Chandu Chacha - story

 Chandu Chacha

In the settlement of sand dunes, nearly 200 families survived on daily wage labor. Whenever a new baby was born in any home, the house filled with joy, for everyone believed that in a few years that child would become an additional source of income for the family. Most of the children of this settlement would wake up at dawn, each carrying a plastic bottle filled with cleaning liquid to wipe car windows at different traffic signals. In their right hand, they held a small sponge.

Whenever the traffic light turned red, the children sprang into action. Within a minute, they would earn anywhere between 10 to 20 rupees. By the end of the day, each child returned home with a daily earning of about 100 to 200 rupees. This is how life went on in the settlement.

Among these families lived a middle-aged man known as Chandu Chacha. Every night, under the light of a street pole on a vacant government land near the settlement, he would gather the children and tell them new stories. These stories would wash away the children’s fatigue after a long day. He also taught them basic lessons so that one day they could study enough to find good jobs.

Time passed in this manner. The children respected and loved Chandu Chacha deeply. His family consisted of his wife and his only daughter, Pooniya (real name: Purnima). His wife’s health was poor, so the entire burden of the house fell on Chandu Chacha and his daughter. Because of her polite behavior and dedication to studies, most people in the settlement admired Pooniya. She was now 21 years old.

A marriage proposal came for her from a respectable family, but Chandu Chacha did not have the financial means to arrange such a wedding. Helpless, he declined the proposal.

Soon the whole settlement learned about it. A few days later, the same family returned and said, “Please don’t worry about anything. We will bear all the expenses of the wedding. You only need to bless the children by being present.”

Chandu Chacha found this unusual, but the wedding day arrived. The atmosphere was festive — people enjoyed delicious dishes, some were dancing, and many children from the settlement came to bless their beloved sister, Pooniya. Chandu Chacha wondered how these children came without being invited, but instead of asking, he encouraged them to enjoy the celebration.

The wedding took place with great joy.

Because of the wedding rush, Chandu Chacha did not conduct the children’s classes for two or three days. On the fourth day, when the class resumed, he narrated a fairy tale about honesty and helping others. Before the story even ended, his new relative (the groom’s father) arrived at the class with several gifts and said, “Please distribute these among the children.”

Perplexed, Chandu Chacha finally asked, “Why are you giving such expensive gifts to these children?”

After some persuasion, the man revealed the truth:

“This marriage was possible only because of the efforts of these children. Each of them collected their earnings of five days and brought the money to us, placing it at our feet. They told us that Chandu Chacha is their source of inspiration. The children he taught are today doing big jobs. They are proud of him. They said that your daughter, Pooniya, is the angel of the settlement — everyone praises her manners and values. They insisted that if we do not accept this marriage, we would be losing something precious in life. Only then did we realize that we must bring Pooniya into our home as our daughter-in-law.”

Chandu Chacha was overwhelmed. Tears filled his eyes as he embraced the children. The children too cried with him, and even his new relative could not hold back his tears.

Today, Pooniya lives in her new home, happily — like an angel.

Anil Kumar Gupta 

Librarian