As another year comes to an end people are busy finalising last minute details of New Year bash. At the corner of the city road, stands a small child out to earn a living. Talks, government schemes and aid from various organisations have so far failed to bring a smile on their faces. Their little world exists within the walls of the garage or the shop they work for. They do not have a dream and most of them are oblivious of the various facilities available to them. The only thing they hope for is a decent life, when they grow up. And as the dawn of new year sets in, The Telegraph spoke to several such children.

This is what their stories tell.

Name: Mohammad Imtiaz-
Age: 12 years

With his tattered clothes and grease-smeared face, Imtiaz is like every other boy who works in the garage. His father, a hawker, sells ?stuff? in Jugsalai. The eldest of three children, Imtiaz went to school till Class III, after which he was forced to leave, as his father was incapable of supporting the family alone. He has been working and learning in the Bistupur garage for about a month now.

His clothes may be torn and his hands dirty, but in his eyes there is an unmistakable twinkle. His family has a ration card, but it?s only kerosene oil that they manage to get from there. ?When we ask for sugar or other items, they turn us back saying that its not in stock,? says he. Imtiaz is only learning his job, so the question of earning does not arise. ?I do not get any money as I am only learning,? adds Imtiaz. His dream is to work in the same garage when he grows up and earn some money.

Name: Sunil Baagti
Age: 11 years

Sunil, the younger one among two siblings never went to school.

He works at a tea stall at the old court premises. It?s been just a few months that he has started working. Both his parents have remarried and he stays with his step mother. His father is jobless and spends his day in drinking.

?My step mother has three daughters and does not give us food, so I eat at the tea stall. For dinner, my grandmother who works as a domestic help prepares something for us,? says Sunil.

He makes Rs 10 everyday from washing utensils at the stall.

Repeated attempts of approaching the government officials for some help has gone in vain.

What would he do for the new year we ask him. The boy is speechless. When asked what will he like to be in future, he says: ?I will work.?

Name: Izaaz Ahmad
Age: 11 years

Next to the entrance of Jubilee Park, Izaaz helps his father manage the merry-go-round.

He lifts up the children and sits them comfortably on the seat but never gets a chance to take a round himself. ?I have to stay down and see that the other children are safe,? says he, matter-of-factly.

But unlike other children Izaaz is right now in Class IV. The money that they make is not enough and the ration card was left in Bihar. New Year for him will be just another day when he would be helping other children take rides.

Nikki Lohara
Age: 8 years

He's eight and he's no less cool than the Neal in Neal and Nikki. More cool, rather. Pulled out of school by his parents as they couldn't afford it, he sells tea at a shop on H.B. Road. Without education, there seems little hope he will move on. But there's something about Nikki that makes one hope that he will. There's something about the way he runs from one customer to another filling up empty tea glasses. Something about his smile, though all he earns is Rs 25 a day, and his family has no cards for rations or facilities for medical emergencies.

Nikki is special for he has the strength to dream and plan for them too. He has managed a day off for January 1, and with 10 of his friends, each of who will contribute Rs 10 and will picnic.

?I earn Rs 25 per a day. I have spoken to the hotel owner, he would relieve on January 1 and about 10 of my friends will hold a picnic in the Ramdoh field near our house. We will contribute Rs 10 each,? his eyes sparkle at the thought and while one stands speaking to him, he's already lost in his dreams. Way to go, Nikki!

Name: Mohamad Salauddin
Age: Teenager

Enquire about his age, he quickly says: ?I am 18? making it evident that he has rehearsed his answers well. Like Imtiaz he, too, is the eldest in a family of six and with his father away in Delhi it has been four months now that Salauddin is working as an assistant in a garage. ?I went to school till Class VII. We have just applied for a card under the Jharkhand government as the previous card is not working anymore.? So what does he plan to do for new year we ask lamely. ?What new year?? he answers back.

Name: Dinesh
Age: 9 years

With him it?s fine that he has to get up at the crack of dawn and be on his toes till 10 in the night. It gets him Rs 600 a month, two meals a day, an hour?s lunch break and the hotel table to sleep on.

The Rs 600 is sent home for his family in Purulia, while for himself there?s the dream that one day he will move on to better things.

That's just a very distant dream and already, barely nine, he has learnt not to trust in them too much. The wet scrubber in his hands keeps him rooted to his world.

He knows he can't just keep it away and run out for a game or even for a visit home.

He goes to bed exhausted, thankful he is at least not out there in the streets.

New Year for him is more work and more cleaning.

Not for him the whims of children who can declare that they not in mood for homework on New Years eve.

?I cannot afford to return home. Even my parents do not want me to return to the village, as there is no prospect of employment there,"

At nine he knows for him, there's no leave from work, ever.

Name: Santosh Yadav
Age:13 years

He can perform calculations with breathtaking accuracy. He has never been to school.

For the past three years, the boy has been assisting his father in selling vegetables at a roadside in Sakchi. Santosh may have never gone to school, but the moment a customer drops in, the precision and accuracy with which Santosh calculates the total amount is awesome. Where did he learn to calculate? ?Hunger teaches you all,? replies the boy.

None of his four siblings go to school, as his father is unable to afford the school fees. Like hundreds of other children on the roads, Santosh, too, sees a future in doing what he is doing today. ?I will sell vegetables like my father.? Words such as holidays and entertainment do not exist in his life. Since the shop is not at a proper marketplace, it is open for seven days. The family does not have a ration card and only hope they have is from selling vegetables. Santosh is a little surprised when we ask him about the New Year. ?What else? I will sell vegetables like always.? Doesn?t he want to go out and play like other children? Once again, there is silence.

Name: Muzibul Rahman
Age: 15 years

He sits within a tiny shop in the Sakchi Market and meticulously weaves sequins onto a saree.

?It?s been an year I have learnt this job. I left school long back. I went till Class III but now I have taken on the family business these days. Sometimes my brothers teach me how to read and write, whenever I go home,? says Rahman.

Rahman believes that people ?like him? gets a decent amount from his job at the end of every month, but he knows of many others who eke out a living by working in the tea stalls and garages.

Though Rahman believes that he is unfortunate, he believes that so far Lady Luck has been kinder with him than she has been many other. And his plans for New Year....work of course.