Anubhav came back from school, threw his bag on the bed, and while changing out of his school uniform, told his mother, "Mom, I'm heading out to the field, my friends are waiting. "His mother, sounding quite annoyed, said, "You just got back from school, and all you care about is running to the field. Wash your hands and face, eat something, then you can go."
Anubhav replied, "Mom, it's already getting late, there's a match today. If I don't go, I'll lose my prestige." His mother had no way to stop him. Anubhav changed his clothes and left.
When he returned, it was evening, and it had gotten quite dark outside. The streetlights were glowing. Suddenly, Anubhav noticed an unusual crowd at the local tea stall at the corner of the street. Feeling something ominous, he peeked inside the shop and saw two outsiders arguing rudely with the shopkeeper. This didn’t sit well with Anubhav. He asked, "What happened, uncle?"
But no one answered his question. Many people had gathered to find out what was going on. Some were enjoying the drama. Anubhav's friend, Rudro, was with him and said, "Anubhav, it's already late. We can't stay here. Mom will scold me at home. Let's go." But Anubhav didn’t feel right about it. He had been to this shop many times and had always enjoyed their sweets, especially the Ladikani. The shopkeeper was always polite and never raised his voice at anyone. What could have happened for such a mess to occur? His curiosity was piqued, and he also felt angry at the outsiders. He was the only one who spoke up, "Why are you arguing with uncle like this?" One of the men pointed at him and said, "Who are you, boy? Don't get involved, just leave." Anubhav, now getting a bit agitated, said, "You come to our neighborhood and cause trouble, and we should just tolerate it? This is not right." The man, sounding even more annoyed, said, "We didn’t know there were such shady things happening in your neighborhood. We’re just creating some trouble because of it. Ask the shopkeeper."
Anubhav then asked the shopkeeper, "What happened, uncle? Please tell me." The shopkeeper, somewhat hesitant, said, "They ordered all kinds of things and now they’re saying they don’t have any money. They’ll pay later. I told them, ‘We’re poor people, we can’t offer credit like that.’ And then they got angry and started this trouble." Rudro, who had been listening from a distance, came closer to Anubhav and said, "This can’t be tolerated."
When the men realized that many people were siding with the shopkeeper, they slowly backed off. On their way out, they threatened, "We’ll come back later and deal with this." No one expected the matter to be resolved so quickly. After they left, the shopkeeper had a worried look on his face. Anubhav said, "Uncle, how much did they owe? We’ll all chip in to cover it for you." Saying this, Anubhav took out 100 rupees from his pocket, Rudro gave some money, and, following their lead, a few others chipped in to cover the total amount. The shopkeeper had been running his shop in the neighborhood for a long time, and everyone knew him. In both sorrow and joy, he had always been there for everyone.
But trouble came the next day.
The next morning, when the shopkeeper came to open the shop, he found that someone had vandalized his shop during the night. Everything inside was in disarray. No one could have imagined something like this would happen. Who would come and attack his shop over such a small incident? The shopkeeper started crying loudly in the middle of the street. It didn’t take long for word to spread.
As usual, Anubhav went to the field after returning from school, and the topic of the vandalism became the center of their discussion. They all made a plan to visit the shopkeeper. That day, they decided to skip their game and went straight to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper didn’t know the troublemakers; they were outsiders, so he couldn't do anything to them. Moreover, there was no concrete proof that they were the ones who had caused the damage, so he accepted the incident as just a cruel twist of fate.
Seeing the shopkeeper’s tears, Anubhav couldn’t remain calm. He made a plan with his friends. This couldn’t go on. Together, they set to work fixing the shop. Within a few hours, the shop looked as good as new. Rudro brought a board from the nearby carpenter and placed it in front of the shop. Several chairs and tables had been broken, so they replaced them with new ones, making the shop shine. The shopkeeper’s face clearly showed gratitude. He said, "You have helped me so much, I will never forget it. Tomorrow, I will have a special treat for all of you, make sure you come." The whole neighborhood praised the boys for their kind actions. When Anubhav’s father returned home from the office, he too noticed the praise his son was receiving. The message that the neighborhood boys were always there for others in both sorrow and joy spread throughout the area.
The shopkeeper kept his word and treated them to Ladikani and Singara. However, Anubhav wasn’t satisfied with just this. He felt the need to protest against the injustice faced by poor people. How long would those troublemakers continue to harass them? They could come back tomorrow and damage the shop again. Such criminals should be behind bars. So, Anubhav and his friends went to the police station.
The shopkeeper was afraid to file an FIR, but Anubhav reassured him, promising that he would stand by him. He helped file the FIR and returned. The police tried their best to catch the culprits, but when they couldn’t find them, they gave up. Anubhav couldn’t accept that the matter would remain unresolved. He decided to search for those men himself and instructed his friends to gather their addresses if they saw them. They had to be punished. Days passed by.
The sky was clear, with white clouds scattered across, a perfect autumn day. Anubhav and his friends were playing in the field when their attention was drawn to two men walking down the street. Anubhav immediately recognized them. Yes, these were the same two men who had behaved rudely with the shopkeeper and broken his shop. After all this time, they were within reach. Today, they couldn’t escape. He quietly whispered something to his friends. They nodded in agreement, and they all started following the two men. The men walked down a big alley and got into a tram. Anubhav followed them and boarded the same tram. The men got off at a stop, wandered through a market, and entered a flat. Now, there was no more trouble. They noted down the flat number in a diary and left. The men had no idea they were being followed like spies.
The next day, with the address in hand, they went to the police station. The senior officer took the matter seriously and sent two constables to bring the troublemakers in. Under pressure, the men admitted their guilt.
Anubhav’s deed soon spread throughout the neighborhood. People had always admired him for being there for others, but now they began to recognize him as a little detective. They started showing him great respect. Many people came to him to discuss their own small household issues, seeking his advice. Anubhav and his friends did their best to solve these problems.
Anubhav has always been there for people in their times of joy and sorrow. From a young age, he has been trying to solve their problems in his own way.
Through Anubhav’s experience, one can say that age is just a number. If one has the will, they can engage in many beneficial activities for society, even at a young age. Anubhav is a living example of this.