an oath gone awry
Shubhum was operated upon for a congenital heart problem on Monday 17th December, the latest inmate of our heartFix hotel He is doing well and should be back home soon.Shubhum came to us in May 2007 and should have been operated upon in September but for reasons that...
To yourself, respect
As I sat writing my yearly greeting mail I came upon this Xmas gift suggestion from Oren Arnold: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself,...
the sewing circle of Khader
Just two months ago it looked an impossible dream to some, an audacious step to others and an outrageous venture to yet others. But like everything else at pwhy it had to be: the women centre came into existence because two women needed our help desperately and a...
Learning to live together
The gunning down of a young teenager by his peers last week has raised a host of questions in everyone's mind, disturbing questions to say the least, but questions that need to be addressed as they concern the well being and future of our children.One should not make...
farewell shalu
The news was like a bolt out of the blue: Shalini was leaving the centre. In her own way had tried to convey this to us a few days back; we just thought she was going off for a few days to the village or a wedding like so many times earlier. But this was not quite...
a chiling moment
The gunning down of a 14 year old by his classmates in an upscale school in the suburbs of Delhi has shocked everyone. What seemed to be something that happened elsewhere, in other lands is now on our doorstep.The past two days have seen a plethora of reactions from...
a matter of human rights
Yesterday a leading TV channel aired a programme on slum tourism. What held my attention was the comment made by an activist who went to say ' I very strongly feel that this is the worst kind of human rights' violation or I would go on to the extent of saying that its...
a moving lunch
Saturday December 8th was a very special day for a bunch of disabled kids, but more so for a very special young woman whose mother I have the privilege to be. A TV crew was coming to share their lunch.The morning was spent in a frenetic bustle of cleaning, sprucing...
an invitation to lunch
Yesterday a leading TV channel called asking whether they could film lunchtime at pwhy! This was for a segment in a daily lunchtime programme that highlights the lunch hour in different parts of the city. I guess someone decided that it would be good copy to go and...
coming home
Today is a very special day at the women centre as Utpal's mom is coming back home! It is true that for a brief instant in the heat of the moment and the haste to succeed one had allowed one's self to fleetingly forget the reason of our existence: giving women a...
It only happens at pwhy
Sunday December 2nd dawned as just another day for many. For a bunch of us it promised to be a special day but none of us could have imagined what it was to be.At 9.30 am a tempo traveller reached our doorstep to take us to Utpal's school. Us today was quite a party:...
This is a man’s world
It is a a man's world and even we women sometimes start believing this biased sexist view of life. Utpal's mom is still in the psychiatric ward of a hospital and though she is better and fit to go home - read women's centre - we have been dilly dallying about the date...
Remembering Ram
Today is November 29th. Exactly 15 years ago papa left this world leaving behind a huge hole that nothing could fill for many years. Seven years ago project why began its first hesitant spoken English Class in a tiny shack with 20 eager eyed kids and I instinctively...
a wake up call
It was a wake up call in the true sense of the word!This morning at 4.43 am the earth shook and though the magnitude was small (4.3 on the Richter scale) the epicentre was just a few kilometres from Delhi. I had just lit my prayer lamp and was about to start my...
uniforms and geometry boxes: a recipe for good education
Designers uniforms for Government school children screamed the news headline. There must be something wrong was the thought that sprung in my mind. But no, I had read it right government school children in Delhi would soon have designer uniforms and geometry boxes...
what is essential is invisible to the eye
I have often quoted the lines the fox told the little prince in St Exupery's memorable work: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. Never were these words more relevant than yesterday when a group of children...
Can i dance with you
It was dancing time in the special section and as usual every one was dancing. Did not matter if you could not stand or walk, you had to dance!Preeti cannot stand and walks with the help of her hands, but she too loves dancing. Komal decided to join the party. She is...
the extraordinary in the ordinary
Sometimes it is necessary to get off the spinning world, catch our breath and take a pause. Sadly this is something we rarely do as we are, or seem to be always on the run. Recently two mails dropped in my inbox and both had a similar message. They both highlighted...
requiem for two lost souls
Two lost souls left this world yesterday. They had nothing in common bar the fact that they were in some way linked to pwhy.Anil came to us almost exactly a year ago. He was 8 months old and suffered from a complex congenital heart problem. He needed multiple heart...
