Lives were exploding with gaiety. <br />It was Diwali everywhere. <br />For children it is the feast of fireworks. <br />A spirited boy <br />His little pockets stuffed with coppers <br />Darted out into the street <br />To get more crackers. <br />Suddenly a shrinking voice <br />Peeled off from somewhere <br />And fell before. <br />The rushing boy <br />Stayed his eager legs, <br />Strained his eyes – <br />A blind beggar with a begging bowl! <br />A dark and lonely cloud <br />Suddenly up on a sunny sky. <br />He saw the crackers <br />That he had to buy. <br />He felt his filled-in pockets <br />And peered into the emptiness <br />Of the beggar’s bowl. <br />Pennies were no pebbles <br />That could be picked up and thrown away. <br />He stepped forward. <br />The blind beggar heard <br />The clatter of pebbles in his bowl. <br />He shouted: Hey mischievous boy! <br />Why thus nag a poor blind, <br />With soil and stones into his hungry bowl? <br />He then groped his fingers <br />For those humiliating pebbles <br />That were dropped into it. <br />He couldn’t believe himself. <br />They were all coins <br />No pebbles at all! <br />Suddenly a faceless joy <br />Lit up his face. <br />Crackers of joy <br />Burst forth from his heart. <br />Silent gratitude <br />Trickled down his eyes. <br />The boy stood in a trance. <br />While his companions <br />Kept colouring the air with crackers, <br />This lone boy <br />Stood sharing <br />A destitute’s joy. <br />He enjoyed <br />The real festival of lights. <br />He saw how a flicker of a flame <br />Could light an extinguished lamp. <br />He had found his way. <br />He walked forward <br />And become the BABA AMTE we know today.<br /><br />Kannan G<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/b-baba-amte-1994-the-child-who-was-the-father-of-the-man/
