I was born in Delhi as a portable canopy of coloured cloth,
extended on a portable frame, which could easily slide on stick. I was bright
red in colour, one among the most beautiful umbrellas. One day, my friends and I were packed in wooden cases, closed and sealed and loaded on a train. It was a
very long journey, for several days where we were kept imprisoned in that box. Sometimes, we even got tossed up and down. There was no air and not even a single ray of
light penetrated through the gaps in the box. We were all stacked in darkness
and suffocation.
After several days of this suffocation we finally reached
our destination – Kolkata. We were then conveyed on truck to a large warehouse. Someone came and opened the box and we breathed a sigh of relief. I felt a little bit awkward, being touched by
human beings speaking a different language. At first I could not understand
anything as the language was new to me but gradually I started to understand
and speak Bengali.
One day, my friends and I were conveyed to a shop. The shop
was really beautiful, there we were placed attractively on the shelves. I was
kept in the ‘Kids’ umbrella section. The kids opened and folded me several
times. I was tried by the customers hundreds of times but no one bought me, maybe
because I was too costly.
Some of the mean umbrellas even said that no one would
buy me and I would remain in the shop forever lonely and frail, but I never lost hope. And then, one cloudy morning a man who apparently looked somewhat rich bought me. I was so happy to
start a new life and help somebody but at the same time I was sad to leave my
friends and the shop manager. The manager was the best human I had seen, he
took care of me and the other umbrellas so well that we couldn’t have been
treated better.
The man gifted me to his son who seemed kind of naughty. The
kid used me for various purposes sometimes I protected him from the sun and
sometimes gave shelter from the rain. He kept me in a metal basket with the
other umbrellas.
And there I met Julia, she was mom’s umbrella and was pink in
colour with small cupcake designs around the corner. She was the most beautiful
umbrella I had ever seen. First, we became friends and then best friends and soon soul mates. As time passed I started to wear out because the kid didn’t
take care of me well but Julia was still looked as young and as beautiful as ever.
One day, I realized there was a hole in my body, I tried to cover it up from the the world but in vain. I was immediately taken to the tailor. He stitched
the torn piece and made me useful again but I didn’t look as beautiful and attractive
as I was earlier.
When I was new I was so proud of myself for being this pretty
and would boast about my handsome appearance but now that pride suddenly vanished into
thin air. After returning home from the tailors place I found out that there
was a new umbrella in the basket. He was blue in colour and shined like a diamond. And Julia had now become great friends with him, which made me feel sad.
Even
the kid started using him so frequently, that I felt as if I was nothing more than the
leftover crumbs of a pie on a plate.
The kid gradually stopped using me as I grew
old and lost my beauty and strength. I lost my popularity and even Julia
stopped talking to me and I always stood in the corner away from the group with
a heap of dust on me. I felt like an outcast. It was miserable.
And then one day I was
given to the ragman, who took me and put me in a box with other broken and
worn-out things, and since then I live inside the box.
Life is a little hard
here and I have grown old and lost my strength and sometimes I even feel useless. But my companions here, a broken nip of a fountain pen, a monitor with cracked LED screen, two torn shoe-brothers, a group of plastic scraps, though very different from me, are no more than a family. They again make me feel special and
valuable.I have finally reached a place where every one values me regardless of my appearance.
It took me all this time to finally realize that outer appearance isn’t everything. One's personality
and character is what really matters. I believe certain things only comes with maturity!
Megha Roy
Class - IX B
