a small price to pay
Nine years may seem sufficient to inure you against all human and humane aberrations. But in a land like ours it is not so, as each time you seem to think you have seen it all or allow yourself to believe that things may have changed in the wake of all the talk you...
A special birthday
Yesterday was Uptal's 6th birthday. He is at the women centre and his mom planned a special party. It was on this very day, five years ago that Utpal had his tryst with fire, one that undoubtedly changed his life in more ways than one. His tiny life has not been an...
Is it wrong to help those who are in need….
Is it wrong to help those who are in need of others assistance? was the heart wrenching question a little girl asked softly in a mail that dropped in my inbox.Natasha and her little family had read the article about pwhy that had appeared in a Singapore paper almost...
in search of lost time
I normally am weary of TV crews always on the prowl for a story. They hound you till you give in. And in spite of your trying to give the story a different twist, they all ultimately turn out to be pasty copies of each other. The rag to riches kind, or rather riches...
dare to reach out….
I often find myself browsing through the mass of photographs that sit on my computer. I do that when I am troubled and in search of answers to questions that seem insuperable and overwhelming. I do it when I feel my spirits sagging and am in need of that extra fillip....
we are the dancers, we create the dreams
"We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams."I must confess to the fact that the idea of our new project, one that still has not found its real...
mea culpa
I talk too much and mostly about project why. This is the buzz doing the rounds. I guess it is a valid one.Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!Yet, I guess my grey hair and my over half a century on this earth give me the right to explain the reasons for what may...
Looking ahead
It is time to look ahead ... easier said than done particularly at a time when our vision has been clouded by recent events, and our dreams obscured by the weight of unforeseen worries. I am reminded of the words of Florence Scovel Shinn: Every great work, every big...
But just enough….
Little Pooja's demise has stirred up a host of questions, all seeking answers and most sadly finding none. Once again what perturbed me the most was the total absence of dignity in dealing with the mortal remains of a child particularly in a land where rituals seem to...
requiem for Pooja
I thought she would make it... but a few hours after I wrote this, she moved on and left this world. The doctors said she died of pneumonia and malnutrition. Come to think about it Pooja died starved of love. Her mother had abandoned her and her father had no time for...
Life is made of little things…
“Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles, and kindnesses, and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart and secure comfort” Humphrey DavyThe hectic and almost manic activity that seemed...
have a dream? save a dream…
click here.When a few days back I sent out myriad of emails in all directions seeking help to salvage a dream that was threatening to melt away into oblivion I was overwhelmed with the words of support and encouragement I received. Among them was a poem of which I...
let us begin.. again
Was it just a month ago that we at pwhy were all set to launch a new project. A very ambitious one I must confess and one that was not quite our own I must also admit. It all began with an idea suggested by an erstwhile well wisher, one that was so daunting that we...
Kiran, a ray of sunshine
As I downloaded the day's pictures I came across this one. It is our own little Kiran having lunch at pwhy on one of her rare days off from school. Kiran is special to us as she was born just when pwhy began. She grew with us and became an integral part of our...
dear to us are those who love us
Dear to us are those who love us. . . but dearer are those who reject us as unworthy,for they add another life;they build a heaven before us whereof we had not dreamed, and thereby supply to us new powersout of the recesses of the spirit . . . Ralph Waldo EmersonThese...
building a dream
A mail dropped by. It was from a dear friend, one of the few who look with their hearts and walk that extra mile for to save dreams, particularly those conjured by others. At this moment of time he is busy saving mine. A dream that began almost a decade ago with a...
How I wish
How I wish I had 10/20 lakhs to spare if not the whole 80! These heartwarming words dropped into my mailbox shortly after my appeal for help. They may seem anodyne to some, empty to others, and to yet others as futile as the famed if wishes were horses.. But to me...
chilling justice
The baffling judgement pronounced by a local court yesterday reinforced once again the vulnerability of children in India. A little girl allegedly raped by her own father was sent back to live with him as the man was acquitted because the key witnesses (her mother and...
D Day minus 70
It is with the spirit of the soldiers of the Light Brigade that we have set out to raise the funds needed to secure the piece of land that came our way almost by miracle. When we began this daunting task we were needless to say petrified. This was way out of league....
