Could you live here
Last week the world celebrated the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. On that day the Alliance Francaise had a special celebration. Three graffiti artists from France made live paintings while musicians performed. Pwhy was...
he had asked for new clothes
"He had asked me for new clothes on Eid that I couldn't provide him. He got angry and left," admitted the lone surviving terrorist's father in a recent interview aired on all channels. We all heard this interview and most of us would have felt satisfaction of finally...
move and shake your hands
The little children in the picture are busy aping their teachers. Move and shake your hands has been a regular part of the morning wake up routine followed by the pwhy creche for many years now. It is a fun activity that the children enjoy a lot and probably forget as...
social terrosrim
I have been rapped on my knuckles many a times during from the day I decided to give up the comfort and ease of being an armchair activist of sorts and cross the line. One after the other I saw all my lofty ideas not only put to test but demolished by the realities...
and the plight of a mother
Radha's mother came to the project this morning. She looked the epitome of despair. Even the most hardened soul could not have remained dry eyed. She clutched her last born, an eight month old baby that looked barely three. In spite of the chilly morning neither she...
the death of a father
Sometimes I am at a complete loss in trying to understand the ways of the God of Lesser Beings . Little Radha has been absent from class for a while as she had once again broken her leg. We were expecting her back as was usually the case. She simply loves pwhy and let...
A ray of hope…
This morning I got a lovely mail for Harriet. She is the young girl who had spent a few days with us at project why and promised to help us when she got back to her school in London. Some time later she wrote again saying that she was planning a Xmas sale at her...
more present than…
Bernard Ray gently left this world today after a long illness. He died peacefully. Who is Bernard Ray and why am I writing this post today?The answer to these questions are simple. He is what we hope every human being aspires to be. In simpler terms he is Xavier's dad...
the washing machine and the green warriors
The latest addition to the ever growing dowry of a slum brides is believe it or not a washing machine. Even the humblest of families are ensuring that every girl reaches her new home armed with a washing machine. Often, as was the case in a recent wedding I attended,...
I dropped out of primary school…
My family is very poor and I dropped out of primary school revealed the lone arrested perpetrator of the attack on Mumbai. The words sent a chill down my spine. For the last decade we at pwhy have been striving to ensure that such children do not drop our of school...
let us remake the world
More than ever today I remember the lyrics of Jimmy Cliff's song:Remake the worldWith love and happinessRemake the worldPut your conscience in the testRemake the worldNorth, south, east and westRemake the worldGotta prove that are the best..The terrible week that has...
what gives us the right….
What gives us and the media the right to question politicians for their divisive politics, when deep inside we are as divided and prejudiced. And so we shall get what we deserve. These very pertinent words were part of a note on Facebook.The aftermath of the Mumbai...
have faith in India…
Sixteen years ago, on this very day my father breathed his last. Each year this day I remember him. If not of him, there may not have been project why as he is the one who instilled in me the passion and compassion needed to steer such a venture.Each year this day I...
where are we going
I went to sleep on Tuesday in a world that seemed well, barring the normal hitches and glitches that one has come to accept as part of the deal of living in today's day and age: a school girl crushed under a bus, traffic snarls leading to incidents of road rage, noisy...
sunny side up
Little Prakash is not being punished. Far from that. He is just spending his daily 20 minutes in the sun, part of his treatment the rickets he acquired because he lived a huge part of his tiny life in the dark.Every time I look at him as he treats me either to his...
Two to tango
A few days back a mail dropped in my inbox. It was from a young lady who loves in the US and who has been a staunch supporter of pwhy. I have never met her in person but a couple of years ago when we were going through one of our dark moments she and her friends got...
No entry….
No entry: domestic helps, service providers, drivers, luggage, pets screamed the headline of my Sunday morning newspaper. And though I had promised myself not to harp any more, at least for a while, on the have and have not issues or social strata syndrome, I just...
yet another tale of two Indias
My 799th post seems to have been the most popular one I have ever written, if one is to go by the number of comments (a whopping 24 to the normally 1 or 2!)). I agree that the heap of rubbish lying on our tiny terrace did get the better of me for some time at least,...
unless the whole man accompanies it.
I hate the giving of the hand unless the whole man accompanies it said Ralph Waldo EmersonContinuing the saga of the art or chore of giving let us talk today about one more avatar of the giving tale: feeding the poor on birthdays, death anniversaries etc. This is...
