Part 1: Early morning 

Feet were sinking into the mud of the village. It was morning, but the sun had not yet risen. There was a slight coolness in the air, and the silence was now slowly being broken by the chirping of birds. The sound of water dripping from the roof of Ramu's hut was coming - it had rained at night. Drip... drip... drip...

Ramu's eyes opened. His mother was coughing nearby and the two children sleeping in the corner were still asleep. Ramu took a deep breath and sat up. His body was tired, but it had become a habit - to walk even when tired.

First of all he heated water for his mother, put some basil leaves in it. He had brought them from the nearby forest yesterday. Mother's cough is a little old, but treatment will be available only in the city - and where is the money for that?

Then he woke up the children. The younger son Chintu's eyes were still sleepy, but on seeing his father leaving, he quietly got up and sat down. Ramu gave them jaggery and dry roti - this was today's breakfast. He did not eat anything himself. It was a habit now. After everyone has eaten, it was his routine to eat whatever is left.

Putting an old sheet, a glass and some dry roti in his bag, Ramu set out towards the city.

Part 2: Journey and struggle

The distance from the village to the city was about 6 kilometers. Earlier he had a bicycle, but last month that too broke down - and he had to sell it to a junk dealer. Now he had to go on foot.

On the way, he saw a tea stall near the drain. He stopped there once. The shopkeeper was known to him.

"Ramu Bhaiya, will I get work at the same site today too?"

"I don't know, Babu... I am going there, but who knows the mood of the contractor."

The tea seller handed him a glass of tea without asking. Ramu smiled and bowed his head. The warmth of the tea penetrated deep into my heart.

When I reached the city, I saw that there was no new work at the construction site today. There was a long line of labourers, and the contractor was calling only a select few. Ramu stood behind – with hope.

"Ramu! Hey, you have come? Today there is some work to lift bricks, can you do it?"

"I will do it sahib, if only I get work."

And then the day began – bricks on the head, blisters on the hands, and heat of the sun on the face. But no complaints. Ramu kept doing every work quietly, as if hard work was dissolved in his blood.

Sometimes the strongest people are those who have nothing – except courage and hope.