The Courier Boy

Author: Sham Saha

Dated: October 03, 2009

Of course I have some identity, but I would like to introduce myself as an Invisible Camera, peeping in other’s life.

Last year, my focus was on a young boy from a nearby slum. After few days of observations, I reached to a conclusion that the poor lad was a courier boy, running a family of 6 including his sick and handicapped father. I also did not miss to notice that the boy used to come out from slum at 8 in the morning and used to return at 8 in the evening. And on some odd days he used to stand still before the City Art School raising his head aloft. May be, he wanted to be a painter, an artist or whatever but life had left him no choice except becoming a courier boy. Anyway, everyone should have a dream, but in his case I assumed his dream was dim and literally dammed up, of course poverty was the sole reason. How could he be a painter? I heard there were lot of expenses studying in that Art School and a bright future is not always guaranteed anywhere.

However on a certain day, I watched the boy entering art school in day time. But he had no courier bag with him but a role of old handmade papers. I realized that the boy was trying to get chance to enter the Art School. May be those papers were some samples of his artistic talent he could have nurtured at his home.

After few days, the boy started attending art classes I supposed, but only once or twice in a week. To my surprise, I never saw him carrying any bag or paint board or any kind of stationeries, an art school student was supposed to carry usually. Day by day, it seemed he was grooming and his costumes and outfits would tell you that there was some progress. I was quite snooping to discover if there was some financial aid.

One day I realized the truth underneath - it became like lucid air to me.

The poor boy entered the Art School keeping a faint hope that he might get an admission as a student. But on the very first day the Director of Art School lured him first and then convinced. They were badly in need of male nude model. The poor boy saw some firm hope of earning extra bucks in it rather struggling with poverty and dreaming to be a painter. Thus he continued visiting the Art School not as student but a nude model.