The age at which children can be exploited is when they are too little to teach anything. Every day when we were playing, this man who was working at my place would pass by and say, "I have prepared fresh food, come and eat at my place." I was afraid of him since he was tall and had a dark complexion, and I knew I shouldn't go into his outhouse. Therefore, we either refused or flee every day. Eventually, one day, he looked really sad and said, "Please come to my home, and I will serve you hot food." I yielded to his sad face. My sister fled as soon as I agreed.
I just wanted to get rid of him and so agreed. He took out for me his special new steel bowl and asked if he should add sugar to my food. I was aware that new bowl for me is a special treatment!
My sister came looking out for me because she was worried and she also had a duty to report back to my mother.
When I returned home and told my mother happily that he gave sweet 'rice with Rasam' and I had eaten everything with my hand, he did not feed me and I had also finished my meal. What an achievement! I also informed her of his daily requests. "You can say no if you don't want to do something," she simply replied with a smile.
The story doesn't end there!
I simply assumed that would be the happy ending, but it wasn't. He stopped by the following day and looked at me with joy, as though we were now buddies. That was startling! He is not my friend, because I only had meals to satisfy his daily demands and stop him from bothering me. My only friends are my sister and mother. I was disappointed but couldn't say anything. Because I was the one who declared food was good. Sometimes honesty and innocence is a trap.
However, I had a miraculous end to my ordeal; my father had a transfer a few days later, and we left the place, and eventually I forgot the experience.
Now when I remember I just wonder was it all affection or there was some hidden agenda. But he fed me with lots of affection and that's how I still remember Gurraiyya. It's a sight to behold when people serve food with love and affection.
Artist: Geeta Yerra
Work: Original oil Painting, One of a Kind
Medium: W & N professional oil paints on stretched linen canvas
Year: 2024
Style: Impressionistic Figurative, Contemporary art
Size: 22 x 15 x 0.8 in
Childhood Challenge a small oil painting
20% Discount till 31st Dec
Painted with high quality oil colors on linen, this artwork will be shipped unframed, ready to hang; both edges are painted, flat, in a heavy cardboard box carefully wrapped in bubble foil. The signature is there at the front right bottom..The painting is heavily textured with thick brush strokes.
This painting will be varnished. This is a conversation starter.
PERFECT FOR ANY SPACE: Living room, family room, children's room, dining room, game room and more!