Father’s Day 2022: ‘I am illiterate but my children won’t be so’

Krishna, 25, sleeps under a city flyover each day staring at the stars and dreaming of a future for his five children, all of whom go to school in Faizabad.

“I do odd jobs for a living the whole day. From whatever money I get, I ensure that a part of it is sent to my family for their schooling and other needs,” said Krishna.

He regrets that he couldn’t get enough education to pick up a decent job. He blames it on his destiny. But there is no mistaking the conviction in his voice that his children won’t have to suffer like him.

“My parents also did odd jobs. When jobs dried up, they would beg for a living. That is why I could not study because my parents could never afford to put me in a school. I thus remained illiterate but I always wanted to ensure my children went to school so that they became literate,” he said. He admitted that there have been days when he had to even beg for a living.

“I know begging is not good, but there are times when I can’t help it. That is why I am trying to rectify what has gone wrong so far. So, I have put all my kids to school so that they don’t have to suffer as I did,” he said.

Krishna’s wife works as a housemaid in Faizabad.

“I don’t want to be a bad father to my children and thus have always encouraged them to go to school,” he said of his children who attend government school in Mahawan village in Faizabad district. These days, as the schools are closed for summer vacations, all his children including Krishna’s six-year-old daughter Kaveri, are in Lucknow. “Naukri (job),” said Kaveri on being asked what she would want to do to make her father happy.

Krishna said he would ensure that she and his other children complete their study before thinking of their marriage.