Little Choices

I don’t defend child labor, but I always ask those who object to it what the alternatives are for the illiterate, landless family of eight, of ten, of a dozen. Still, after Pappu who manages a store daily from sunrise to past sunset, after Khusboo and her baby sister who cook chapattis for the dhabba customers, after Rekha who collects garbage instead of going to school, the retorts don’t come as easily.