Hunger

We were coming back from our one day trip of nearby tourist attraction and were waiting for return train. An announcement and intercity train was in platform no 3. I boarded the train with my wife and two year old son. We all three got into a seat in front of a family of husband and wife with a daughter of same age as of our son.

The moment we got on train my wife started focusing on food requirements of our son started offering him fruits, snacks and condiments as she is always worried about his low weight and he as always was busy in finding new ways to play around on our train seat. Frustrated enough my wife started arguing with me on how this trip was an bad idea and this is why our son does not gains weight. How from morning he has not taken his normal (heavy) diet; this is why he looks so thin. While I was trying to put my side that let him do what he want to do as; he will ask for food whenever he is hungry.

In between of our conversation my eyes fell on the girl sitting in front of our seat whose eyes were moving with movement of our son. My son was taking small bites of an apple given to him by his mother and was throwing those pieces outside the window. That is when I gave a thoughtful look on the family of the girl. They must have boarded the train may be a station before us and were coming to Hyderabad in search for work. The father of the girl looked as if he worked in farms in village but definitely does not looked as if he owns some land. The mother of the girl was looking around with some hesitant look and was trying to avoid eye contact and I concluded that she must be going to city first time.

But the girl was still having her continuous focus on my son who was still engaged in his acts. I signaled my wife in our code language about the same. Women or shall i say Mothers specifically have a keen eye when it comes to reading a kid’s mind. She took an apple out of her bag and offered it to the girl. The girl looked at her mother, who has already started to say no to my wife in local language. But my wife insisted and gave that apple to the girl which she ate as if it was the greatest possession she has.

By the time the little girl finished her apple my son has got tired of her acts and has started to look for arrangement to sleep. We also got busy in making his sleeping place comfy so that he doesn’t feel tired. After he slept we got busy on discussing our trip. But we got interrupted with continuous nagging of the girl, she was struggling to find an opening in dress of her mother so that she can have some milk and her mother was continuously trying to stop her. I was still trying to think about what might the matter; in between my wife asked me shall we give a pack of snack to girl. I still engaged in my thought process asked her why, but again I got remembered of mother power when she told me that the girl is still hungry and may be her mother doesn’t has anything to feed her. I could only say as you feel.

For next five minutes I was watching the girl eating snacks as if it is the most delicious item on the earth. And while this was happening I was thinking what kind of generation lies in future of my India “One which has been overly fed in era of comfort and other who still doesn’t know from where his next meal will come”.