'I would give my right hand for 2 meals a day'

Sombhu Das, 11, dreams a modest dream -- that of owning a grocery shop some day. Which is why he is honing his skill as an errand-boy at a grocer's in south Kolkata.

Though he has to put in 8-10 hours of hard work a day, he doesn't crib at all.

Rather, he is grateful to his employer for giving him Rs 400 per month.

The shopowner also takes care of his daily needs and lets him sleep at his residence at night.

"The money that he pays me is not much but it is of great help to me and my family," he told rediff.com.

"I have asked my mother to set aside my 'salary' so that we can use it for my sister's wedding. She is 14 and we plan to marry her off in a few years."

Sambhu studied till Class III and was 'an above average student'.

However, acute poverty following his father's untimely death forced him to give up studies and take up this job.

At this early age, Sombhu has learnt to take the daily toil in his stride. He always carries a smile on his lips.

Reason? "When I am dead tired, I motivate myself to dream. I goad my inner self to fantasise that I am the owner of this shop -- I think of all the nice things under the sun. That has a magic effect. It not only rejuvenates me but also helps me slog without feeling exhausted," philosophises young Sombhu.

His mother and sister work as housemaids in the locality and his elder brother is a mason. His youngest sister is only 8 and she mostly stays at home.

"She has been in and out of school quite a few times. Nothing is more valuable in this world than food and all the five of us would give our right hands for two square meals a day. I know we should go to school but then how can we study with hunger gnawing at our entrails," asks the 11-year-old.

"I often overhear our customers discussing that the poor get government assistance in foreign countries. They also talk about India competing with the West on various issues. But I am sure poverty can't be one of them. Else, why are we leading such pathetic lives?"

Image: Sombhu 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.