He's just about four years old and he dreams of becoming a doctor one day. He plays cricket in the village and his idol is one of the village boys. Not Sachin Tendulkar? No, he doesn't know who that is.

Little Lakshminarayanan is in Class One. He participated in the memorial service held at school for those who died in the September 11th attacks, though he's still unclear as to what it was all about. It'll sink in one day and when it does, he'll be horrified to know that the world beyond Somanahalli is big and bad. Because, he's been taught to pray and what will happen if he doesn't? "God will be angry with me," comes the innocent reply.

He's just about stepped into school and claims to having absorbed a fair bit. He's learnt the numerical, 1 and 2. Beyond that - from 3 onwards - at the moment it's tough, but he'll get there. His father is a tailor and he has two older sisters - one is "Periya Akka" and the other is "Chinna Akka". He eats rice for breakfast, rice for lunch and if there are leftovers of the breakfast, rice for dinner. He looks forward to the mid-day meal at school. He prefers this to the food at home. An area Lakshminarayanan needs to work on - to differentiate between good and terrible. Because the food offered under the mid-day meal scheme is pathetic.

What's in store for Lakshminarayanan? One can never tell. He could well turn out to be the survivor and forge ahead. Or, as has happened to many others, reach a dead-end.