20. Summary of the lesson "Children at Work"

"Children at work" is a sensible story about an eleven-year-old boy named Velu. Velu is the central character of the story. Velu left his home because of his father's torture. His father was a drunkard, and he used to beat him daily. To overcome this bad situation, Velu left his home. He started his journey from Kanur and reached the railway station. From Kanur, Velu got onto the train, and he came to Chennai city by the next day. After reaching Chennai Central, Velu did not know where to go because he was new to Chennai city. Velu sat on a bench on the platform and heard a rough voice behind him. Velu saw a girl; her name was Jaya. Jaya was wearing a long banian, and her hair was stiff and brown. She was carrying a huge sack on her shoulder. The girl was collecting plastic cups and things from the platform and stuffing them in her bag. After seeing Velu's face, Jaya understood Velu was in hunger. Velu felt very hungry because he had not eaten anything except some jaggery and peanuts. Jaya took him to a marriage hall, and they went backside of the hall. There was a big dustbin. Wastes from the dustbin were overflowing. From there, Jaya took a banana and Vada and gave it to Velu. At first, Velu refused to eat.  Later on, Velu ate the squashy banana and Vada. After walking for half an hour, Velu and Jaya reached a wide bridge. A canal was flowing down with dirty water, and it was Buckingham Canal. Near the canal, Jaya showed her huts. The huts looked very strange, and they would fall at any time. The houses were made up of metal sheets, tyres and plastics. Later on, Jaya went inside one of the huts and to take an empty bag. She threw a pair of old shoes to Velu. Velu was confused, and he did not know what Jaya was trying to do. Jaya asked him to come fast, or else the other ragpickers would come there to take all the plastics. After collecting plastic cups Jaya and other children give them to a man called Jam Bazaar Jaggu. Jaggu used to collect the plastics and sell them to the factory. From the factory, plastics undergo a recycling process. Velu knew only working in farmlands, grazing cows and weeding. But in Chennai city, Velu could not find any farmlands, so he needs to work as a ragpicker until he gets a good job.