Today, Bhanu, Bhanu Prakash Singh, was feeling very much dejected in this so called small world. He was in Delhi, the National Capital. He has come to meet a Director of a research institute of national repute, who happened to be his acquaintance somehow to secure a seat for his son as a research scholar. The meeting was scheduled tomorrow. At present he was standing outside the New Delhi Railway station outside a telephone booth waiting for about three hours for another acquaintance to come and pick him up. He had already called the person four times and every time he had got an assurance that he was on his way. At last, he lost the hope. He was tired after a night long journey. He picked his luggage and enquired in some of the nearby hotels for accommodation with utter failure, somewhere due to non-availability and somewhere due to non-affordability. He got exhausted. Suddenly he remembered another person whose son used to reside at Delhi. Bhanu phoned the person asked his son’s phone number. After getting the telephone number, he phoned the boy, who told that he worked at Narayana Industrial complex and gave an address to come. Bhanu boarded a city bus and reached Narayana and started searching for the industrial complex. The heavy luggage, the scorching sun and the tiredness was overpowering him. He felt difficulty even in walking. He glanced all around to search for a tree, but there were tall buildings, huge mansions, wide road and the scorching sun. Some fat Punjabi looking ladies were brooming the road with brooms with long broom sticks. He asked them about address and proceeded in the direction indicated by them. He reached the complex but could not find the shop number the boy had told. He again telephoned the boy. Then the boy informed him that he was actually out of town and told about a friend Sagar, who could make arrangements for his stay and also reiterated the address. He asked a shopkeeper about the address. The shopkeeper sent a boy with him to locate the address, which was nearby. When he reached the shop, the manager there informed him that Sagar was out of town for some work and would not return till tomorrow. Now Bhanu was shattered. He came out of the complex and found himself in a small park like Corridor, where he got some relief. He sat in the shadow of trees for some time and then only could get some consciousness and started thinking what to do. He started again and came to the same road. The ladies had completed brooming and were sitting on the roadside. Some of there were smoking. Bhanu saw a tap fitted on the boundary wall of a huge mansion nearby. He went there and drank water. Now his mind appeared clearer. Then he approached towards the ladies and asked one of them where he could find a cheap hotel to stay for a day or two. The lady told him to go to Paharganj near Railway station and also told which bus number to take. He reached Paharganj. In the way on the bus he had vomiting once, which left him almost fully exhausted. He stood near the shutter of a closed shop and started thinking what to do, looking the huge traffic on the road before the eyes. Everybody appeared to be in rush. He craved for the peace and relaxation in his town. Suddenly a blackish liquid fell from above and his left portion of shirt got wet. He immediately moved from there. He kept on moving looking for a board of a hotel/lodge.
Suddenly, he heard a voice filled with wonder, “Sir, you here!” He looked up towards the voice but could not recognize the face. The person was of moderate looks of about 30-32 years. He came toward him and touched his feet and informed him that he was his student.
“Sir, do you remember, you arranged once a hair-cutting class by a barber and none of the students but one turned up for the class that day; I am that student.”
Bhanu remembered him, “ Sonu……..”. “Yes Sir, I am Sonu.”
Bhanu told him about purpose of own travel. Sonu by his repeated persuasion took him to his rental house, arranged for his stay, food, transportation to and fro to research institute next day and later in the evening to the railway station.
When he took his seat in the railway coach, he felt very much satisfied and relaxed although the Director of the research institute had expressed his inability to provide him the favour.
Bhanu’s whole life moved in the flash back of his mind when he lay down on his berth. After the sudden demise of his father, he had to leave his job as a teacher at a private school and had to come back to his native town to look after his lonely mother and home. To sustain his life he opened a coaching institute at his home only. He named it as Skill Foundation. He named it so because he had new ideas which he wanted to implement. He not only took the work of teaching subjects in his institute but also trained them in different life skills in a joyful manner. He was many times criticized by many people for his revolutionary ideas of education children. Yet, he got support from many people and parents and could secure a sustainable livelihood. This was the Skill Foundation which helped him support the livelihood of his family and good education for his children. He remembered once he had called a barber to take a class to demonstrate and explain technique of hair cutting and shaving etc under skill development scheme of his coaching institute and many parents had objected such a class and only one student had actually attended the class.
Bhanu smiled as he remembered that the same objecting parents had appreciated his tireless efforts for students’ benefits.
Bhanu took a sigh of relief and with a deep breath stopped thinking.
