Silence for Sale: A Poor Child's Fight for Sound

The Sound of Silence

Imagine a world where the birds open their beaks, but no song comes out. Imagine a world where your mother moves her lips, but you hear no love in her voice. This is the world of 7-year-old Raju. He lives in a small village in Bihar. Raju was a happy boy. He used to laugh at the sound of the rain on the tin roof. But slowly, the rain became silent.

This is not just a story about ears. This is a story about a system that is deaf to the cries of the poor.

"My son is not stupid. He just cannot hear you!" screamed Kamla, Raju's mother, at the school teacher.

The First Warning

It started in the classroom. Raju stopped answering questions. The teacher thought he was lazy. She thought he was ignoring her. She hit him with a ruler. Raju cried, but he did not know why he was being hit. He simply did not hear the question.

His father, Suresh, is a farmer. He earns very little money. When the school complained, Suresh took Raju to a local doctor. The doctor checked Raju’s ears with a small torch.

"This is serious," the doctor said. "The nerves in his ears are dying. You must go to the big government hospital in the city. He might need a machine called a Cochlear Implant. It is very expensive, but the government gives it for free to poor people."

Free. That word gave Suresh hope. But in India, "free" is often the most expensive word for a poor man.

The Long Wait at the City Hospital

Suresh and Kamla took a crowded train to the city. They held Raju’s hand tightly. The city was loud. Horns, shouting, engines. Raju looked around, confused. He could feel the vibration of the trucks, but the sound was like a distant whisper.

They reached the Government Medical College Hospital. It was a sea of people. There were thousands of patients. Some were sleeping on the floor. Some were crying.

They stood in a line for the registration card. They stood for four hours. When they finally reached the window, the man shouted, "Lunch time! Come back later."

Suresh begged. "Sir, we came from the village. Please make the card."

The man did not look up. He closed the window.

The Doctor's Verdict

The next day, they finally saw a doctor. It was a junior doctor. He looked tired. He had seen 200 patients that day. He checked Raju quickly.

"He has profound hearing loss," the doctor wrote on the paper. "He needs surgery for a Cochlear Implant. If we do not do it soon, he will never learn to speak properly. His brain will forget how to hear."

"Please do it, doctor," Kamla cried.

"I cannot do it today," the doctor said sadly. "There is a waiting list. We have no machines in stock. The government supply has not come. Put your name on the list."

"How long is the list?" Suresh asked.

"Maybe one year. Maybe two," the doctor replied.

Two years? In two years, Raju would be 9. It would be too late for his speech development. His life would be ruined.

The Clerk and the Bribe

Suresh was broken. He walked out of the room. A ward boy approached him. He whispered in Suresh's ear.

"You want the surgery fast? Go to Room 14. Talk to Mr. Gupta. He handles the files."

Suresh went to Room 14. Mr. Gupta was sitting with a pile of files. He was drinking tea. Suresh explained the situation. He told him about the doctor's warning. He told him Raju was going deaf every day.

"The file is heavy," Mr. Gupta said, not looking at Suresh. "To move the file, you need to lighten the weight."

Suresh understood. It was a demand for a bribe. "How much?" he asked.

"10,000 rupees to put his name on top of the list. Then the surgery is free," Gupta smiled.

10,000 rupees. That was what Suresh earned in four months. He did not have it. He fell to Gupta's feet. He touched his shoes. "Sahib, I have nothing. Please save my son."

Gupta pulled his feet away. "Then wait for two years. Next!"

The Silent Accident

They returned to the village. Suresh tried to borrow money. He asked the moneylender. The interest rate was too high. He tried to sell his small piece of land, but the paperwork took time.

Months passed. Raju’s world became fully silent. He stopped going to school because the other children teased him. He sat at home, staring at the wall.

One evening, Raju went out to play near the road. He was chasing a ball. A truck was coming. The driver honked the horn loudly. HONK! HONK!

The villagers heard it. They screamed, "Raju! Move!"

But Raju did not hear the horn. He did not hear the screams. He only saw the ball.

At the last second, a neighbor pushed Raju out of the way. The truck missed him by an inch. Raju fell and scraped his knee. He looked up, terrified. He saw people’s mouths moving, screaming in anger and fear, but he heard nothing. He started to cry. Not because of the pain in his knee, but because of the terror of the silence.

The Mother’s Sacrifice

That night, Kamla took off her mangalsutra (wedding necklace). It was the only gold she had. It was her pride as a married woman.

"Sell it," she told Suresh. "I do not need gold. My son needs sound."

Suresh cried as he took the necklace. The next day, he sold it. He got the money. He went back to the city. He went to Room 14. He put the money on Gupta’s table.

"Good," Gupta said, counting the notes. "Your date is next week."

The Surgery and the Aftermath

Raju got the surgery. The doctor put the implant in his head. It was a success. But the story does not end happily.

The surgery was only the first step. Raju needed therapy to learn how to listen. But the hospital had no therapist. The post was vacant for three years. The government had not hired anyone.

Now, Raju has the machine, but he does not know how to use it well. He hears robotic noises. He is struggling. Suresh has no money left for private therapy. The delay of six months caused Raju to lose precious time.

This is the reality of healthcare in India. The technology exists. The doctors exist. But the system is broken by greed and apathy.

Why must a mother sell her marriage necklace to get a "free" government surgery?

Why must a child almost die under a truck because a clerk wants a bribe?

Raju can hear some sounds now. But he will never hear the apology from the system that failed him.

Story from real incident happened in India.