Brahmavali (Sitapur), Uttar Pradesh

It was a hot and windy afternoon when the summer had just begun. I was looking out of my classroom window at villagers who were flocking to a fair just three kilometres away from there. I could barely concentrate on the lesson being taught. I even spotted a few members of my family in the crowd.

The minute the class got over, I charged out with my school bag, slung over my shoulder and ran towards the fair grounds. I had underestimated the heat of the day and I began to feel really ill. I felt giddy and feared I may black out.

I could see the public water tap at a distance, but the line to get to the water was too long. I was convinced I would die of thirst. Just then, my school principal Kaushal Kishor Yadav and teacher Dhyanpal Singh Chauhan who were walking by spotted me. Gauging by my appearance they knew I was feeling wretched. They knew I had not gone home from school but had instead rushed straight to the fair.

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My principal looked around and spotting a shop selling khasta [a village snack], bought me some food. And gave me water to drink. Food and drink had never tasted so delicious!

It did not stop with that. The teachers accompanied me to the fair after I had eaten, and bought me toys.

I couldn’t believe a principal and a teacher could be so kind to a small boy.

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They walked me home and I told my father about their kind gesture and showed off my toys.

I asked my father to pay my teachers the for those toys. What my father told me is forever etched in my mind. He said, “The cost of these toys is too much for anybody to repay. The affection of the teachers is priceless. Nobody, however rich, can buy that kind of love. Never forget that,” he said.