The fragrance alway stays
“The fragrance always stays in the hand that gives the rose. ” wrote the 17 century British poet Hada BejarI do not know whether I am livid, desolate or have just become inured to whatever comes my way. I do not think so as each time I come across an incident like the...
To the manner born
But to my mind, though I am native here And to the manner born, it is a customMore honour'd in the breach than the observance.Shakespeare (Hamlet) I wonder what it takes to be to the manner born. I have often been stunned by the unexpected gestures of pwhy kids that...
Happy children’s day
Yesterday was children's day. One would have liked to celebrate it with all the 700 project why children but for reasons beyond our control one just could not. So it was decided to give our creche children a special treat. One of the reasons that made us take this...
stumbling upon India
I really wanted to let you know that Project Why is still very much in our thoughts. Now that a few weeks have passed since our return from India I can honestly say that what had the biggest impact on us was our time at the Project. Yes, the Taj Mahal was stunning and...
a unique PTM
Sunday was the first PTM of the foster care. We were a little apprehensive about whether all the parents would turn up. The room was set up, every child' school copy was laid out and we waited expectantly.It was truly heartwarming to see that all parents were on time,...
Finding her roots
It was almost six months ago or even more that I first heard about Nina. In one of her early emails to us she simply wrote: I am taking a year off because I am planning on going to graduate school next fall (2009) and thought this was the best time to do it, I have...
where is the hope…
Hopes are riding high in the wake of the Obama victory. Every news channel is busy trying to see whether the world will be a better place now, whether things will actually change. Even though we all know that miracles cannot happen, that the situation on the ground is...
little women
Our women centre is quite something. Barely a year old it throbs with activity at all times. And it is not only the staff who steer it to perfection. Often is the children who take the lead and nothing can stop them.So in the span of a short year the kids of the...
yes we can…
Yes we can resounded the world over as Barack Obama was elected as the first black President of the USA ending a journey that had taken over a century! What is truly astounding as the results show is that everyone came together: black and white, yellow or brown, gay...
and it is only by this meeting…
Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born said Anais Nin. These meaningful words came to like last month at project why when Harriet met Rinky.Harriet is a young teenager...
whose right is it anyway
The Right Education bill has cleared one more hurdle. A short news item on October 31st stated that the Cabinet had given its not to the Education Bill. It was about time!For those who are not aware it was in 2002 that the 82nd Amendment made education a fundamental...
times of discontent
The writing is on the wall. Wonder whether we will be wise enough to see it and act accordingly. The times of discontent have dawned. The world we carefully built is coming crashing; its foundations too fragile to withstand the load thrust on it.I am not talking of...
Us!
The sustainability of project why has been foremost in my mind since the very day it all began. many options were tried, tested and rejected. Some had a longer life shelf than others. Some though doable were found to be not practical, others had scant returns. From...
Radha
Little Radha is back. She was away for a whole month as she had broken both her legs after a stool fell on her brittle bones. Not easy to care of a little girl with glass-bone disease when you live in a tiny hovel with hardly any space to move. Ostoegenis Imperfecta...
a precious gift
I have been looking at your website, since I arrived in Delhi a few months back. I have been able to see with my own eyes how some kids are living in this area, and despite their hard lives, they still keep on smiling, which gives anyone the will to live and enjoy...
mummy and daddy I L U!
Utpal is home for his Diwali break. Home this time is the women centre without mom as she is back in rehab. Home is where his toys and preferred TV programmes await his return, where the fridge is laden with his favourite goodies and where his pals both big and small...
God bless India
God bless India were the words chosen by the Orissa nun who had been mob raped in August to end the almost half an hour statement recounting her horrific tale. In a controlled and choked tone she related how she had been abused, humiliated, violated and defiled. Her...
Ho’oponopono
Ho'oponopono means to make it right. It is an ancient Hawaiian healing technique that can be applied to any problem or difficulty. The reason why I talk of this today is because of an incident that occurred yesterday and that left me quite baffled.The daughter of a...
when did you last say…..
When did you last say thank you to the man who washes your car, the one who delivers your newspaper or the one who collects your garbage every day. When did you smile at the lady who leaves her children to come and look after yours? When did you look into the eyes of...