Showing posts with label the poor lack basic things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the poor lack basic things. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

My first Pen

I was bathing in the river nearby. There were very few people around.  I was in grade VI and I wanted a pen badly but my people would not listen to my persistent demands. Most of  my classmates had one and some others two. I was writing with a lead pencil and it was very humiliating. I used to watch my friend's pens with curiosity, awe and despair all mixed up. On that day as dusk was falling, and as I was alone, I remained  in the shallow waters.  Suddenly  I saw a red object flowing towards me. It had the shape of an ink pen which until then I did not have the good fortune to possess. I grabbed it as it neared me and I was in total ecstasy as it was a real fountain pen. I felt I got a great treasure. I reached the sandy bank, rubbed myself and ran home clutching the red object like an athlete holds his winners trophy.My elder brother opened the pen and  I stood nearby in a great jubilant mood of expectation. "The nib is broken," he said, "and the nib head cannot be unscrewed." He tried his level best to fix the prized possession but failed. I was crest-fallen. I felt that as he had a pen already, he did not much bother about it. He just threw it off to the bushes beyond our courtyard. I could not sleep that night. Early in the morning as soon as there was some faint light, I went and retrieved it. I showed it to many who had pens but none of them could do anything and I started realizing that someone had thrown it off into the river. Even now its memory is vivid and the hope it raised alive. It took another two solid years before a pen was brought for me. I could write with it alright but it lacked the beauty and the warmth of my first pen.