Ours not to reason why. Ours but to do and die.
The last few days have been spent trying to comprehend what befell us. One day everything and more seemed going our way; the next we were struggling to hold on to a dream in peril. No matter which way one looked at it and how much one beat one's self, it was...
with open eyes
All people dream, but not equally.Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, Wake in the morning to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people,For they dream their dreams with open eyes,And make them come true. D.H...
The big picture – practice what you preach
When I was a little girl and things looked bad, my papa used to talk about the big picture. It was his way of explaining to his hurting child that what seemed dark and gloomy at that moment was actually a tiny part of a big picture full of colour and light that we...
Anything that does not grow dies..
Anything that does not grow dies where the words almost whispered by S, as I sat helpless hearing the ominous words that were slowly but surely obliterating my carefully constructed dream of many moons. A dream that perhaps seeded when the little face on this picture...
project why versus planet why
To many die hard project why supporters planet why is an aberration. I can understand their reaction as at first sight the two may seem totally incompatible. I beg their indulgence and beseech them to keep in mind that both emanate from the same source and have come...
everything is a great question…
“Creation is a manifestation of the one’s many ideas… every idea one step away from being alone… The meaning is for us to discover. Creation is only a stimulus. All we have to do is respond. And respond well. Everything is a great question waiting for a great answer.”...
A blurb for project why
I was recently asked to write a blurb that would describe project why. I knew this was no mean task as in many ways pwhy defies all logic and all attempts at containing it within any limits are vain.I did set about trying to find the few words that would at best...
a unique haircut
Last Friday our very special friend Andy had a haircut. But this was no ordinary haircut. Everything about it was noteworthy. It brought together a wonderful human being from Seattle, a hearing impaired girl from a Delhi slum and a little cat who decided to grace the...
citizen why
Citizen why is the name of a new blog created by our dear friend and supporter Andy. The base line of the blog says: A place for the people of Planet Why to share their stories.I met Andy a few months back on the net, in one of those dark moments when one is...
karate kid
There are moments at pwhy which are incredible and moving. These are the moments that make you forget all the bad times, the struggle, the dejection, the angst that is part of any one engaged in the kind of work we do and these are the tiny cameos that make it all...
for a bag of chips
Sunday was truly staggering in more ways than one. On the way back from Utpal's school I banged my head on the edge of the car door and it was a stunning blow. Somehow it was ominous in more ways than one.As I lay down to catch a few minutes of respite I switched on...
a staggering sunday
Normally the first Sundays of every month are special. This is the day when the motley crew that goes under the name of 'Utpal's parents' sets out for the long drive to his school and spends time with him. Every month the set of parents is different - barring a few...
Tiny pioneers
When one embarks on a new journey one is always a little scared and a tad nervous particularly if one is an adult and the journey is somewhat uncharted. It is not so with children. For them everything new is a thrilling adventure be it a walk to the nearby park or...
a chilling wake up call
The tragic death of four tiny school children in Mumbai brings to fore once more the terrifying reality of the safety of our children and the alarming conditions prevailing in our cities. The illogical school system compels parents to send their wards to faraway...
a big boy now
Seeing Utpal is always a celebration and I must confess that since he has gone to boarding school I do miss seeing his little face and incredible smile.Yesterday was a special day as we had to give the first instalment of our land and we all knew that this had to be...
a ray of hope
Little Anisha came visiting. It is always a delight to see her sunshine smile even if it sometimes it takes some time coming. My thought went to just about a year back when we feared for her life that seemed to hold on by a breath.But children have a way of making up...
the girl child
India may have its first woman president but it is going to be a long time before the girl child in India gets the same right as her male sibling. What is tragic is that it is often the mother, a girl child herself, who treats her that way.No mother will ever accept...
new vistas- new dreams- new journeys
Once again we are ready to set sail on a new journey, one whose course is still uncharted but one we know will have safe and bountiful landings. As a rock pile slowly gets transformed into an island of hope, we too have decided not to wait but get going by setting up...
the society of schools
I have been watching, with utter dismay and deep concern, the plight of parents running from pillar to post to get their children admitted to nursery in a schools across Delhi, India's capital city. The nursery admission saga has been going on for quite some time in...