What is Poor
We are riding on a scooter. Yog suddenly asks,”Why that girl has a tent?”. I immediately decide that this conversation is soon going to transform into, “Why don’t we have a tent in our house?” So I tried to act ignorant. “I didn’t see any tent. Which tent are you talking about?” This was true. I wondered how Yog managed to see a tent inside someone’s house while we were on the scooter.
But Yog insisted. “That tent on the road! You didn’t see?” (Implying- How can you drive without seeing??) It struck me then. There indeed was a make shift tent on the road. A lady lived there.
I felt guilty for doubting Yogs intention. This time I tried to explain in detail.
Me: Some people stay in tents because they are poor.
Yog: What is poor?
Me: Poor means when someone doesn’t have any money
Yog: They don’t even have cards? (Like credit cards)
Me (choking my laughter) : No, they don’t have cards also
Yog: Then how do they buy food to eat?
Me: They buy little food which is not expensive
Yog: Then we should give them food?
Me: Yes! We should
Yog: We should also give them money
Me ( in a dilemma) : no we shouldn’t give money. We should help them so that they can earn their money.
Yog: How do you have so many cards?
Me (explaining how banks work)
The conversation struck a chord and I wanted to record it to remind myself how quickly we adults jump to conclusions. I has mistakenly interpreted Yogs simple inquisition based on humanity as a selfish demand and tried to avoid it.
Moral of the Story – if only we hear what children have to say without interpretation, we will probably see the beauty in the world as they see it.