“Yesterday, I was able to buy a new dress for my daughter after two years. While I handed sixty pieces of five taka note to the seller, he yelled at me by asking if I am a beggar. My daughter held my hand and cried to leave the shop by saying that she did not want to buy any dress. I wept off her tears with one hand. Yes, I am a beggar. Ten years ago I had never thought in my nightmares that I have to live by begging from people. The night coach fell from the bridge and unbelievably I was alive. I was alive by becoming a disable. My youngest son often asks me where had I left my other hand. And my daughter Sumaiya feed me every day by saying she knows how difficult it is to do all work with one hand.
After two years my daughter is wearing a new dress, that’s why today I brought her with me to play for some time. May be I will not be able to earn anything today, but I wanted to roam around with my little girl. I secretly borrowed this mobile phone from my neighbor without informing my wife. My daughter has no picture and I want to make this day memorable for her. When one day I will have a phone I will take a lot of pictures of my children. I want to keep good memories. It’s very difficult to send my children to school, but I am educating them all. Sometimes they cannot attend the exam because giving exam fees is not always possible to me. On those days they feel very sad then I tell them, sometimes we can miss exams because the biggest exam is life which we are giving every day.
Now I will go for begging. I will place my daughter in a signal where she will wait for me. I will look at her from a distance while begging. I feel a shade of shame when she looks at me lend my one hand to others. However, she never leaves me alone because there are big cars and she thinks accident can happen again, these cars could run on me and I would die. Whenever I managed to get some money I return home by holding my daughter’s hand. We go to the bazaar on our way home and my daughter always carries the groceries bag. During rain, we love to get wet and talk about our dreams. On some days, I do not get any money and those days we return home silently. On those days I feel like killing myself but at night when my children fall asleep by holding me I feel that maybe being alive is not a bad thing. The only thing that is bad is when my daughter waits for me in the signal by keeping her head down. When I cannot look at her eye while begging. But today is different. Because today my daughter is very happy. Today this father is not a beggar. Today this father is a king and here is his princess.
During rain, we love to get wet and talk about our dreams. On some days, I do not get any money and those days we return home silently. On those days I feel like killing myself but at night when my children fall asleep by holding me I feel that maybe being alive is not a bad thing. The only thing that is bad is when my daughter waits for me in the signal by keeping her head down. When I cannot look at her eye while begging. But today is different. Because today my daughter is very happy. Today this father is not a beggar. Today this father is a king and here is his princess.”
