Their father couldn't visit Satara frequently, so he sent a letter to his children, inviting them to Koregaon to spend the holidays with him.
Bhima was overjoyed upon receiving this message from his father. There were two reasons for his happiness.
Firstly, life in Satara had been challenging for him ever since his mother passed away he was just five years old at the time. They were left without anyone to take care of the household. His aunt took on the responsibility, but due to her frail health, she struggled to manage all the household chores. As a result, the children often had to cook their own meals. However, they only knew how to cook rice, so that became their primary source of sustenance.
Secondly, Bhima faced discrimination at school.
His family belonged to the Hindu Mahar caste, which was considered untouchable in those days. They faced social and economic discrimination. Bhima's father used his position in the army to secure admission for his talented child in a government school. However, due to his Mahar caste status, Bhima was not allowed to sit with the other children in the class. He was segregated and made to sit with the other untouchable children outside the classroom. The Brahmin teachers paid him no attention and provided no help. Bhima would sit outside the classroom with his bag and memorise the lessons from there.
He wasn't even allowed to drink water from the school tap when he was thirsty.
The peon would pour pour water into his hands. If the peon was absent, Bhima had to carry on without water.
The children in his class neither played with him nor allowed him to touch any of their belongings. Thus, Bhima lived a solitary life, which he disliked.
"Brother, when are we going to visit Father?" Bhima asked his brother eagerly.
"Soon. We need to make some preparations first," his brother said to Bhima.
This story is from the April First 2024 edition of Champak.
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This story is from the April First 2024 edition of Champak.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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