The Awakening

Friends, here is a story of the awakening of a child's long-dormant conscience. Thanks.

“Do I have to talk to this dirty girl?” pouted the snob.

She was Rini, the 6-year-old imperious kid. The reason for her empress-like nature was simple. She was an only child and the apple of her dad's eyes. She had a free run in her household and could do pretty much as she wanted. Her mom occasionally tried to instil some kind of orderliness in her, and that was it.

Now, her dad, Mohan, was a high-flying corporate executive who was serving in Dubai earlier. Rini was then studying in an international school there. That institution followed a very relaxed approach. Result? The child did not pick up the habit of discipline till now.

Three months ago, Mohan returned to India, and his new posting was in Bengaluru. Here, he got Rini admitted to Saraswati Shishu Mandir, a renowned school in the city. And much to her dislike, this new school was a completely different cup of tea for her.

Here, whether you are an only child or one among ten siblings does not matter. You have to be punctual. You have to submit your homework on time. You have to learn your lessons. You have to pass your exams. In a nutshell, you have to live with discipline.

As expected, Rini was unable to adjust to this new environment and began lagging in almost every subject. The school's principal, Rakesh, called Mohan quite a few times and tried to draw his attention to his child’s dismal performance. But the indulgent father was dismissive of the school’s concern, arguing she was just a child.

Rakesh was, hence, at a loss as to what to do. He did not want to consider the last option of Rini’s expulsion because her class teacher, Beena, had already discovered a treasure trove of talent for art buried within her. In the absence of discipline, however, all those abilities were going to waste.

As a measure of last resort, Rakesh and Beena hit upon a novel idea. It was to take Rini to an orphanage and make her come face-to-face with life’s darker reality, a reality about which this pampered child was completely unaware. The idea was to awaken the girl’s inner conscience. The school authorities realised that was probably the only way left open.

So, Beena, with permission from Rakesh, decided to contact Nirmal Bhavan, a large orphanage in the city. After getting the consent of its management, she arranged for a day-long trip for the whole class on a Sunday morning.

On the due date, the school bus deposited Beena and the children at Nirmal Bhavan. With prior arrangement, she took them straight to the portion housing the poorest section of that charitable home. Once there, she asked each student to sit with a child and try to make friends with him or her.

Rini was asked to sit by Madhu, a destitute girl child of her own age. Initially, she sat like a haughty queen and pouted, "Do I have to talk to this dirty girl?" All these unpleasant things were beneath the dignity of her highness. But prodded by Beena, she had to do it.

At length, when Rini got talking in real earnest with the orphan girl, her eyes began to open. She mused in silence, “My goodness! Here is Madhu, who does not have anything in this world. Yet she is trying to get educated so that she can hope for some kind of future for herself. And here I am with all the facilities that money can buy, and yet I am not making any use of them.”

Something foreign began to well up within her. It was a sense of shame. Yes, that was her long-dormant conscience coming alive, at last. Of course, she had a long way to go. Even so, encouraging signs began emerging.

For example, when Rini came home from the orphanage, the first thing she did was take her favourite toys and put them in her school bag. Next Sunday, she returned to Nirmal Bhavan with Mohan and gladly gave them to Madhu and the other orphans. Even a few days ago, she would have rather parted with her life than part with any of her stuff. And now she was giving them away on her own. It was a miracle!

From that moment onward, a very gradual change began occurring within Rini. And yes, it was an unmistakable change for the better.

Truly, when the sleeping conscience finally begins to awaken, what an awe-inspiring sight it is!

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