Though at first I was amused to see a tent-like structure right next to the shore, which was constructed with solid, thick rods with a rope connecting both sides. However, the amusement turned to horror, when the little girl, came out from nowhere and started doing her famous cartwheels. Her next stunt was to come in and out of a small hula hoop. She wriggled in and out of it like she was made of elastic. She twisted and turned her limbs in all directions possible like the rubber man.

 

Then, she got ready for her hit performance,deciding to climb on to the tent-like structure, holding a pole to balance herself, before beginning to walk down a tightrope. I was astonished at this sight. What shocked me the most, was that there was strong wind blowing at the time, which could have caused her to fall head first, on the rocks below, while the crowd was being entertained.

 

Finally, she decided to balance a bottle on her head and spin a steel wheel in her feet, rolling to the other side of the line, before she got down to beg for a rupee or two from the crowds. There is a limit to which people can use children, but this was not fair at all.

 

We have seen these stunts by such children at traffic signals around the cities, but I was thoroughly shaken to see something like this in such a close proximity. This child's dangerous performance, according to me, is a form of child labour. She is used by her family to entertain the beach and finally earn a rupee or two from the crowd. On one hand, we have different laws and policies coming about in our country and on the other hand, we have people like this girl’s family violating it.

 

Child labour can have a lot of adverse effects on the child as well as the nation. India, a country that is constantly creating milestones in every field, has child labour and abuse as two of its major black marks. It is our responsibility as citizens of this country, to take the lead and do something about the condition of children in our country.

 

We can all do our bit in preventing this and many other forms of child labour, by taking a few simple steps. Firstly, we can ensure that we do not employ a child at our homes, for domestic work.

Similarly, we can dissuade our neighbours to do so too, by making them understand what they are doing is wrong.

 

We can also inform the Childline services, if we find a child being made to work in bad conditions, or if one is being abused.