surrender – a response to a troubling thought
As I walked away from the hospital ward where Utpal's mom lay sleeping unaware of the terrible ordeal that brought her there, many whys crowded my mind. I guess we humans sometimes forget that we are mere humans as we get swayed by illusions of grandeur and hubristic...
supply and demand revisited
I have never been a businesswoman and have always found economic theories as puzzling as double dutch. The only concept I could somewhat fathom was probably the supply and demand theory.An old friend reconnected with us recently and asked whether we still needed help....
i want to be a pasha
Our one of a kind mr popples spent one night at home on his way back to school after Diwali holidays with his mom at our brand new women centre. As usual he was the proverbial ray of sunshine capable of lifting any sagging mood.As we sat in the evening watching a film...
disturbing musings
Delhi is slowly limping back to normal after a fortnight of festival and festivities. The air is gradually clearing up and the the crackers blasts are now sporadic though as ear shattering as ever. The roads on the morning after Diwali were a silent but shocking...
a day at the women centre
Our very own Mr P is spending his Diwali holidays at the women centre with his mom! What a long journey it has been for this little braveheart.It is now a happy place filled with colours and laughter. The creche has begun in earnest and is filled with children....
To or no to….
The recent debate of the right to privacy of a physically disabled child whose surgery was done under blinding media glare, raises a number of questions, the first one being the reason why the medical team who operated free of cost, decided to do so this way. The...
Candid revelations
I dropped by the women centre yesterday and decided to spend some time with a bunch of spirited boys who had joined the centre recently. There were about 6 or 7 of them and most of them were students of class VI of the sole government secondary school in the area.We...
A matter of survival
Our women centre is soon going to have solar energy to meet part of its requirements. Like everything else at pwhy is just happened. And again like everything else at pwhy it happened for a reason. Global warming is something we have been concerned about for a long...
twenty one – 21
Twenty one is an important number in a person's life as it is the age when one becomes an adult. Twenty one has another important signification that many may not know. It is the number - 21A - of a new article that was to be inserted in the constitution of India. it...
let the sun shine in
Some months back S walked into our office. S was someone I met on the net. After exchanging a few innocuous mails, S came visiting. Like is oft the case with virtual friends, one does quite know who to expect!S arrived by bus from one of India's satellite suburbs and...
yet another tale of two Indias…
Sunday October 28th 2007, saw the enfolding of a another tale of two Indias in the streets of its capital city: thousands of well shod and well clad beautiful people ran a well sponsored half marathon in one part of the city, while 25 000 landless and often barefoot...
in order to live
Read in order to live said Gustave Flaubert. That was almost two centuries ago and something almost ludicrous in our day and age.You may wonder why I chose to right a post about books.It all began when sometime back a dear friend and supporter sought our help and...
a happy place
A recent investigation aired on national TV brought to light the horrific reality that prevails in a government home for challenged children in India' capital city.One wonders why these children of a lesser God are often treated in such a way and makes us question the...
the art of giving
Xabi and Marie are two simple village folk from a small village of the Basque country in France. They are not young and have homes and families. Marie is a dancer and Xabi a farmer . Some time back I got a very touching email from them which is simply said they were...
I am in UKG
We have been busy getting admissions for the new centre and of course children are a plenty. After asking the names and age of each kid we ask whether they are in school, and the class they are in.We were astonished at the number of children who said: I am in UKG....
I know what it is…
Children never cease to amaze me as they always come up with the most unexpected statements.On the day of the opening of the women centre, the children perused the whole place and even the toilets. One of the toilet has a western toilet seat something they had never...
impromptu inauguration
Monday 15th October dawned as a crisp bright day. One that was to be very special. We were opening the Kamala Centre for women and children. It did not quite turn out the way we had planned as painters and plumbers had not finished their work and hence no guests were...
women centre – sneak preview
I do not know whether we will meet the October 15th deadline. Nevertheless there is a palpable sense of excitement in the air. Painters, plumbers, electricians and masons fight for space and are trying to finish their work.The ladies are running helter skelter...
when are you opening the school
When are you opening the school is the question I am asked by eager children every time I visit our about to open women centre.It is amazing and touching how children break all barriers and adopt you without any misgivings and with complete trust.In a week from now I...