Of what use are these dresses, sweets and crackers when I know there are so many children my age who don’t even have clothes to wear? And you know what I asked my dad? I said, “Daddy…”
— A nine-year-old writes on, shaming a whole lot of us.
What a beautiful sentiment, dear child. I know that children your age are far more sensitive, far more caring towards others than any adult can ever be. Without being aware of it, you have actually arrived at wisdom reserved for the rare few in our time. You know that there are several layers of truth in this world, some convenient, some not so convenient, and there is more to what you see beyond your immediate vision, more to what you feel beyond your immediate expression. And yet, you know that what you cannot see and cannot feel is just as important as what you can see and feel. You know that the festival of lights in one home does not mean there is a festival of lights in every home. Your tiny heart beats for every child not so privileged as you. You cannot bear to blow up your father’s money in crackers while so many children across the street do not have proper clothes to wear. Your decision to ask your dad to buy a pair of clothes for as many slum dwelling children as he can afford — even at the expense of crackers and sweets for yourself — is a decision that has the power to shake up this nation to its roots.
I know that millions of children your age, across the length and breadth of our nation, feel the same as you do. I sense an awakening among children, an awakening yet unseen and unfelt by the adults of this country, an awakening so powerful that it will reshape the history of our land, rewrite it in letters of gold in the decades to come.
India is asserting itself finally, my dear child. For centuries we were an oppressed people, continuously tortured by our own rulers or invaders from outside. We could only think of saving ourselves. We couldn’t afford to spare a thought for anyone else. Finally, after 65 years of Independence, your generation is finally seeing a new India. A nation less obsessed with its own petty self, more concerned about others, about its environment, more caring about seeing others smile as sweetly and brightly as you. You are living and breathing easier than we ever did or could. Your heart has opened up naturally to include the world, and so your thoughts now have a fragrance about them, which is impossible to resist. May your feelings resound everywhere, may your words inspire everyone.
Our nation is torn by people who just grab and run. What our generations tore apart, your generation will heal and nurture. Suddenly I have a good feeling that when the time comes to hand over the baton, it will run along in safe hands. God bless.