By Vimal Kapoor
At around 8.00 in the morning, while children were moving towards their respective schools, and morning walkers were busy huffing and puffing, I saw a girl child seven or eight year old mount a tightrope stretched between two uneven bamboo supports and starts walking while a middle aged man, maybe her father or her mentor tries to attract attention by beating a small dhol with sticks.
School children of ironically the age of artiste,who still have time mill around and so do the walkers and pedestrians,the way she was walking clumsily,almost six feet above the road with no protection or precaution set me thinking--what if she loses balance and topples over she could be seriously hurt or crippled for rest of her life, and what if a speeding wayward vehicle loses control and rams into her flimsy act!
Just for a few coins and claps this girl child is being forced to perform risky tricks without adequate safety measures,besides this being illegal it was inhuman too.
Under Indian legislation forced child labor of any kind is an offence,but the statistics reveal that maximum voilation of this act takes place in India, Pakistan and Bangla desh,once during my visit to Patna, Bihar, I went to a factory along with my cousins where embroidery was done on shawls, to my astonishment sitting in neat rows were alomst 30 kids busy weaving, and all were under 10 years of age,the fingers that were meant to hold pencils were busy with needles!What exactly is child labor? One of my friends mali was telling me that his fourteen year old son gets up early in the morning, distributes news paper, and is back home in time to get ready and go to school.
I found this thing very positve and inspiring , here is a young guy who is learning how to work hard for money without sacrificing his studies or other interests, it will not only boost his confidence and stamina (riding cycle early in the morning is a great aerobic work out) but will also teach him value of money.
Then there is child labor of worst kind ,in many parts of the world girls as young as eight years old are forced into prostitution. There are no words that can describe the trauma such a child goes through, her psyche would be scarred for life,manipulation, greed , voilence and crime would be her agenda for life, in real life there is no Richard Gere to help out ‘Pretty women’.
Another kind of self induced child torture comes under the garb of ‘reality shows’ being belted out by electronic media now adays, young soft skins are coated with harsh make up and they are forced to dance and sing and go through an ordeal under the garb of healthy competition,their studies suffer and so does the self esteem of kids who lose out, their sleeping hours go for a six and their health deteriorates.
It is a mistake to push children too hard in first 10 years,this is the time when they are supposed to learn how to be happy, the ability to be happy is one of the most important thing developed during early formative years.
During early years children should be encouraged to focus on their studies as well as play,with this platform they would be ready to work hard later on in life as well as get prepared for hard times in life gracefully,if they are forced to walk the tightrope early on in life as the pic reveals their innocence will be lost forever,and something inside them will die a slow death………..!
School children of ironically the age of artiste,who still have time mill around and so do the walkers and pedestrians,the way she was walking clumsily,almost six feet above the road with no protection or precaution set me thinking--what if she loses balance and topples over she could be seriously hurt or crippled for rest of her life, and what if a speeding wayward vehicle loses control and rams into her flimsy act!
Just for a few coins and claps this girl child is being forced to perform risky tricks without adequate safety measures,besides this being illegal it was inhuman too.
Under Indian legislation forced child labor of any kind is an offence,but the statistics reveal that maximum voilation of this act takes place in India, Pakistan and Bangla desh,once during my visit to Patna, Bihar, I went to a factory along with my cousins where embroidery was done on shawls, to my astonishment sitting in neat rows were alomst 30 kids busy weaving, and all were under 10 years of age,the fingers that were meant to hold pencils were busy with needles!What exactly is child labor? One of my friends mali was telling me that his fourteen year old son gets up early in the morning, distributes news paper, and is back home in time to get ready and go to school.
I found this thing very positve and inspiring , here is a young guy who is learning how to work hard for money without sacrificing his studies or other interests, it will not only boost his confidence and stamina (riding cycle early in the morning is a great aerobic work out) but will also teach him value of money.
Then there is child labor of worst kind ,in many parts of the world girls as young as eight years old are forced into prostitution. There are no words that can describe the trauma such a child goes through, her psyche would be scarred for life,manipulation, greed , voilence and crime would be her agenda for life, in real life there is no Richard Gere to help out ‘Pretty women’.
Another kind of self induced child torture comes under the garb of ‘reality shows’ being belted out by electronic media now adays, young soft skins are coated with harsh make up and they are forced to dance and sing and go through an ordeal under the garb of healthy competition,their studies suffer and so does the self esteem of kids who lose out, their sleeping hours go for a six and their health deteriorates.
It is a mistake to push children too hard in first 10 years,this is the time when they are supposed to learn how to be happy, the ability to be happy is one of the most important thing developed during early formative years.
During early years children should be encouraged to focus on their studies as well as play,with this platform they would be ready to work hard later on in life as well as get prepared for hard times in life gracefully,if they are forced to walk the tightrope early on in life as the pic reveals their innocence will be lost forever,and something inside them will die a slow death………..!
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