The Dream That Survived

"I had to stop going to school after the 3rd grade because Father could not pay the 4 rupees they had started demanding as fees. And Father was not much of an earner. He loved dancing and drinking. When I turned 9, he had almost sold all the land he had inherited from Grandfather. The remaining 15 Katthas became collateral to the loan of 1000 rupees he had taken. As a boy, I spent my days taking the few goats we had to pasture since the dream of going to school had died. I remember seeing the elephants laden and tourists going to the jungle and wondered what it would be like to have one. But the reality was different. We all were barely surviving as our daily struggle for food would take all our time. If we borrowed 5 kilos of wheat from the farmers we had to return 10 kilos when the time came. We were getting poorer by the day. When father became sick, I had to go look for work that paid me some money. A man took me in, I was to look after his animals and live in the shed for which he would pay me 25 rupees a month. I would bring back grains with that money and for a while, we survived. At least, there was food. Life continued but we were not spared so easily. When I turned 15, I fell sick. I had severe gastritis and jaundice and could not go to work. I think my family had given up hope as the villagers would say I would not make it. For me, days were spent in pain with empty stomach and a hope that things would get better. I will never forget the day we sold the last pair of oxen for 900 rupees. That money saved me but our struggles continued. It was only when I turned 21, I got a job that required me to look after the elephants. This was something that I had always wanted to do and I was happy. Little did I know at the time, working with this elephants would change my life forever."