INNOCENCE....

My bag is heavy,

       Yet feels like luck.

My food is cold,

       Yet tastes of love.

I see a board

       Spreading knowledge around.

I touch my pocket,

Hear money’s ruffling sound.

Here is my sister,

       We enjoy royal delights.

Here are my friends,

       We talk of fortune’s lights.

My mother is calling-

       Filling my room with toys

It’s Diwali again,

       Bursting crackers, I enjoy.

I hear the ‘Bell Ring’;

       “Get back to work, you jerk!”

I reach for my crackers-

       Not for fun but Work.

P.S.-written from the point of view of an eight year old forced to work in cracker factory.

I wrote this thinking about child labour. While my exams were on there was a news about saving 4 kids of 12 years from a detergent factory in Mumbai. Every day while travelling in local train, at traffic signals I see small children selling books or accessories when they should be in schools learning and shaping their future. News about children working in firecracker factory, detergent factory, weaving centres and similar places is so common. It is a painful situation for the entire nation because it’s our country’s future which is at stake. Child labour has to be stopped. True saying and writing all this is simple but executing an effective plan to stop it is difficult. But I believe if we start thinking today and do whatever is in our hands things will change one day.

Also 12th JUNE is celebrated as world day against child labour...