Award And Other Stories

Author(s): Pratap J Tolia
Publisher: Vardhaman Bharati International Foundation

Page 31

"A hundred years ago, there was a little boy like you. His name was Rabi. He loved looking at the birds from his class-room window just like you, but do you know, what happened, the teacher beat him for this which he should not have". “But sir, No teacher beats us here in our school ! No one is afraid here. A child said “Yes, you are right, but it is not so elsewhere." ‘Even Today?' the child asked “Yes my dear friend, you are lucky that you are not being beaten but there are a number of other children, who are living in the same world of fear which prevailed for small rabi, a hundred years ago" And the fifty eyes went on sparkling and twinkling like a star all at a time. In their twinkling, he saw the twinkling of his little munni and continued the story; 'I will further tell you a living story. There is a girl. Her name is is munni. She is being beaten very often by her class teacher" and a girl got up with tears in her eyes saying: "Then why don't you bring her here sir /" 'I wish, I could I shall try. But even if I could, what of the thousands, lakhs of Munnis in this world this getting the children thinking he stopped the story-telling and switched over to singing "Let us sing a song. It is about the flowers, look at them and listen and he began: 'Flowers and Flowers Fragrance Flowers Graceful Flowers Namelsess and Markless Flowers Children and Children Flower like Children Graceful Children Nameless and Brandless children There is no mark on flowers like mine and thine. There is no brand on children like mine and thine Flowers and Flowers Children and Children And when the school-bell rang, he realized that the children's eyes full of tears of compassion and joy and they were humming and echoing the song. And the period and the day ended with the children pleading and the teacher agreeing to the singing of this song again in the performance next day. The master, overwhelmed with the idea of getting his daughter admitted to the school, approached and requested the principal, secretary and the president of the school, who sympathetically promised to inform him the next day after the school performance was over. The master, hopeful of his daughter's admission, returned home.
The next day for which munni was eagerly longing, she went with her father to his public school. The children's performance caught her senses and she thought that she was in this new world of children" where there was no beating, no hating, no neglecting by the teachers. And in the middle of the programme, there was that