KOLKATA: This 10-year-old boy could be an example to citizens several times his age. For, he has decided to donate his first pay — an amount close to Rs 1 lakh that he earned by working in a movie — to the Missionaries of Charity .

“I wanted to share my first earnings with the not-so-fortunate children of the city. I would have loved to buy something for my parents, too, but I think that can wait for another time,” smiled Akash Mukherjee , a Class V student of St Xavier’s Collegiate School and protagonist of the yet-to-be released Bengali movie ‘ Anubhav – Ekti Ekla Chheler Goppo ’. Akash will hand over the money to the organization after school hours on Monday — a day after the birthday of Mother Teresa , and incidentally Akash’s as well.

Akash’s generosity is something his parents Manisha and Gora Mukherjee inculcated in him. They taught him the art of giving when they took him to the Missionaries of Charity on his fifth birthday. That day, after school hours, he had also paid a visit to Nirmal Hriday, a home run by the order instituted by Mother Teresa.

“We wanted him to grow up with a sense of awareness of the world and realise the importance of giving. So we went to donate books, toys and clothes that could be used. I made sure that he gave up especially those toys that he was fond of,” recounted Manisha.

Though Akash remembers very little about that maiden visit, trips to the home for destitutes on subsequent birthdays made him realize the joy that he could spread just by giving others what they did not have. Akash would go to the home with his parents after school, cut a cake in everyone’s presence and then share food with other children.

“In the beginning, I would feel a slight pang when I had to give up something I really cherished. But when I saw faces light up while I handed it over to those who did not have them, it really did feel good. Now sharing or giving up is not an issue at all. It comes naturally,” said Akash, showing a maturity way beyond his years.

Just over a year ago, Akash won the lead role in a film and loved every moment working in it. Directed by Rajesh Datta and Ipsita Roy Sarkar, the film that also stars Kushal Chakraborty, Saheb Bhattacharya, Nandini Ghoshal and Dolon Roy, is about the loneliness of a boy who overcomes it.

In real life though, Akash has no loneliness to contend with. Not only does he have cousins and friends , Manisha too quit her job to be a full-time mother. “He made me leave the job, but I don’t regret the decision one bit,” she smiled.

The movie opportunity came by chance and Akash’s parents did not object to it. He did the shooting over weekends and holidays. Though Akash enjoyed the experience, his parents don’t want him to act in another one anytime soon. “It is too early to say what we would want him to be other than a good human being,” said Gora. Akash, though, has his sights set on becoming a footballer.

There had been no talk of remuneration till the shooting was completed. The directors then hesitatingly told the Mukherjees that they would like to pay Akash around Rs 1 lakh. When the couple asked their son what he would like to do with the sum, he replied without hesitation: “Give it to the Missionaries of Charity.”