a fun picnic
The children of the special section went for a picnic yesterday. For a whole week everyone had been busy planning the event. Lists were made, plans discussed. Everyone agreed on the menu: samosas of course and frootis to drink. Shamika and Cat our volunteer from the...
friends forever
Looking at this picture warms the cockles of my heart. To the uninitiated it may look just like two little girls learning together. It is not quite that. Allow me to unravel the mystery of this special snapshot.Kiran the little girl on the right of the picture is very...
Most of the things worth doing
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.Louis D. BrandeisTo many this picture is just a piece of barren land. And yet it hold many dreams in its custody. The dream of ensuring that a bunch of forsaken souls can...
a few of my favourite things
I was recently asked what may seem an innocuous question: what makes you joyous and what makes you blue. The answers should have been simple and yet the question turned out to be an existential one. And the reason it became so was that the enquirer was not one to be...
Just a few miles away….
Just a few miles away from where I sit to write this post lies the village of Badarpur Khader. I would have never known it existed were it not for a small article tucked away in the inside pages of my morning paper. The article simply stated that this village which is...
the price of a bucket
A gold bucket worth 3 crores ( 30 million) of rupees was donated by an anonymous donor to propitiate Lord Balaji. The offering would be used for storing incensed water during the celestial bath of the deity. This is not the kind of news that normally catches my...
a special treat
The children of the special section never cease to amaze me. Each time you step into their class you feel lifted and all your worries and woes vanish - albeit temporarily! You have barely entered that a shrill voice greets you with a loud Namaste Maa'm. It is little...
the unexpected puruskar
The mail simply said: iCONGO Team Congratulates you on your selection for the Karmaveer Puraskaar. I was stunned. A few months back a dear friend and supporter had written to me saying she was nominating me for this award. I was touched by her gesture and though I was...
the 1000 th blog
I cannot believe it. This is my 1000th blog! It took me four years and six months to get here. I took a trip down memory line and read some of my earlier posts. Their candour and naiveness brought a smile to my face. I must admit that taking the plunge was not easy...
slumming it out
There is a new reality show in town. I read about it quite by accident in a leading news paper.The show website defines the show in the following way: Prepare yourself to witness a life-changing experience, as 10 seriously rich spoilt youngsters are plucked from their...
the special girls
They are our special girls! Champa, Anjali, Preeti, Ritika and Neha. When together they can bring the roof down! They love dancing, singing and giggling like any teenager, and like any teenager they sometimes sulk and fight.Champa and Anjali live in our residential...
project paint!
The Okhla children wanted to paint their school for Diwali. Instead of coming to us and asking for money, they decide to do it themselves. They all contributed five precious rupees and bought all the material and then rolled up their sleeves and painted the school...
advantage the privileged child
I had written about my apprehension about the scrapping of Boards and marks and switching to grades in a recent blog. Recent news items about the modus operandi have made me even more uncomfortable. Eight hours training sessions are being planned for principals who,...
angels at work
About a year ago a young teenager came with her parents to spend a few days at project why. Harriet is no ordinary girl. She has mastered the art of seeing with her heart and that is how she looked at project why. Since then she has never forgotten us and has conjured...
new clothes for Diwali
It is Diwali the festival of lights and new beginnings. Diwali is also the time when all, rich and poor buy new clothes at least for their children. Needless to say we too have been busy wondering what to get little Agastya, the new member of our small family. After...
at the fair
After being long listed for the Golden Quill Awards, Dear Popples is now at the Frankfurt book fair. What a journey it has been.
They saw with their heart
A couple of months back I got a mail from Denmark. It was from a high school teacher and simply said: We have with great interest read about your Project Why. My colleague and I are going to New Delhi in October with a group of 23 students. For a long time they have...
an ordinary girl…
Ray Kurzweil, the futurist recently predicted that in 20 years or so we might reach a stage where we could live forever, and even become ageless and immortal. What a frightening thought. Does it not make the meaning of our lives futile. Are purpose and achievement not...
a child dies every 15 second
In India a child dies every 15 seconds due to neonatal diseases, and 2 million children die before reaching their fifth birthday, 20% of the world's child death occurs in India, one in three of all malnourished children live in India, over 46% of children under three...
