Page 3 - My FlipBook

Biju, like most of the children in his village, did not go to school. He had wanted to go to
school but his parents had said there was no use in him learning things that had nothing

to do with their weaving profession. He would get just useless thoughts in his head

about working in an office.

So Biju tried to convince himself that school was no fun at all because the boys who did

go looked miserable and had to carry heavy bags full of books. A friend’s brother had
got himself a ‘degree’ after attending school but it had not helped him get a job. He had

gone up and down many stairs in the tall office buildings of Mumbai but had been
offered jobs only at teashops, newspaper kiosks and by janitors. He was back at home

now, helping his father weave ikat saris, which he took to Mumbai once in a while to sell
to a wholesale merchant.

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