Will we have rice tomorrow dad? - 16 October : World Food Day

Back in school in Don Bosco, Matunga, Mumbai, the glimpse of an act by little Bosco comes before my eyes. Bosco was a cute kid who was usually chosen to play tear-jerking parts in scenes from dramas we used to stage. This act has Bosco looking up pleadingly at his 'dad' and singing the chorus of this song as they cross the stage from left to right, looking at the bright lights as day winds down in the big city. . .

Day is over, work is done
People are hurrying by
The streets are bright, the buildings tall
They almost touch the sky.

My heart is weary as I go home
My feet are dragging slow
For every night my little son
and daughter want to know: 

(Chorus)Will we have rice tomorrow dad
Before we go to bed
Will we have rice today dad
Remember what you said.
Why are some people fat dad
and others thin like us?
Was is like this when you were a boy
Will it be always thus.

Today on 16 October - World Food Day, we are called to live up to our responsibilities as citizens of India. An India where millions - mostly children - live below the poverty line.

To see a starving child voraciously devour something given to him one need only see frames of the boy in the striped pyjamas in a movie by the same name. We did not will this world to be the way it is. Let's not leave it as it was.

NEWSBYTE:
Urging the government to take necessary action, Sandeep Chachra, executive director of ActionAid India, said: "The dark side of India's economic growth has been that peasants, workers and excluded social groups have been further dispossessed, compounding malnutrition, hunger and even leading to starvation deaths."

"Access to basic rights and social inclusion are critical in advancing participatory democracy and addressing chronic poverty and hunger," he added.

Quoted Source: Do more to combat hunger, say NGOs - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health/Do-more-to-combat-hunger-say-NGOs/articleshow/6758175.cms#ixzz12Za55iNZ

Comments

illinoiscoelhos said…
I am past pupil of Don Bosco 1976.
I sang this song in 1974 for a parents day event.
Even though I have forgotten the words this stanza has stayed with me close to my heart.
"I think to myself as I walk alone.
I wonder what l'd do,
if I was one of the very same ,
Would I be selfish too,
Would I be just the same in size
As the people we are trying to hate,
Who are we gonna put in place of the ones we liquidate?
Followed by chorus.
It was a different time then and I did not understand the meaning but this song shaped me and increased empathy for those less fortunate amongst us.
I would really appreciate if you could help me with the full lyrics to the song.
Thanks
Charles Coelho.