the All Rounder that I was

With a water-filled pot on his head, some five times the size of his minuscule face, he walked towards me with great ease, perfectly balanced. His head looked dusty with the desert dust having caught onto the oily hair. The nice little shirt that he wore with a belt tightly tucking his pants made him look like a perfect little Gentleman.

As he came closer, the pace slowed down. There seemed to be some kind of a fascination in his eyes. Naturally, I looked

like some kind of an alien to him with glares on, a digicam around my neck and a backpack with the strap buckled on my waist. To this eight year old, the rural surroundings we stood in, my native place Rajasthan, was all that the world could be.

He stopped right before me. The curiosity turned into a smile. We got talking. I asked him whether he goes to school. 

"Yes, English medium". Wow, I was impressed. With the variety of languages in India and the scarcity of able English speaking teachers especially in the countryside, this definitely seemed like an achievement, given the importance of English in the business world. This child certainly seemed to be onto something. 

The conversation went further. I asked, What else do you do? And there began a list which never seemed to end. I cook food at home, curry, chapati, rice, pulses, get water from the pond a mile away (the pot on his head), sweep the floor, clean my house, wash clothes, play with my friends and offcourse study for the school. I stood there frozen, my mouth agape, eyes wide open. Seemed it was my turn to freeze in fascination.

Sure, I had always done well at school, knew how to play the guitar and also cricket. Having been to France, where I had to learn to cook my own food, I thought I was an All-Rounder finally and that too at a young age of 26. And here I was, standing in front of an 8 year old, who had done all of it and much more. Not even sure since when. 

Proud of this little genius standing in front of me, my frozen face slowly and steadily gave way to a smile. And while we said goodbye, I asked him to add one more thing to the list of his doings for the day.... something I was sure I have done umpteen times and which he would never have. I got some cash out from my pocket, thrust it into his little hands and asked him to go treat himself !!!