Unforgettable

It was after a hectic day full of activity in the sun...a walk in the sand enjoying the spray from the Bay of Bengal was a refreshing change, despite the sweaty clime that makes your clothes cling to you. I was busy looking at the sea, when I turned back to find him approach, Suren. It took him a little over ten minutes to crawl on his hands, the distance of fifty meters or less. I saw his face intent and interested to know about Suren, a certain foreign face, with his wrinkled white skin and grizzly beard and khadi clothes. I saw the boy and Suren trying to strike a conversation, it was certainly a moment to capture. My second photo was not as candid, as the boy became conscious of the camera in the distance. Giving up, I joined them. "Where did you go today?" he asked me, I mentioned the name of the village where we had gone for our anti-nuclear cycle rally. "I was there in the school that day, when you came," "Yes, you have a good school; your teachers are also very good". I replied. "Who is he?" he asked me pointing to Suren. "My grandfather." I replied. "He doesn't speak Telugu?" "No". "What does he do?" "He is a scientist". 'You said, nuclear is dangerous, but don't you think, it’s good for our electricity?" he asked. Then ensued, a long discussion on the merits and demerits of nuclear power. Soon, his friends joined him.

I thought later, it would have been a beautiful picture, just that I was too engrossed in the discussion to take a photo of Suren with the boys. I looked at the sand; it had black streaks and red streaks. "Is this Thorium by any chance?" I asked Suren, they are trying for a lot of beach sand mining in this district". "Could be, or it could be iron also". "I saw a film about Kanyakumari, the sand mining for Thorium has rendered many local people with genetic deformities. Could it be the case here also?" "Can't say." Suren replied. "Were you born like this or did you get this later on?" I asked the boy. "No, no, this is polio, I was okay until I was five, then I got this". "How many people are like this in your village?” "About ten of us, in the small hamlet and ten in the big hamlet, about half of us have been born with it and rest like me got it later", he replied. "This could be then a case of radiation impacts...isn't it: nearly ten in a population of less than 5,000?" "Hmm. possible, but someone has to do a study”, was Suren's reply. "If you get a nuclear plant here, there will be more people like you here", I told the boy. He nodded in comprehension. "Then we must stop it at all costs". "Tell him he can manage to walk with a Jaipur Foot", Suren said. I explained about the Jaipur foot to the boy. "Ha, yes, I know about it, but someone told my parents, I will die if I use that, so they didn't get me one!" "Speak to your parents, and call me, we'll get you a Jaipur foot, there are people in Hyderabad, who will sponsor for you". As we got up and turned to go, he called out, "Won't you say bye to me?" I could only smile and wave back to him. "Come again". He smiled back - one of the happiest smiles I have ever come across. No sign of any sense of remorse or regret.