by Anuradha Bakshi | Mar 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
A few months ago I got a mail form a young friend.He wrote: I have recently started an ambitious project to create story books for children and more importantly to devise means to make them available to every child of the world. We are working on the first book right now. I will be dedicating this first book to the children of Project Why. I was really touched. It all started with a twitter campaign where the aim was to reach 100 000 followers following which we would receive a huge library courtesy Grolier! A very ambitious project, but we were all excited and a little candid!
Months went by and I must admit I got engrossed in other things so imagine my astonishment when I got a call from my young friend informing me that the campaign had been successful and that we were soon to receive the promised books worth a whopping 200 000 Rs. I was floored! What a wonderful surprise. I was also informed that we had to go to Grolier’s office to receive the gift. Before I carry on the story, I wish to thank Rohit who is an exceptional young man who sees with his heart and makes dreams come true without much ado, just the way it should be. God bless him.
So last Monday an appointment was fixed and we were to meet the country head for Grolier and receive our gift. I had thought it would be a short formal affair but it turned to be one an unforgettable experience. We were welcomed by Mr James Yeoh, the GM himself and offered a cup of tea. We started talking about one thing an another and soon were sharing thoughts and dreams. I told him how much I appreciated the generous donation of educational material as it would help me ensure that my children have access to better possibilities and morrows. That is when James told us how he had over the years given young people of a lesser God the chance to step out of their limited world and reach the sky. His company trained and employed young people from underprivileged backgrounds. He told us how he had given a young fishmonger he has been impressed by, the chance to come and work with him. Today the young man was a marketing executive. I sat mesmerised, hearing for the very first time words that I had dreamt, words that I wanted many to mouth, but never heard. How wonderful it would be if many more thought like James Yeoh! And that was not all, he even promised to give our kids a chance!
Then it was time to receive our gift. I still did not know what it was. I must confess that I had seen the large display of books at the entrance of the office and had been fascinated by them as they were all wonderful titles and just the kind we needed but I still did not know that ALL those books were for us. When I did find out, I was again stumped. It was a dream come true as just a day before I was thinking how to go about getting some learning material for our new focus on quality project. And here we had it all.
Our sincere and heartfelt thanks to James and Rohit who have given the children of project why the most precious and beautiful gift: knowledge!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Mar 8, 2010 | Uncategorized
Imagine a cow standing on one leg. Quite impossible isn’t it. And yet that is what the cow that symbolises Dharma or, for want of a better word, righteousness, is meant to be doing in the Kaliyug, that is in our day and age.
What it means is that Kaliyug is an age where all that can go wrong does! And one does not need to be a rocket scientist to see that. I have often thought of writing about this, but then somehow the moment was never quite right. Till yesterday when I fell off my bed as I heard the aberration to beat all aberrations: A senior police officer had been asked to probe a recent ‘bee’ attack on a political leader during a rally! Yes you read right: a Deputy Inspector General of Police will now spend tax payer’s money to find out why a swarm of bees decided to hover over the head of a politician. Wonder how the poor man will manage to do that! But that is not all: the same politician was felicitated with a garland made of one thousand rupee currency notes amounting to millions and that in a state where children sleep hungry, schools are non existent, drinking water scarce etc. That the same rally cost 2 billion rupees is too much to fathom. Imagine how much development could have been achieved with this amount! The poor cow must be shaking on its now frail and tired led.
The ludicrous bee probe and vulgar note garland are just manifestations of the abysmal state our society has sunk in. I guess it is the inanity of the bee issue that shook me out of my torpor and compelled me to write this post. To see that we had reached the stage where a poor human soul was being commandeered to find out why a swarm of bees had had the audacity to disturb a political rally was the pits! And we also know that the poor man will have to prove the bee conspiracy theory to be true. And yes, for all those who are not initiated to the reality of India, this is no joke. Poor tax payer’s money is going to be spent on this.
Kaliyug is when human civilisation degenerates spiritually and people are as far removed as possible from God, or should I say good. It is obvious that we are in the midst of it. Every day we hear of some aberration or the other be it a woman burnt for money, a girl child smothered to death simply because of her gender, children sold to slavery, people dying of hunger, children beaten to death by their teachers, Godmen caught for sexual perversion, caste courts passing ruling that defy the laws of the land. The list is endless and each time you think you have seen it all, something else springs us to call you to order and remind you that this is indeed the dark Age.
