Karnataka   

It was just another day for them

Sriram, Ravi, Tippawwa and Bhagyamma with their snakes.

Chitradurga: The nation celebrated Children’s Day on Wednesday. The day marks the birth anniversary of the country’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

While many programmes are organised for children, the day does not bring about any change in the dismal lives of countless children across the country. Penury has snatched away their childhood. Instead of enjoying their childhood, they are forced to start earning to survive and to support their family. For such children, the day set apart for them makes no difference.

Among them are four siblings of Jenkote village in Chitradurga taluk. They carry snakes caught by their parents, in tiny cane baskets, and earn some money by putting on a show for the public. None of them know how old they are or how long they have been playing with snakes.

The eldest is Tippawwa, who looks around 10 years old. Her father is a snake catcher, who earns very little. So he sent her to display the snakes that he caught. Tippawwa has never been to school, and neither has her brother Sriram, who is probably seven. The only one among them that goes to school is Bhagyamma, who is in the second standard. But it is not clear whether she goes to school regularly, since she accompanies her siblings. The youngest is Ravi, who is possibly three years old.

“We leave home early in morning with a little food packed for lunch. We have two snakes caught by our father, and we earn between Rs. 50 and Rs. 70 a day by showing these snakes to people,” says Tippawwa.

Sriram, who probably likes moving from place to place, shows no interest in going to school. “I don’t like studying. I just want to do this work,” he says.

Carrying their two snakes, these children with hope in their eyes, roam the city looking for some generous souls who will spare a few coins.

Asked what they wished to become in future, they seemed confused and tried to avoid the question.

When pressed, Sriram said, “I don’t know.”

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