by Anuradha Bakshi | Nov 25, 2005 | utpal
It was late and the party was in full swing. Little Utpal had enjoyed himself, eaten to his heart’s content and consumed large quantities of cold drinks, not because he was thirsty but because of the tall glass and the coloured straw..
I held him on my lap and my hand indavertently touched one of his ugly scars.. a reminder of all the pain this tiny braveheart went thorugh… we all, even I, tend to forget the kind of pain this child experienced for what today would add up to a third of his whole life.. anyway I hugged him tight.. today was the last of the revelries of p and j’s wedding and tomorrow life would take on its usual course..
As I held him, I asked him whether we would meet tomorrow.. just a redundant question for which I really did not expect an answer. To my utter surprise he answered in his serious little way: “ Kal tum mere ghar chai pina” – tomorrow you come to tea to my home!
Somehow my little mr popples felt that he had to return the hospitality he had enjoyed for the past three days. When I asked him want he would give me he said “I will put sugar in the tea”!
Why are my eyes clouded as I write these words…
by Anuradha Bakshi | Nov 23, 2005 | Uncategorized
” because i am saving trees..”
was my often exasperated answer.. but I manage to pull it off and stand by my convictions without succumbing to ‘peer’ pressure.
My daughter’s wedding was a vindication of all I stand for and I can say with some pride that I managed to conjure a show where two worlds met in a city where you are judged by appareance, glitter and pomp..
Yet we had everything, a page 3 party with page 3 people but where the lights, flowers, chairs and decoration came from a tentwallah that normally specialises in slum jagrans. The rites were in the purest vedic tradition but the groom rode a motorbike and the barat came in three wheelers driven by pwhy parents to the beats of dholaks played by two of our staff. We had a touch of Bollywood as the salis and sahelis (an eclectic mix of girls from diverse lands and social background) danced to the sound of Bunty and Babli’s Kajra Re , the show ended in the gurdwara hall of gNagar with a bash with pwhy kids and the DJ they wanted.
Was it easy, I must confess it was not as at every step I had to fight my way and hold tight to what I knew was right and find answers to the inane questions I was asked.
But we pulled it off..and it was a lovely celebration where people had time to get to know each other, to share laughter and joy, a wedding where the human touch was not lost and where the sanctity of the occasion was not lost.
Weddings have lost their true essence and meaning, they have become impersonal bashes that are remembered for all the wrong reasons: don’t we always hear things like – the food was cold, or the whisky duff, or it was too cold or to warm – !
Imagine you received a letter from a parent marrying his child, informing you that he or she had decided to use the money set aside for the party planned to sponsor heart surgeries for kids and that all would be informed of the progress. Would that person not rise in your esteem?
The money is that of of just one of the numerous parties plan, when food and guest lists are much of the same…
Think about it..
see pictures of the wedding here
by Anuradha Bakshi | Nov 23, 2005 | Uncategorized
The Art of Living, is something terribly à la mode in present times and everyone is attending classes or discourses to master it..
For the past five years I too have been attending such classes but in a different school altogether and with masters who are just two feet tall and have not even walked this earth for a thousand days.
I often have kids from gNagar come home to spend some time and I am amazed at their behaviour and at the ease and grace with which they adapt themselves. A far cry from what my peers and friends tend to think.. I have never had anything broken, never a wall scribbled on, never a grain of rice dropped on the carpet..
K and Mr P came to the all the celebrations we had recently and I was amazed at their behavior. They did not sit in a corner but were part of the festivities, enjoyed themelves, wished people and answered questions. They danced and laughed and Mr p regaled everyone with his antics.. and then when he realised he was tired, even though the night was still young, he found me and simply said “Mummy pass jana hai” – I want to go to mummy-!
Mummy for mr P is a dark dingy room where the air is stale and damp, but it is home and that is where every sensible person returns at the end of the day, that is where one belongs…
One of the greatest lessons in the art of living I have been taught is the way these kids handle two worlds, with no resentment or jealousy, enjoying each for what it is.. but never forgetting what their reality is..
Can one find a better example of the art of living..
by Anuradha Bakshi | Nov 21, 2005 | lohars
The raffle draw was held yesterday at project why…
The raffle had been thought of as one for upmarket people and hence the prizes were tailored to that taste – barring of course the dinner with a bollywood star -. But once we had printed the tickets and set out to sell them, we were aghast at the total lack of enthusiasm we met be it college kids, friends or acquaintances, the response was lukewarm at best..
I must confess that teamProjectwhy was crestfallen, but somehow I was not too surprised. and in the spirit of what we stand for, we decided to sell the raffle tickets in the slums we work in . A great sales team comprising of pwhy staff, parents and children was created and we managed to sell quite a few tickets. We had to, as akshay kumar had give us a date in late november. To make the raffle more attractive to simple folks we added a VCD player!
On 20th November at 11 am, young innocent hands drew the names of the winners and to my delight Bindiya a lovely Lohar woman won the evening with akshay, and ram bibek, a poor tea stall owner won the VCD.. how proud they were.
Bindiya will be going with her brother and ram bibek has hooked on his VCD to his old black and white TV.
and everyone is asking when the next raffle will be…
The initial set back turned to be aboon in disguise and maybe we have a new funding option in the making.
Note: we are looking for sponsors for prizes that slum folsk would like – small music system, TV, irons, mixies etc we are still far from the 4000 one rupee a day donors we need
by Anuradha Bakshi | Nov 21, 2005 | lohars
This is the 100th blog I write and publish..
I started this blog a few months ago hoping that I could convey some of the heartwarming and heartbreaking moments one lives on planet why.
I have been overwhelmed by the response to this blog.
This was a special week as my daughter got married, but more so because this wedding was one with a difference. It brought together many worlds.. So there was a page 3 party, an extremely traditional wedding ceremony, a fun bash for the friends of the young couple and the celebrations ended on planet why with a big dance party with the children of pwhy!
It was a great happening as all barriers disappeared and all that mattered was the music and the laughter. The upmarket friends of the groom who had never left the confines of their parisian district mingled with the gypsy kids of the Lohar camp and celebrated this event.
As I watched I thought to myself, that bringing two worlds together was not as difficult as one feared, one just had to take the first step with conviction and the rest followed, even in a town where barriers seem impregnable..
