, they all surrounded me and we all were chatting like friends. They loved me. They talked about their families, where they stay, what all things they know about the world.. someone asked me in English, "what is your name?" and we all laughed. They wanted to learn good English from me. They asked me for my phone number. While everyone surrounded me with talks and laughs, Rajkumar was always walking somewhere away. Everyone said he was mentally affected and a problematic child. I only smiled at him to receive a wonderful smile back.

Some boy asked me where I stay.

"Thane".

"Thane?? My brother stays in thane too! He rides a ghoda-gadi at Talao pali"

Wonderful! I was amazed!

Someone else told me, "can i come home with u?"

i was like.. "whaaat? how can u come home with me?"

He is like, "pleeease! teach me English, i will stay at your home"

My heart shot a jolt of pain at that instance thinking WHY THE FUCK CANT I LIVE WITH THESE PEOPLE??

i told him i would definitely teach him English, some way or the other, and that I cant take him home. Supposedly, he did not understand the severity of things but shrugged the topic off with a pained face.

I told him, after the camp, when he goes to his house in Thane, I would meet him.

another guy pulled at me.. "but I stay in grant road.. how will u meet me???" I said I would come there for him, which satisfied him.

I told them I would love to visit their houses after the camp. So people jumped on me saying.. "yeah can u come to Aurangabad?"

someone else pulled my sleeve and said.. "please will u come to platform 4 of diva station ‘cuz that’s where i say!!"

oh.. You bet I had tears then!

Some kid even told me that the first salary he gets, he would get something for me. oh.. touchy!

Then we had this fun conversation, where I asked what they all wanted to become when they grew up. One boy was determined to become a policeman whereas, another said he wanted to become DON. Then me and the police-guy told him we both will shoot him off if he becomes a Don. The don-guy was convinced that the bhai's rule everything and they have bought the police completely. Then I told him how Kasab was caught and is now going to be hanged. I told him how the guys in “shootout at lokhandwala” were killed and how the guy in “jannat” was killed.(they all seem to have watched every hindi movie on earth!) I even told him.. "then your girlfriend will cry for u"

After a brief thought he said.. "girlfriend mileegee toh naaa" and all laughed.

While leaving, I told him, "if u want to be my friend, then don’t be don. If u become a don, then I am not your friend.. so friends or no?"

and he said, "friends” with a smile.

They all told me how much they had studied and in turn asked me what i was studying. so I told them i was in 12th. From a corner, immediately, Rajkumar asked me, "so your 17 years old"

Fascinating.

Did I tell u there was a brief phone number noting session and within minutes, they had even by hearted by phone number repeating it again and again.

From the authorities I came to know Rajkumar had cigarette burns oh his hand which he wouldn’t reveal where they came from. The kids told me that guy was crazy and mad and I was wondering why. As Rajkumar heard them saying that, I looked at him and said,.. "He is not crazy and weird... He is jus silent"

and TRUST ME.. there was such happiness in his eyes and immense love pouring out for me.

I have not felt this happy for so many years. It was worth a life-time experience. I wanted to badly stay there but I had to leave. They all said bye-bye like a million times and even came running out to bye-bye us.

I am filled with such emotions which nobody would understand.