At the outset, let me introduce myself to you all. My name is Bhatnager. I am a student of St Joseph’s Hr. Sec. School in Wadala, Mumbai, studying in Std VIII.
I guess, I am rich! Rich in the sense, I did not mean about our wealth or property. It is my acquaintance with many boys and girls of my age group that makes me feel rich. I have a battery of friends. Friends, I mean, those who really respect and care for others.
There are about 17 of us! We all belong to different religion and caste. But we never let these man-made barriers bifurcate us. All that matters with us is die welfare of each other.
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When any one of us took ill, we make it a point to visit him/her and speak consolably and encouragingly. During such visits, we dress ourselves with simple clothes!
II there is any trouble to anybody; we all will jointly rush to help him/ her. We have a poor boy in our c lass called Narayan. As they say that misfortune never come single, his father who suffered a stroke had a paralytic attack.
As a result, he became almost like a cripple, unable to move or to go to work. Now, unable to afford the school education, Narayan had to give up his schooling!
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At this juncture, we rose to the occasion. Every one of us contributed from our pocket money and sponsored for his studies. Similarly, when Gita, another poor girl who could not participate in the school tour, we jointly raised fund for her and took her with us. Our kind gesture brought tears in her eyes!
There was a boy studying in Std. IX. He acted tough with weaker boys. He always bullied the others and made fun of them. One day he took the pen from a girl and teased her. She begged him, but he wouldn’t return it to her.
This was too much. The same evening, we three took him aside. Once out of sight from the others, I caught his shirt front and slammed him against the wall. It rattled him. Now it was his turn to beg. We left him after warning strictly. From that clay, he behaved all right.
The other day, one of our teachers got his retirement. We jointly contributed and presented a memento and accompanied him home in the evening. It not only pleased that teacher, but the others also. We made it a point to celebrate ‘Raksha Bandan’ in the school!
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During prayer in the schools the children take pledge that, “We are all Indians… brothers and sisters!” But how many of them follow that? Here, we do that. We consider others as brothers and sisters! If only the other school students follow us, India would become a role model, wouldn’t it?