There is an erosion or rather quasi depletion of values like honesty, generosity, compassion, words that seem almost alien to today’s vocabulary which seems to revolve around a single word and its derivatives: money! Money is what makes you good, successful, praiseworthy etc. No wonder then that being garlanded by a ring of currency notes is the best way of showing to all that you have arrived. Believe it or not after the first garland that brought enough flack, the said politician and was again given a garland of notes and will henceforth only be felicitated this way. That she represents the poorest of the poor makes all this even more galling.
Oh darling this is India. A land where elected politicians flaunt their ill gained wealth, where perfectly good roads are broken to be built again so that local politicians can line their pockets again – this is happening in the street where we are located for the third time this year – where schools have no desks and children study on the floor, where the rich become richer and the poor poorer by the second. Sadly there seems to be no end to all this. I wonder how long it will take for the poor cow to finally collapse.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Mar 4, 2010 | Uncategorized
I have a friend who is also my star gazer. When things are not quite as they should be and I need to be reassured, I write to him and seek his advise. He always writes back giving me something to hold on, even if the planetary situation is not quite as it should be. This time his words were ominous, or so they seemed at first: in May comes Shani’s (Saturn) time for a year. You will realise that time is no longer on your side. It was a blow as one so easily sinks into comfort zones and forgets that time never stops for anyone. My friend softened the blow by adding: but a new attitude, wiser friends, a better management of your resources will give you a more balanced life.
It almost seemed as if I had consulted the Delphic oracle and needed to unravel the real meaning of the answer. I knew that the words time is not longer on your side had a deeper meaning than what they seemed. What was the meaning of this message from beyond? I pondered for a long while and slowly realised that this was a gentle nudge reminding me that time had come to tie loose ends, to finish yet unaccomplished tasks and to secure what had been gained. Time had come to take stock of what needed to be done and had till date been set aside for the elusive morrow.
It could be simple things like clearing debts both financial and emotional, or more important ones like fulfilling dreams that had been set aside for the opportune moment. And yes one would start thinking along those lines. But I knew instinctively that there was much more. It was not just a matter of my dreams or my debts, but what was at stake here was the dreams I held in custody. They had to be secured and I had to do it now!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Mar 4, 2010 | okhla
Our recent efforts to bring about qualitative change in our work call for some modifications and adjustment in our functioning and one of them is the transfer of some staff from one location to another. This of course has met with some resentment. Last week one disgruntled teacher came to my office stating that he would not accept any move. I must admit that in his case the change was rather drastic as his centre – the junior secondary – was being relocated to Okhla. His attitude was childish as he simply stated that he would rather be thrown out than move.
At first I was angry but controlled myself and asked him to give me a reason. The one he proffered was flimsy and unconvincing: I get sick in Okhla was what he said. It is true that he had been teaching in Okhla some years back, when the conditions there were not salubrious but since things had changed and Okhla was today by far one of our most vibrant centres. I knew that this was not the real reason so I prodded some more and out came the real issue: a salary raise!
This was the trigger needed to unleash feelings that I had tried to keep in check for far too long. It was time to let it all out. I simply told him that I was aware of all the reasons necessitating a salary increase not just for him but for all my staff. But I also added that he and all the staff had never bothered to understand how pwhy was funded and had over the years almost contemptuously discarded all the valiant and feeble attempts I had made to try and generate funds to enable us to become sustainable. The reality was that the only source of funding we had came through pa(e)nhandling and that the only one who held out the beggar bowl was me! I had done it for over a decade and quite successfully! And at each and every moment I had been painfully aware of the fragility of our funding model that depended solely on an rapidly ageing woman.
I had oft repeated these words but they always fell on deaf ears. No one was willing or ready to hear them. I had also mooted innumerable funding ideas that all fell short as again no one was willing to give them their hundred percent. The very ambitious one rupee programme that I believed, and still do, to be eminently doable as it required no special gift or skill, was pooh poohed away. My team found it infradig to solicit help, and the mere idea of rejection was anathema to them. Our weak attempts to market things be it recycled copy books or soap made from home milled pongamia oil landed us at the labour court courtesy some disgruntled staff. The stories are endless but the outcome the same: we never moved to another funding option.
Somewhere along the way came the idea of planet why and though the figures were mind boggling and the idea almost preposterous, we barely managed to keep afloat and here I was dreaming of something that cost more than 1o years of pwhy, I intuitively knew it was the only way I could ensure pwhy’s life beyond mine. And I held on to it with passion. Slowly friends and supporters came around and what once looked outrageous starting making sense. Today many not only believe in the idea but have come forward to extend help and support. For me it has become my raison d’etre and a befitting swansong. But to see it happen requires me to give it all my time and energy and thus be freed of having to raise any additional funds for pwhy. Hence the words raise my salary were, to say the least, most inopportune! I tried once again to convey all this in the best manner possible to the one who sat in front of me but I saw I was getting nowhere. It seemed everyone and everything was stuck in a inescapable loop. I needed to find the way out.
