As his sparkling eyes stared into the camera, I didn’t know which aspect of him to capture, considering that he is both a small boy and an individual who lives a life completely different from a typical child.
Growing up and working to support ones’ family is something common in India. Saranj, one of four children in his family with this lifestyle, walks from one end of the beach to the other selling flowers and peanuts hoping to make enough for his parents to feel proud.
Saranj says when his parents’ eyes are off him, he rarely puts his basket down to fly his kite or roll around in the sand with a friend he has made with a dog. Even though many children don’t live lives similar to his, he plays with some children of his age group when he has finished the day’s work.
He says, “Sometimes I don’t go home until nine, because I haven’t made enough for the day.” To me, his life is pretty harsh, let alone the fact that he is just six.
I was curious to know if he ever felt like going to school, and he said, “Well, it doesn’t make a difference, does it?”
I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t want him to rebel against his parents to go to school; but at the same time, I felt like he was missing out on something- something important that may help him face the world easier, later on.