Like any other 12-year-old, Mohammad Manjur would have loved to watch the recently concluded World Cup football matches. But he could not.
For, he had to work for 8 to 10 hours a day to earn his livelihood as a motorbike mechanic at a garage in Kolkata.
"I was pretty good at studies you know and was in Class IV," he said, adding "when Baba lost his factory job. I had to quit school to look after my family. It was a tough decision but I had to do it."
His father now works as a helper to a mason and his mother works as a housemaid.
The boy in his early teens gets Rs 600 per month and works on 10-12 bikes a day on an average. Besides, the garage owner gives him four meals a day.
Out of his paltry 'salary', he sends Rs 200 every month to his parents. "I don't know how they manage with only 1,500 a month. But then, what can I do? I have to hone my skills here and when I learn the 'trade' well, I hope to own a garage some day," says the youngster, his eyes conveying a far-away look.
During the World Cup, he updated himself on (Lionel) Messi and (Lukas) Podoloski by being all ears to the customers.
"I was so keen to get information about the matches that I was doing overtime almost everyday," says Mohammad with a satisfactory smile.
The chawl that he shares with his family does not have a television, so he missed all the matches.
"I used to play football while in school and those who played with me admired my dribbling. I heard Messi (though Argentina was out of the Cup early) has magic feet. I wish I could watch him," says Mohammad ruefully.
However, like it is with most teenagers, his mood swings within a second as he adds, "You know what, I am not going to sulk. For, the next World Cup is just four years away. Though my salary is too little, I hope to save enough to buy myself a small television.
"Messi would definitely play the next World Cup. These four years, I will work round the clock and make the customers happy. They often tip me, you know."
"If no one falls sick at home and there is no other emergency, I am sure I would get to make the money needed for buying my 'dream'. Which television brand would be the best, could you please suggest?" he throws an enthusiastic query at us.
We could not reply. Just stood there, dumbfounded. With a lump in our throats. Our eyes blurred.
Image: Mohammad Manjur | Photograph: Dipak Chakraborty
Child labour is a dagger through India's soul. The country has the dubious distinction of being home to the largest child labour force in the world, with an estimated 30 per cent of the world's working kids living here.