My mind travelled back to the time when we first began and when I doggedly decided to only employ staff from the slums. It was not simply a matter of creating honourable jobs for those who could not never aspire to them – the woman stuck in a home in spite of her long years in school and good results, the young migrant armed with a useless degree and an alien accent-! It was more than that. Would it not be extraordinary if these marginalised people could be empowered to one day take over the task and become leaders in their own way. And one strived towards that, carefully and painstakingly imparting the needed skills. I must admit that whereas each one of them rose to the occasion and became great teachers, I was never truly able to get them to take the one step needed to set them free by finding their own resources. There are many reasons for this: the fright of stepping out of a comfort zone, the reluctance to get out and seek help from others, or was it simply that they thought that funds came easy and were perennial.
It was time to spell out a few more things. I asked the teacher sitting in front of me whether he really knew how we were funded and what kind of persons send us money? As luck would have it K, a volunteer and also one of our supporters was in the office. K is a young man who lives in the UK and works in a company. He also moonlights as a DJ. The money he gets as a DJ is carefully set aside and sent to pwhy. I pointed this out to my teacher and asked me whether I really could ask a person like K to send me more simply because my staff felt they needed more. And it was people like young K who were the backbone of pwhy. Was it not time to prove to all our wonderful funders that we were empowered enough to fly with our own wings. So if the teacher did not want to move to Okhla, there was an option available: set himself up and run his own secondary support classes. We would help him in the initial stages, but it would be his enterprise and he would have to ultimately run it independently. The choice was his and the sky was the limit. In his present state he could just hope for a marginal increase that would not really make any difference.
I had said my bit. As usual the teacher has not uttered a word. I asked him to think about matters and get back to me. I know he will ultimately accept to move. The other option is still too scary. But a see has been sown and I hope it will bear fruits sooner than later.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Mar 4, 2010 | manu
In her bright blue and red dress little Radha sits with her friends waiting for the party to begin. Yes, once again it is young Yashu’s birthday and once again her mom has decided to bring the two Indias together. For the past 5 years now, the children of the special section celebrate Yashu’s birthday at Dilli Hath and for these children of a lesser God, it is a huge treat.
Come Saturday morning and all the special kids were on time, dressed in their nicest clothes. I must admit that my favourite was undoubtedly Radha’s blue dress! It was soon time to go and everyone piled in the three wheelers. The excitement was palpable. They soon reached their destination and were greeted by their hosts: Yashu, her family and some of her friends. The part had begun. There were games and more games, each with its share of giggles and laughter. Time stood still as children of a lesser God played and frolicked with children of a better one! Differences were forgotten as lost and usurped childhoods were reclaimed.
In the middle of all the fun, Yashu’s mom asked why Saheeda had not come. When she heard that she had left us she was stunned as Saheeda had been present at each and every birthday and her smile was one that no one could forget. And yet we all felt that she was there with us, in our hearts and smiling from the heaven’s above.
Once the games over, it was time to cut the cake and hand over the birthday card the pwhy children had lovingly made for their special friend Yashu. Then everyone enjoyed the yummy cake. But all the running and jumping has whetted appetites and everyone was looking forward to lunch. Everyone opted for chowmein bar our pal Manu who insisted on Chole Bhatura. He then stuffed his mouth and almost choked after which he proclaimed that he would never eat chole again! Lunch over, Yashu handed over return gifts to her friends: jewels, and picture frames, there was something for everyone.
It was soon time to bid farewell. The special children clutched their gifts in their hands and carried the lovely memories of a very spacial day in their hearts.
Yashu may still not understand what a wonderful and precious gift she gives every year to this very special children. I know she will one day. God bless her.
Do have a look a these every special snapshots of an ideal India!
A few months ago I got a mail form a young friend.He wrote: I have recently started an ambitious project to create story books for children and more importantly to devise means to make them available to every child of the world. We are working on the first book right now. I will be dedicating this first book to the children of Project Why. I was really touched. It all started with a twitter campaign where the aim was to reach 100 000 followers following which we would receive a huge library courtesy Grolier! A very ambitious project, but we were all excited and a little candid!