summary of "children at the work"
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Summary of:- Children at work
Written by:-
Gita wolf
Anushka Ravi Shankar
Orijit Sen
{ From trash-on ragpicker children and recycling}
This is a short realistic and sensitive story of those children who are deprived, underprivileged and poor. It is an excerpt from trash or drug picker children and recycling written by Gita wolf , Anushka ravishankar and Orijit Sen.
Velu, young boy of 11 years, run away from his home because he was tired of his father's beating. He boarded train and reached Chennai without ticket. He was utterly tired and hungry and was also confused seeing the crowd.
A young girl of his heels called out to him and ask him his where about and offered to help him to search food. He blindly followed her. The girl took him to a big building. She took him behind a big hall. There was garbage bin overflowing with rubbish. It was surrounded with extreme dirt and filth. The girl pick up a rotted banana and a left over vada and gave it to Velu. But Velu I was shocked to think that he had to eat the leftovers. He resetted but as there was no option left he get down vada at banana, the girl ate only banana.
He asked the girls name, she replied it was Jaya. They walked along the roads until they came to a bridge across a dirty trickle of water. There werr rows of huts near a dirty puddle. Jaya dumped her sack outside one of these huts. When Velu asked her profession, Jaya said that they were the rag pickers. They collected garbage at sold it to jaggu in jam bazaar who in turn sold it to a factory. The whole descriptions made velu sad, he had not run away to pick up the things from the garbage with but unwillingly he thought of staying back, until he could find a better job
"children at the work"
Introduction
Velu was an eleven year old boy. He had run away from home. He got into a railway train without a ticket. He had to do so because he had no money. He escaped the ticket collector's notice because he did not come to that unreserved compartment
Velu on the Platform
He got off the train at Chennai Central. His legs were unsteady as if he was still standing in a moving train. It was because of tiredness, weakness and fear. The crowds and the way the people looked upon him, made him miserable. He sat on a bench on the platform with his small bundle beside him. He was very hungry. For two days, he had eaten nothing but some peanuts and a piece of jaggery
Velu Meets Jaya
Suddenly he heard a rough voice calling him. He saw a girl around his age. She was wearing a very long banian. Velu stared at her vacantly. Then she asked his name. She guessed rightly that Velu had run away from home. She told him that he won't get food sitting there.
The girl was a ragpicker. She picked her sack and moved away Velu thought she was his only hope. So he followed her.
Velu Had No English
Velu caught up with the girl. The two came on the road. The girl helped him cross the road with her. They walked along the side of the the road. There were huge signboards above them. The writing was all in English. Velu understood nothing. This showed that he did not know English
Central Jail
They walked for a long time. The girl pointed out to the one building with the wall around it. Velu read the Tamil sign on it, It was Central Jail. The girl laughed. She told him to be careful if he wanted not to be inside that jail. Velu said that he hadn't done any wrong. The girl said that it didn't matter. The important thing was he shouldn't be caught.
The Garbage Bin
After about an hour's walk, they stopped in front of a big building. The sign on the building read: Sri Rajrajeshwari Prasanna Kalyana Mandapam". Velu read it as it was in Tamil like the sign on the Central Jail. Velu looked at the huge hall and the crowds of people inside. He asked the girl if they (Velu and the girl) were going to eat there. The girl ridiculed him. Then she led him to a garbage bin behind the hall.
The Food
The girl picked up a crushed banana and offered it to Velu to eat. Velu was shocked. He asked if they were going to eat the leftovers. The girl disagreed. She said that she ate only untouched food. She threw him a vada. Velu looked at it with distaste. However, he was too hungry to refuse any food. So he ate the banana as well as the vada. The girl could find only one more banana which she ate herself.
The Girl's Work
This girl's name was Jaya. She picked up a couple of bottles from the heap. She said she had to do her work. Seeing her going. Velu panicked. He followed her.
The Girl's Home
They walked on for half an hour. They came to a bridge across a dirty trickle of water. Jaya called it Buckingham canal. Near some puddles of water, there was a row of huts. These were the strangest huts Velu had ever seen. They were made of all sorts of things metal sheets, tyres, bricks, wood and plastic. They stood crookedly and looked as if they would fall at any moment. To Velu these huts looked strange because in his village the houses were made of mud and palm leaves.
Velu Becomes A Ragpicker
Jaya dumped her sack outside a hut. Then she picked up an empty one. She gave Velu a pair of old shoes without laces. She handed him a sack and stick also. Velu was confused. Then Jaya explained that she was a ragpicker. This was the only work she could give to Velu if he wanted any. Children like her collected paper, plastic, glass etc. Then they sell them to Jaggu of Jam Bazar. Jaggu sells them to a factory
This time Velu hesitated. He hadn't come to Chennai to dig through garbage. However, he felt he must do it until he finds a better job. So he followed her with a sigh.