Through different eyes
Megha visited the women centre some time back. She needed to write a blurb for potential donors. This is what she wrote:Situated among the squalid gallis of Madanpur Khader village in South Delhi is located the Women's Centre; one of the 13 centers operated by our...
common wealth – common woes
I do not quite know why but I was interviewed by CTV (Canadian Televison) on my views about the forthcoming Commonwealth games. Perhaps it is because time and again I have voiced my concern over destruction of slums and the removal of street food vendors all done in...
a strange slumber party
I read with amusement laced with consternation and outrage the new gimmick adopted by politicians to we their voters. The publicity drama is being called: slumber party with Dalits whereby people of a political party spent a night with a Dalit (low cate) family. What...
a blogger’s journey
I was pleasantly surprised to find a blog about our blog! The author wrote: Today I want to write about a blog which energize me each time I visit it. The blog, Projectwhy drowns my cynicism and taunts me too. I often lament about things but don’t do much about it,...
a peek into project why
It has been a long time since I have taken you on a tour of project why. Somehow the picture of little Komal peeking through the balcony inspired me to do just that. True that from the pwhy building balcony you simply see another building but that is when you look...
silent class
There is a new class at project why and like everything else it happened quite by chance. The special educator who comes thrice a week to work with our children came to me last week and asked me whether project why could provide some space for a bunch of deaf and dumb...
the old water man
He leaned against his cart forlorn and dejected. No one seemed to want to drink his water today. He was a wizened old man who could barely stand, let alone push his cart. He had been coming to this very spot, year after year, actually at each Durga Pujo. He always...
a good heart is better
My grandson will be with us in a few days. The excitement is palpable. Everyone seems tobe walking on air. The old house is being spruced up. The wood has been polished, the windows are squeaky clean and the ancient and worn out floor is almost gleaming. Everyone is...
Change for 5$
A mail dropped by in my inbox. It was from an organisation that was launching a new funding campaign. My first reaction was to trash it immediately but something made me read on as the mail seemed to be personally addressed to me. I was curious to know what was wanted...
Restore not remove
Restore, not remove is an article I urge you all to read. In the wake of the decision of scrapping class X Boards, it comes as an eye opener and is quite unusual as it urges the powers that be to restore two jaded institutions namely the NSS and the NCC as ways of...
Bye bye boards.. hello grades
The recent scrapping of the class X Boards has been welcomed by one and all. Then why is it that I am feeling uneasy and slightly rattled. I sat for a long time trying to figure out what was disturbing me and why I was not jumping with joy. Was I not the one who had...
a little bundle of joy
Sohil is the new kid in the special section. He is 6 years old and has hydrocephalus. He also has spindly legs and malformed feet making his gait unsteady and awkward. But that does not deter him from doing everything his new pals do.Come dance time and Sohil...
all the way
For the past almost ten years now, project why has been giving what can best be called after school support to hundreds of slum children. For the past almost ten years we have basked in the glory of knowing that all our children passed their examinations and that no...
of long legs and state-of-the-art gyms
The austerity debate has been going on for too many days! For the past week we have been treated or should I say subjected to innumerable debates and parleys on whether Members of Parliament and others in so called power should fly economy or business. Innumerable...
horribly wrong
The tragic death of seven young girls in a stampede in a secondary government school is a tragedy that no words can describe adequately. Like thousands of children across the city, these girls went to school to sit for their second term exams. It was a rainy day and...
coming of age
Our website has a brand new look. Do check it out. It is a labour of love! Some months back Anisa a wonderful young lady wrote to me offering her support. She said she could help us redesign our site if I so wished. I of course accepted and thus began a journey that...
our incredible five
It was PTM time again. The reason for this PTM being so close to the previous one, was that the children are beginning their exams on the 14th and will be busy till early next month. As usual it was a pleasure to see them smiling and happy and full of stories to tell....
a special teacher’s day
Yesterday was teacher's day. The children in the special section decided to celebrate it by becoming teachers. The pupils were Shamika, Prabin, Saraswati, Manikala and our sunshine girl Kiran. All the children turned up in their Sunday best and took their role very...
the radha way
Little Radha never ceases to amaze us. In spite of her brittle bones and her useless legs she is the most independent child I have seen. She participates in each and every game, dances and even jumps around. True she evolves her own ways some quite stunning as her way...