The Soul of a Child By Satis Shroff

THE SOUL OF A CHILD By Satis Shroff They called me the ‘harelip monster’ at school, And the schoolkids kicked me down the stairs. I’d often come home bruised; The children of my age called me: ‘Lakhe, the red-faced monster,’ Some even called me ‘Scareface.’ We were poor and my mother prayed for me. But that didn’t help me. I became very sad and depressed. I couldn’t look at a mirror, Harelip: I became scared of myself. Why did I have to be born with a harelip? Did I sin in my previous life? Why was I punished ? What had I done to get such a karma? I prayed to the Hindu and Buddhist Gods, But they remained silent. I was a Tharu boy and lived near Chitwan. Sometimes the wild elephants would come to the fields, To eat what they could find. Even tigers and leopards came stealthily at night, Took away goats or a child. During the night we were scared of wild animals, At daytime children were scared of me. I hated school, Hated contacts with humans: Anyone who stared at me. Sometimes I’d watch a Bollywood film, Identify myself with Shah Rukh Khan: What a great emotional hero. I wished I could be like him, Fight against evil gangsters and goondas, And win the hearts of lovely damsels. A look at the pond or a window pane, And I’d be dragged to reality. One day a teacher told my mother to go to Sankhu, Where foreign surgeons helped poor Nepalese, And performed plastic surgery for a song. My mother gave me hope. I was scared of the operation, So I didn’t tell anyone at school. One day my mom and I went to Sankhu, Near the capital. The bus journey was long and tiresome, But I was thinking of my face all the while. At the hospital there was a team of people in white coats, They looked like British sahibs. But I was told that they were from the Continent, Wherever that was. I was given a doll with blonde hair By a kind white lady. In Nepali we call it ‘sunpat.’ My heart was beating loudly. I started breathing fast. ‘You’ll fall asleep’ said a Nepali nurse. I did. Oh, wonder, when I woke up I had a bandage On my upper jaw. When the bandage was taken off, I was given a mirror. I had stitches from my nostrils To my upper lip. The gap was closed. I had a new face. A flood of tears rolled down my cheeks. Thank you Interplast Germany: You have given me a new life. I now have a moustache And a pretty wife. * * *