The roadside boy- english translation

I'm posting a translation of my earlier post. I'd try and include my perceptions as well.

"what's your name?"
"Shankar"
"how old are you?"
"twelve"
"What do you do, I mean, apart from sitting at the shop?"
"Arrey bhaiya, I study" this sentence had a tinge of pride, partly because he was thinking I was not expecting this answer. The italicized words are a very common mode of address, it means big brother.
"Oh good, which class are you in?" I replied.
"Seventh"
"but you look like a 5th grader. Which school?"
"Government middle school no.4"
"Do the teachers teach there??" Now this is a very common perception that government school teachers are no good, and hence my remark.
" Earlier there used to be a lot of dawdling, but now new teachers have come, they're foreigners, and teach well"
"Foreigners?? You must be joking, must be from some other city, maybe Delhi, not foreigners"
"No bhaiya, she's so fair, surely she's a foreigner." Here it is apparent the still prevailing dogma that fair skinned people are superior and come from far off lands. Something the British were very successful in drilling in all Indian minds.
"What is the school fees?"
"Nothing, we even get the textbooks for free, we only need to buy the notebooks"
"And do you get the mid-day meal?" This is a scheme introduced by the government to make poor people send their children to school, provide mid-day meals.
"No, that is only till class fifth. There is a boy in out school who failed deliberately, so that he keeps getting the food." Now this shows how 'effective' the government scheme has been and how the poor perceive it.
" Don't you do things like this. Study well and you'll get food automatically"
" One never gets food automatically, you have to work for it, no matter you study or not"
He said mockingly.
Now this shut me up completely and I changed the topic. But the comment has had a profound impression on me. Not that I did not know this, but it being put this way by a 12 year old, somehow shook me. I get food everyday, easily. I take it for granted. Now there is hard work involved in this, but I never see it as closely as this young boy does, and hence the down to earth comment.
Now as I said, the new city transit system introduced by the government is a source of many an excited conversation. This might seem very strange, but one needs to be an Indian to actually grasp the novelty of these spick-span buses running on time.
One of these buses just passed, and I asked.
" Have you taken a ride on the new bus"
" yeah, many times. It's fantabulous. Our Indore is developing too."
Hearing development the way he pronounced, I mockingly ask
"development, what does it mean??"
" it means, the coming of newer things to the city, the beautification of the city, people getting jobs. You know bhaiyya 4 people of my colony are employed by the service."
This is how he perceives development. I observe that the effects of these 'developments' are more direct and close to these people than anyone else.
" Do you know how to drive??"
" I've driven a luna many times" A luna is a small two wheeled scooter, without gears. The simplest of al motorized vehicles to drive.
"doesn't the police fine you? I mean you're 12, legally not allowed to drive"
" No the don't. After all they too know that I do not have much to give them, why would they waste their sweat on me then"
It is very commonly known and experienced that the local police force is corrupt, and take small bribes in return of overlooking small crimes, like underage driving. The thing here to observe is the boy's conscious acceptance of the fact that he is poor.
Again I was at a loss of what to say. This time he asked me a question.
" have you been to treasure island"
Now treasure island is a new mall in our city, and it is like the biggest news to most people since the invention of the telephone. Again, it'd be difficult to understand the fixation with a shopping mall if you're not Indian. It's like this apparently inaccessible 'foreign' item brought to their doorstep.
"yes I have"
"What a great place it is. The bijli ki sidhiyaan (the escalator) are fantastic. They take you up and bring you down, automatically Mangal City (another mall) is useless, they only have the up escalator. It's like as if they want you to stay there forever, it's one-way."
having cracked a joke, he laughs,one of the most beautiful laughs I've heard in a while.

All the time I was mesmerised by the shine in the boy's eyes and his easy guiltless attitude, something we can never have.