The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
Sitting by the window, the full glare of the sun falling on me, my thoughts can't but help return to the wonderful winter vacation we had at Shimla. No wonder then, that my choice for today's Faces in the Crowd is a kid we met at Narkanda.
We had spent hours skiing and playing in the snow at Narkanda, and were heading back, when this little chap came up and asked Samhith if he would like a ride on his sled. Of course, it wasn't really a sled, but just a plank of wood with a string attached to pull it. Samhith, even after all that playing, looked wistful, and the kid looked so earnest, that we agreed. What was meant to be one slide down the snow covered slope turned to much more, as we didn't have the heart to put an end to the fun Samhith was having.
As we waited for Samhith, we realized that this young guy wasn't the only one. There were more like him, all entertaining kids who were too young to ski, charging around Rs. 50 for a ride. The young entrepreneurs certainly made the most of the tourist season! We couldn't but help admiring them, and waited for Samhith to be done, so we could talk to them.
Eventually, when he did ruefully agree to get going, we asked the kid how old he was. It turned out he is at least 2 years older than Samhith!!!! Samhith himself looks small for his age, but this kid seems to be hardly bigger than him. I wonder.. is it in his genes, or is it malnutrition? From what I remember reading somewhere recently, India is said to be the second country with the largest number of malnourished children. Not a statistic to be proud of, certainly!!!!
I tend to brood over such thoughts, which refuse to leave me alone, but my husband has another way of looking at things. When I mentioned this to him, he had a simple explanation - the kid might not know his age, For all you know, he might be younger than Samhith!
So, what do you think?
Fun ride. Nice clicks!
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Thanks Niranjan! It was a fun ride indeed!
Deleteawww, such cuties! and Samhith looks like he had a lot of fun! - Charu
ReplyDeleteThanks Charu!
DeleteIt looks so much fun.
ReplyDeleteIt was, Mridula!!!
DeleteIt was interesting. The Narkanda kids do not seem to be suffering from malnutrition. This malady is generally met in the plains.
ReplyDeletethe malnutrition was just a thought, PNS, based on something i had just read... it didnt look like they were... but they were really short.. and small, for their age... samhith is the tiniest in his class, and everyone points it to me so often that he is becoming quite conscious about it.. and then to see these kids who are at least 2 to 3 years older, and smaller than him!! it was a surprise... which brought up these thoughts... and about the difference between here and the plains, dont really know about that!
DeleteThe pictures look so much fun, but reading your post, I too think you might be right about the little boy's age, and that is not a pleasent thought. I have another theory though, people living in mountain areas usually have a small built, so might be it is that and not malnutrition that is to blame. Who knows? But Samhith's carefree smile that you captured in the second image just shows the amount of fun he had. That is what every child in the world should smile like...:) - Atula
ReplyDeleteThanks Atula! They didnt actually look malnourished.. it was simply a thought, as I said in reply to PNS above... but more of a surprise that they were so small.. thats why i first wondered if it was in the genes... that means samhith would probably fit in better there... here he is the smallest, and constantly teased for it too.... and as u say, anything that makes him smile....
DeleteThey certainly seem to be having fun and young entrepreneurs indeed!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, Arti! thats one of the few things he actually remembers vividly from that trip!!
DeleteI have no idea about his age.
ReplyDeleteThe smile on Samhith's face in the second photo says it all, doesn't it? :-)
ReplyDeleteMountain people are generally stocky rather than big, and the children do not look either undernourished or malnourished. What worries me more is the fact that they are away from school and "working".
Absolutely, Sudhagee. well, that was the first thing that struck me, but apparently, their holidays had begun....but of course, who is to say they dont bunk school to earn money?
DeleteHello, what does the name 'Samhith' mean?
ReplyDeletethe word Samhith comes from Samhitha, sort of a chapter or section of the Vedas.
ReplyDelete