What did you do during your holidays is a question that many will ask their buddies when school reopens nest week. The answers one can safely conjure could be: when to the movies, to the mall, to Mac D's, to visit friends, family and so on. Well two young souls will...

  “You can shed tears that she is gone,or you can smile because she has lived.You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back,or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.Your heart can be empty because you can't see her,or you can be full of the...

He is all of 10! Has it really been 9 years since this little bundle of joy entered my life. Time has really flown past. Utpal celebrated his 10th birthday in school last week. We will do so on Friday when many of his old pals will be there. By old pals I mean those...

My grandson has moved thousands of miles away but he is with me in my bedroom twice a day: early morning and again in the evening. Who cares if everything is a little topsy turvy as it is morning here and evening there and we get mixed up on the good mornings and good...

Industries in which very heavy types of raw material are used are known as heavy industry. This is not a joke! This is the definition of heavy industry as it appears in the class VIII book of the Punjab School Education Board. God help the children of India as this is...

Baby Falak is no more. She died late last night of a cardiac arrest. Her story is heart wrenching. She fought for two long months in the hope that we could and would hear the silent cries of the countless abused children of India. She fought relentlessly to give a...

A young mother got gang raped by seven men on her way back from work late at night. She was traveling back in a cab with her younger brother when her cab was stopped and she was pulled out, forced into another car, taken to a flat, raped repeatedly and then 'dropped'...

It has been a long time since I have written about project why! I guess it is a case of the proverbial 'no news is good news'. However I think it is time I shared the comings and goings of pwhy with everyone who has made this incredible journey a reality. So where...

A friend sent me a link to an article. It is entitled: barefoot - the other side of life! Do read it. It brings to light many of the issues I have ranted about time and again. Two friends both Indians, both from swanky US universities decided to come home and do...

Today is Shivratri. Millions of devotees will pour millions of gallons of milk on Shiv Lingas across the country. I have always found the ritual of pouring milk over stone deities deplorable particularly in a land where millions go to bed hungry every night and...

This picture was sent to me this morning. Look at it well. The picture was taken in a Government run school in, hold your breath: Delhi! You may recall the fact many schools are bereft of desks. This school is not. But the desks provided to the little ones are too big...

Strange but gender bias has hit me hard. Perhaps it was because of a recent invitation urging women to 'look pretty'. I must confess it did bring the point home. I was in combat mode. The anger had barely subsided when another aberration was heard on the news. Women...

All ladies to look pretty were the words inscribed on the bottom of an invitation to dinner next to the usual 'dress code'. Needless to say it made me see red. The invite in question was from highly respectable, well educated etc people. To many it may seem innocuous....

Valentine Day has never meant much to me. I have not been one to be swayed by hearts and red roses. I have fond memories of making cards for my father as a little girl but that is where it ended.  The rank commercialisation of the event has led me to shun it and...

We heard some terrible news. Meher's father is on his death bed. Too many years of drinking hooch have had their toll on him. He is in his village and everyone has given up hope. He wants to see Meher one last time and in a few hours Meher will make the journey to bid...

Little Falak is still battling for her life, her battered body stubbornly fighting infections and fevers. She is holding on as the sinister series of events that brought her to this scary hospital bed enfolds. She is holding on as best she can so that we hear the...

  Congratulations, your kid’s name is in the shortlist. You will have to pay Rs 1 lakh in cash. This is what many parents seeking nursery admissions for their children were told in school after school. The words and sum sought may have varied but the essence...

Thanks to the wonder of Skype I get to see and talk to my grandson every day. Never mind that the 12 hour time difference muddles our good mornings and good nights! Anyway we get to live a few moments together and that is nothing short of wonderful. Agastya treats me...

She is battling alone for her life. She is just 2! She was named Falak. It means star. Wonder who gave her that name. But it was the right one as this little girl refuses to stop shining. Her story is nothing short of barbaric. She has been abused in the most inhuman...

I normally do not check my Facebook account in the day. I did this morning. As I scrolled through the home page I was appalled to see a post that said:ONE TENTED CLASSROOM & 390 STUDENTS OF DEL GOVT CO-ED SEC SCHOOL! There were pictures to substantiate this...

On January 26th India celebrates its 63rd Republic Day. There will be the usual parade with all its pomp and drama. On display the might of the armed forces, the famed tableaux representing our diversity ans skin deep progress, the school children, the folk dancers,...

I have always held that the education system in our country is abysmal. Many like throwing facts and figures at me to prove the contrary but I hold my ground. And I have reason to as I have for the last 12 years seen things first hand. In spite of highfalutin and...

My boys have gone. Agastya my grandson is now in the US ready to begin a new chapter in his life. Soon it will be school and new pals and Grandma will have to take a back seat. Utpal also left for his boarding school after spending his winter holidays with me. The...

Utpal loves malls. He loves the thrills of the games, enjoys the rides and even had a go at bungee jumping, the kind they have at malls. I must confess that I am the one responsible for introducing him to such activities as when he first went to boarding school the...

Utpal got a new bicycle for Xmas. He was thrilled and rode it all day with a huge smile on his face and proud to show off that he could ride a cycle without trainer wheels. The same evening he took it to the nearby park to show it to all his friends. The next day when...

It is nursery admission time again. Time for schools to raking in the moolah! The sale of roms is expected to bring in 1200 crores rupees. Now we all know the situation on the ground: not enough schools and too many applicants. This has been the same story year after...

So finally the powers that be concede that malnutrition is a national shame! It took them a hell of a long time to do so. I have been harping about this for as long as I can remember. In an incisive article title Many mouths to feed, Annie Zaidi asks the disturbing...

The government is busy pushing a bill that will ensure that no one in our country goes hungry. This should be a wow moment for all as the 5000+ kids who die every day of malnutrition is a statistic we can well do without. The effort should be applauded as it would...

Was it just a year ago that Manu left us? It seems like an eternity! With him around everything seemed easy and possible. After his departure nothing was ever the same. Friday January 7th 2011 dawned like any other chilly winter day. Nothing could make us think that...

A gift of love came our way lifting our sagging spirits a little. This one was truly bejeweled. Thousands of miles from the slums in which we work Kashmira a lovely lady with a huge heart sat day after day crafting some incredible pieces. With every pearl she threaded...

 This is an infinitesimal part of the lavish buffet of a New Year's eve party in a uppity club of our capital city. The copious fare was preceded by abundant snacks as is always the case. On the rare occasions I have attended such parties, I have never found the...

Drop the last year into the silent limbo of the past. Let it go, for it was imperfect, and thank God that it can go wrote Brooks Atkinson. Yes that is exactly what I want to do at the close of the year as it was an imperfect one! I want to welcome the new year with...

Come Monday these little souls and their pals will not have a creche to come and play in. The sleepless nights did not bring any counsel. The innumerable mails sent, the countless doors knocked at, the umpteen appeals and entreaties remained unheeded. No one heard the...

To write a report about Project Why is always a thrilling experience.  It is perhaps the only time one can truly assess and appreciate all that has happened in a single moment. Project Why is a vibrant blend of a host of different activities in diverse locations...

Want to make money? Start a sham school. There is arider however you need to be politically connected and live in India. It is a very lucrative business, believe me. How does it work? Well simple: you create a school and enroll loads of bogus students. So you have...

Manu and Father XmasXmas is around the corner. The children of our special class are busy decorating their tree.Xmas has always been festive time in the special section. A time for joy and cheer. A time for goodies and presents, a time of laughter and giggles. Every...