I encounter them everywhere
Braving the summer sun
Drenched in monsoon rain
The worn out thin sweaters
Barely keeps the chill away
At the city crossroads
Around the traffic junctions
Standing at parking lots
Waiting by the shopping malls
Boys barely into their teens
With parched lips and imploring eyes
Asking, urging, begging, pleading
With each passer by
To buy the day’s newspaper
A square piece of flannel
A few packets of incense sticks
An opportunity to wipe the car
Or to carry the vegetable baskets
Only for a couple of Rupees
That will earn them the Right
To live their life with dignity!