Mumbai
7/12/2011
Dear God,
My name is Tina and I am eight
years old. I am writing this letter to you because grandma told me that you are
very powerful and strong and everyone loves you and that you listen to children
like me. I want to tell you many things. I don’t know your phone number and mom
and dad don’t allow me to use facebook or orkut. They say it is for big people.
God, I want to tell you how bad
people are in this world. The other day, they said in news that some bomb
blasted and many people died. I don’t know any of them but the pictures in
newspapers and TV were very bad I felt like vomiting. My classmate Rohit told
me that there will be bombs kept in many places and we won’t know where. When
we walk out of our house, it will suddenly blast off and we will all die!!! I said
I will never go out to play again but then he said that we won’t know whether
there will be bombs kept in our homes. I was very afraid. I checked my house
when I came back from school. But I don’t know what a bomb looks like so I am
not sure if there is any bomb or not. Rohit told me that he will become police
when he becomes big and then he will destroy all bombs. That will be good, wont
it? But it will take so much time. Please God, make him big very fast. Then he
will go and destroy all bombs.
Yesterday, when he was telling
me all these things in class, our teacher, Malti ma’am came told us to write ‘I
won’t talk in class again’ fifty times. I wrote only forty times and showed it
to her because in my hands, there was very much pain. Rohit wrote only lesser
but he put numbers wrongly and gave it to her. So she didn’t scold him. But she
told me to stand up in her class today. I don’t like Malti ma’am. She is very
bad. Please my dear God, take her away from our school.
In my house also lot of problems
are there. My elder sister Mina is always beating me. She is also very bad.
Every time, she is talking to me like she is my mother. She is in class V and
she is always scolding me for everything. We go to school together and when we
come back home, she always tells bad things about me to mom. Then mummy also
scolds me. Then I have a younger brother Arun and he is only four. He plays
with me but is very naughty. When we are playing, he always breaks one thing or
other. Then when mom comes to look, he starts crying. Then mom turns to me and
says, ‘why can’t you take care of your younger brother?’ He is younger than me
but he is always beating me. He is very naughty. Yesterday night, I heard mom
and dad talk that they will put one of us in boarding school. Please God, make
them put Arun or Mina didi to go to hostel.
My daddy’s friend Mohit uncle
came from America two days ago. He gave us all foreign chocolates. Arun and
Mina didi ate their chocolates very fast. Arun finished his chocolates first.
He asked me for chocolates. I had only one more left. That was my favourite. So
I told him I won’t give that. Then he started crying loudly. Then mom came and
scolded me. Then she took the chocolate from me and gave it to him. I cried
because they all had already eaten two chocolates. I got only one small
chocolate. Then, mom scolded me again. She told that I am always being very
naughty and she doesn’t like me. Then dad came. Mom told him that she is fed up
of me. Then dad told that they will put me in boarding school after the summer
vacations. I don’t want to go to
boarding school. Why should I go, God? I didn’t do anything. Why is mom and dad
always angry with me? I told them sorry also. But they didn’t listen and mummy
scolded me again. They never listen to me. They should listen to me also. I am
also their child. When I told Rohit about it, he said that it may be because
they got me from somewhere. I may not be their child. Is it true? Am I not
their child? I was so sad after hearing that and I started crying. Mina didi
saw that and she told mom and dad that I was being naughty at school and teacher
scolded me. That was the reason I was crying. My mom and dad started scolding
me again. I became more sad and I started crying again. I tried to tell them
why I was crying but no one listened. Then grandma called me into her room. I
lay on her lap and cried. Grandma tried to talk to mom and dad about me. But
they didn’t listen. They said that they don’t want to bear any problem about me
again. I will become good only when I am put in boarding school, they said. I
really don’t want to go to boarding school. I want to stay with my mom and dad.
But nobody here likes me. If they say, I will go to boarding school. But I
don’t want them to hate me. You know God, when grandma tried to talk to mom and
dad about me, she said that she hates me. I am so sad, God. Please do something
God. You are the only one who can help me. Please do something. Then I will
thank you all my life. And I will give you all the chocolates that Mohit uncle
brings when he come from America next time. I will also give you all my colour
pencils and colouring book and also my teddy bear. Please, please, please, help me.
With lots of
love,
Tina.
Ever since I started this blog, I’ve been thinking of discussing the
past with you all. Yes, past is very important in everyone’s life. It moulds us
into what we are. It nurtures us. And it teaches us what to do in the future. Study
of the past is essential for the study of the future. I thought (or rather,
hoped) that I’ll tell you the story of the past, hold your hands and lead you
back down memory lane. That very thought made me happy. Not that I’ve no
interest in the present or future, but I’ve always thought that past is always
amazing.
