'Dreams help me survive on Rs 200 a month'

As a teenager, Subrata Das dreams a dream -- that of being rich some day.

But at the moment, this 13-year-old's dream seems rather distant and unattainable: he has to earn his livelihood working almost round the clock as a scooter mechanic's helper at a south Kolkata garage. This, for only Rs 200 a month.

"I was good at studies and studied till Class VI. My father, who works as a mason, made a lot of sacrifice to help me study.

"As ill luck would have it, my mother was taken ill and she passed away at the age of 35.

"My father remarried. As my stepmother stepped into the house, my hopes of a bright future were thrown out of the window.

"I should not be saying this but she was qutie cruel. She would make me do all the household work and I was barely left with any time to study. She only took care of my stepbrother and stepsister -- they were her world. My father too could not talk sense into her.

"One fine day, I could not take my stepmother's abuses any more and left my rural home for my maternal grandmother's kholi in south Kolkata.

"Grandma is 68, and is very poor. She earns her living by working as a housemaid. To avoid being a burden on her, I took up a job at this garage.

"With this paltry 'salary' that I get here, I cannot afford anything -- not even a pair of trousers. The owner of this garage buys me two sets of clothes a year and I have to make do with them.

"Some of the customers who visit this garage tip me at times. I set that money aside. Once my savings reach Rs 2,000, I would like to visit my father and give him that money. He worked really hard so that I could study. Now it's my duty to pay him back, you see."

But what about your dream of being wealthy?

"Dreams are meant to keep me alive, you see. It feels nice to imagine that I am rolling in money. It gives me the strength to make do with Rs 200 a month," said Subrata, stunning us with his profundity.

Image: Subrata Das | 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.