You had never seen a boy like Ravi Kumar Chikhaliya who speaks more than ten languages. The 15-year-old Ravi Kumar is a souvenir seller infamous Hanging Gardens in Mumbai. He learnt by himself 10 languages without “formal training”. As soon as you enter Hanging Gardens, you hear a voice saying ‘Bonjour’. Ravi, who has been selling souvenirs at the same spot for the last 8 years, learnt something better than schools teach.

Ravi’s ‘linguistic prowess’ extends to English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Iranian languages. His is a very profession skill which means that he can say the same thing (selling souvenirs such as a peacock feather fan) in all these languages. Indian tourist spots are teeming with such kids make their souvenir pitch to tourists and foreigners in their language.

At a tender age of 7, Ravi dropped out of school, due to financial constraints. Ironically, Hanging Gardens has become his new learning ground. “I would always try to copy what foreigners would say among themselves. I first picked up English and then other languages. Usually, it would number that I would learn first, then courtesies and finally, sentences that would allow me to complete a sale,” says Ravi.

Ravi along with his grandmother Pasu Chikhaliya, leaves their home, to earn a livelihood and support a family of 11 people. Ravi, like any other poverty-stricken person, has had a rough childhood. He hails from Saurashtra, Gujarat, but is born and brought up in Mumbai. “I had a rough childhood, but I want my siblings to complete their education. Even if not well-educated, I want them to be literate,” says Ravi.

“Daily expenses of running a family are high and my health requires us to spend at least Rs 300 every day on medicines. But Ravi comes every morning to Hanging Gardens with me with a smile on his face. Imagine what he would have done with proper education,” Pasu says, beaming with pride.