The rainbows of Khushi :)

I started going to Khushi in late June 2011; i was supposed to be teaching the girls there a little bit of computers. I can say for sure now that im the one who has learnt much more, from them. And they didn’t have to teach me a single thing.

Initially, we had the rush of the summer vacation homework, so i couldn’t really start the computer classes – instead i got a first-hand experience of how tough the homework is for some of the elder students. Writing page loads about medieval forts (about which there’s maybe one paragraph in the textbook), places of heritage they HAD to visit, random freedom fighters – all that any other kid would copy off the internet. That’s unfair, but that’s that.

Reshma and Yasmin, 'posing' for me :P

The elder girls that i interacted with are very responsible and hardworking and at the same time very concerned about the younger ones. So after we finished as much as we could, they had a trip to Kashmir which they were mighty excited about.

Initially, my ‘students’ (although i loved being a bhaiyya to them) were pretty much hooked to Paint, but weren’t we too, at their age? Only after the first few days, after they had the assurance that every class they attended would not be their last, were they ready to move on to newer things like MS Word. But many of them are pretty fast at grasping new things, and in a few days I was having trouble keeping them engaged as many of them had got a hold over most of the things I had told them, and were getting bored.

I learnt a lot outside the classroom as well, where i got to spend time with the non-classroom girls also, as punishment (from their side; i enjoyed this the most!) for them not being allowed to learn computers. I’ll list a few incidents which shook me, and made me realise how much lesser i actually understood the girls than i thought i did, and how much each girl was different from another.

Once, i was reading out a few stories to the little ones, when 2 girls came running into the room. One of them tripped over a bag and toppled it,

Imrana , Mohini and Mehrun :)

spilling the lentils which were in it (supplies probably). Then after a little scolding (not by me; the news spread like, well, news, and reached mummy promptly) we got on to picking the fallen seeds. I was helping them, when a girl, all of maybe 7 i think, came to me and said “Hum kar lenge bhaiya, aap mat karo. Aap bade ghar ke ho na” (“We will do it bhaiyya, you need not help us; you’re from a good family”).

Another time i was chatting in a room when 2 girls came to all of us, little photos of flowers in their hands asking everyone which one they liked more. The girls i was speaking to chose their photo of liking and i did likewise. As soon as the 2 girls had left, one of the ones remaining remarked “Kya bhaiyya, uss ladki ka dil dukha diya. Bol nahi sakte the ki dono ache lage aapko?” (“Couldn’t you have told them you liked both; now see what you’ve done – you upset one of them”) and i, without a single word to utter as a reply, was made to realise what an imbecile i had been.

They say the sweetest and most poignant things in such simple words, that i usually don’t have fitting words to even continue the conversation, but they’re quick to judge my silence – they usually change the topic themselves.

I got a few cards as farewell gifts. In addition to the customary ‘Roses are red, sky is balu, oh my dear bhaiyya, i miss you’, in one of them i read this line – ‘ I like you because you like us’ – which i think can be extended to most of our relationships also.

I’d got a short haircut for the summer, so there were a lot of ‘takle bhaiyya’ (bald bhaiyya) jokes. Although i used to find it endearing, on one of my last day, one girl casually said,

Saroj has her fun while Reshma (not in pic)

tries to remove the lice she saw in my head,

it's a really painful procedure :)

“Bhaiyya aapko bahut bura lagta hoga na jab hum aapko takla-takla bolte hein…aapke chehre se dikhta hai” (“You must be feeling very hurt when we call you names…i can see it in your expression.”)

The view from the outside maybe wrongly construed, of a place where little girls reside, with all the basic necessities with the able guidance of a dedicated team of staff and volunteers. All first timers will be overwhelmed by the ecstatic response they get. Only if you ‘stand and stare’ for a while do you begin to realise how complex the world of each girl can get – how each girl is temperamentally different (which is often shaped by their environment at home both now and before), how dynamic the relationships between the girls, and between the girls and the staff are, how her feelings towards home and school can subtly change – and you would find yourself in a pretty challenging environment.

Discipline issues always exist and the staff (consisting of 4 house mothers ably supported by the coordinator, health worker and other support staff) does a wonderful job of handling them both sternly as well as sensitively. One mention of mummy and all the chaos preceding it stops instantly.

All things said, the girls are much more mature than most of us (certainly including me) were at that age, owing to their exposure, and perhaps even as mature as a few of us are now. And they give you so much importance in their lives so soon, and so much more love than what we give to most of the people we know (we would think a hundred times before telling someone that we love them, and they showered love throughout their cards!) as we are socially trained to be that way perhaps. My day used to be lit up when i went and met the girls, irrespective of how it had transpired till then; people at home had never seen me smile so consistently, when i returned. It’s certainly a thing to learn from them; how cheerful they make each day of theirs, and how by just being themselves, they manage to make people around them happier too.

Asmina helps me tally the students' marks!

Tribute to beautiful souls

A 5 minute journey down the narrow lane,
Which was filthy, filled with putrid smell,
In parallel with the “posh city” we live in,
May be a taint on our beautifully painted “hi class” society,
Realized me “girl my life is in vain”.
On entering, the instant thought was of sigh and disgust,
Aghast by the atrocious lifestyle,
Watering noses and un-bathed kids,
Malnourished children with sullen eyes and shabby hair,
I thought “this place is worst.
To get out of here for me is must”.
I was a nincompoop,
I behaved like an uneducated crook.
Well, what can you expect from a
Mere brand affected puppet like me?
Who was pampered and medicated every time?
For an injury on even knee!!!
Taken aback by the houses made up of straws,
Of dirt infested area,
Of houses with no gates,
Rather they served the purpose of “windows”,
This all took me in awe!!

