Camera kodunga

Santhosh, an amateur photographer, called out in excitement to us, trying to snatch the camera mobile one of us was holding, “Camera kodunga” (give me the camera). A bubbly boy with stars in his eyes, Santhosh fascinated the four of us. Constant meeting with the kid had created a special place in our hearts for him. For those who wonder, why Santhosh is the hero in our hearts lately, we would like to share the unexplored life of a 12-year-old boy.

We met Santhosh in a cycle repair shop outside the premises of our university. He welcomed us excitedly to his shop and enquired about the trouble we had with our cycle. We had no idea about what problem our cycle was having but like a true expert and guardian angel, he did the troubleshooting leaving us spellbound.

A child worker at that dingy little cycle shop, Santhosh left us in awe. With his imaginative stories, we learnt that he hailed from a tiny village nearby. His father works in Puducherry to support a family with constant ailments. A motherless child, Santhosh left his schooling in midway along with his sisters to do some odd jobs to help his father. When asked about why he didn’t continue education after failing in 7th standard, he gave us a repartee with a mysterious emotion in his eyes. “Ungalukku aen karuppuvellayakka mudiyumaa? ” (Could you change my blackish skin into white?)

He dreams to be a photographer and as a first timer on holding camera, his snaps were amazing. For a person with not even a single pair of sandals, the dream is as distant as the stars but he has in him a will to go on.