Well, this is the first part of the story. Of a girl who has always been pampered and whose desires and wishes are always granted. Her reaction takes me by no surprise because every one of us abhors such a lifestyle. But then we realize it’s not given by choice. Our stars must have been very strong or we might have been under the mercy of god, that we are blessed with a beautiful and almost fully satisfied life.
Friends, these children who are unlike us, they need no sympathy because remember they are bestowed with such a life “not by their choice”. They need compassion and love. They are compatible to us in each and every manner except for their destiny.
So, remember they don’t need a helping hand but they need a friend to understand them and the one who can share and divide their grief.

Lost in my thoughts,
I travelled the left out road,
But suddenly it started with heavy down pour.
Confused and scared I searched for a shelter,
Nearby I saw a small school,
Seeing me helpless,
I was beckoned by children,
Who to my surprise
Were disabled.
But they danced, they enjoyed,
They had their own language of happiness
They had in them an undiscovered beauty
And at the same time they made me feel comfortable.
Before leaving the place,
I asked one kid
“Don’t you feel upset and in contented?”
To which he smiled and replied
“didi, we find reasons to smile,
With obstacles every next door,
With emptiness in our lives from twilight to dawn,
“To cry”, we can’t take a while.
This rain is symbolic of our happiness and laughter,
It has become our life
We are not scared of it,
Rather we make it our living source with our wit,
But who cares about the “rain of tears”
That is poured on us by our own “crafter”?”
Tears rolled down by my eyes,
And I as I said,
I realized “girl my life is in vain”
Take some inspiration from these
Who are drowned in miseries and pain?

So, with this poem I salute these kids and their daring souls. They somehow have learnt to smile while crying but it is our responsibility to let them flourish and take them out of their cocoons. Remember, they will never demand or complain because they accept the life as it is. But as a responsible citizen of India it is the responsibility of every Indian to get these children out of “slum and slumber”.
Help them to fly high and help them to reach the pinnacle of success that they deserve. They have everything. But as we say “they need wings to fly”.!!

AASHAYEIN- Give them wings to fly!!

Have you ever thought how things fall into place?
I never even mused how every human we meet in life has a role to play in our life irrespective of the gravity and importance of his role.
I Pallavi Jain met an old friend some days back through ‘face book’. It was a casual process of adding and commenting on each other’s activities. One day a message blinked in my message box from this coincidental friend “Pooja”.
She had invited me to participate voluntarily in a summer camp organized by an NGO she had joined sometime back. I was already preoccupied as I was preparing for my exams so I dropped the idea of going there.
Another day my other friend “Adeeba” called me to ask about my whereabouts and I casually mentioned about the summer camp being organized in Vasant Kunj. Her reaction was commendable. She got excited with the thought of meeting kids and playing with them. She insisted me to fix the plan. So we planned, fixed the day and decided to reach the summer camp.
This morning was unlike the other mornings. This Sunday had a lot in store for us.
While sitting in metro I kept thinking about the way I will be talking to the kids. I prepared questions in my mind how, why, who and what? Gosh! It was no less than an interview anxiety.
And with all these thoughts cramped in my mind I reached the summer camp along with pooja,adeeba and 3 other acquaintances of mine.

Summer camp was organized in a beautiful school “santa maria”. School boasts of colorful walls, multicolored swings surrounded by grass and trees, huge classrooms and the mesmerizing rabbits, ducks and hens as its inhabitants. We quietly entered one of the rooms where some 20-25 girls and boys were sitting on floor enjoying a puppet show.

Puppet show was being performed by some children who are the part of the ngo. A make shift was set up with a black curtain in the front and animal gloves being used as the puppets. Both Hindi and English as the language to communicate was used to keep the children engaged. The camp was basically for kids below 10 years of age. All the kids were singing English poem “twinkle twinkle little star” along with the puppet show.
But I personally found the poem little lower than the potential of these kids seeing their age. But my reaction was the outcome of my poor knowledge about the ngo and the past life of kids. I was unaware of how these kids had been brought up and in what conditions they have been living since they first entered the world. But the truth changed my perception. I started to look at them with admiration that how can they be so strong. At such an early age they are fighting all the odds, miseries and harshness of life. A kind of respect started to house in my heart for them.
I was too lost thinking about them that I didn’t realize when the magic show began.
The magician was very good; he knew his job very well.
He blended the humor and magic very well.


Kids enjoyed the session very much and the entire atmosphere was filled with laughter. I noticed something different in these kids. I agree they have little bookish knowledge but the experience of life that they have is impeccable.
They caught the maximum tricks of magician, which was remarkable. After the magic show, we finally met the kids personally. We began with the swings and some outdoor games. We easily got mixed up with the kids and never realized that an hour ago we were the strangers.
Later kids participated in the coloring and dancing session which turned out to be their all time favorite task.
They enjoyed, shined and grooved on hindi pepi numbers.
With all these activities, the day finally culminated.
We came empty handed but we went with cherish able memories and a realization that these kids have the caliber to turn their dreams true. They only need Wings to fly.