The wonder that is India
Sunday 20 January will remained engraved in my memory for times to come. I normally shy away from TV appearances but when a leading Hindi channel called to say they wanted to do a programme on pwhy I accepted more for the sense of elation it gives my team. At that...
A rock pile…
A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral wrote St Exupery. How right he was.For me this piece of barren line ceased to be barren from the moment we decided that it was the one chosen to...
a bag of miracles
When Utpal fell into my lap almost 4 years ago he was scalded, swathed in bandages and quite frankly not a pretty site. And yet as I held his fragile body and looked into his incredibly beautiful eyes I knew this was no ordinary child but a very special emissary who...
just getting through the night
To many this may just look like a barren piece of land, and it is just that if you look with your eyes. But today I ask you to look with your heart just as a little prince did in a marvelous fable and said: What makes the desert beautiful is that it hides a well...
moving times – movie time
This would make any teacher go ballistic and hurl a string of unkind words at the child who stands mortified not quite understanding why his valiant attempt at forming words meets such rage!The truth is that in most cases both are right: the teacher is unaware of the...
to hold on to their wings
Planet why is my most cherished dream but till two days back it was just that: a dream. True that I am used to dreaming and must confess that I have turned quite greedy as many of my dreams have turned into reality over the past 8 years, but planet why often seemed...
the new toast of town
Thew new toast of town is undoubtedly the Nano, or Tata Motors new 100 000 rs car! Everyone wants one: the young girl who was till date quite happy with a scooty, the three wheeler owner, the lads who have still not finished paying their EMIs for their still gleaming...
If not for you
I have been battling with myself about writing this post as I know that if I do write it with honesty and candor it may peel off some of the carefully pasted layers that has fabricated what I look like today. I thought the glue was strong and the image would withstand...
dance with your heart
Two years ago when pwhy was facing one of its proverbial financial crisis, our indomitable friend Isabelle decided to do something. Knowing Isabelle it had to be something unique and it was. On July 29th 2006 a heart warming event was held to help pwhy survive. Since...
Tommy can you hear me
Tommy can you hear me sang the Who in their famous rock opera way back in 1970! Soon we at project why will be singing Rinky, Saheda, Pooja can your hear us!These three lovely hearing impaired girls who have been with us now for many years will soon be able to hear...
If I had a hammer
If I had a hammer...I'd hammer out love between my brothers and my sisters goes the age old lyrics of Lee Hays and Pete Seeger.I remembered this song when the Mitchells came to project why on the very first day of 2008. they had come all the way from Spain where they...
The ides of January
Come January 15th we run the risk of getting stopped by the police and asked for an identity proof or give the reason for our staying in Delhi. This is what the administrative head of the city decreed some time back. Nothing wrong as this is something that happens in...
not only dream but also act
This morning S dropped by at the women centre to discuss our road map for planet why. It was not a matter of convincing ourselves, or anyone else for that matter, of the validity of the project. It even makes good business sense were it viewed solely as a business...
brand project why
Pwhy has its own special way of celebrating special occasions; one may even call it brand project why and 1 January 2008 once again reflected this.It was a bitterly cold crisp morning as we set out bright and early ready to make the best of this first day of the new...
yet another tale of two Indias.
It was half an hour past midnight, half an hour into the 2008. A young ice cream vendor was braving the bitter cold in the hope of making a few more rupees and maybe set the tone for the New Year. A short distance away another man took the wheel of his car after...
You’ve touched my life like an angel
If I ever saw an angel, it was in your eyes. You've touched my life like an angel... Thanks for being there for me!Four years back a little angel dropped into my existence. True that he was scalded and scorched and did not look very pretty but his incredible eyes were...
of cakes, ladoos and sewaiyan
Xmas was celebrated in earnest at the women centre. There was a tree, streamers, stars and bells, pictures of Santa drawn by the kids and much merriment. There was home baked Xmas cake and presents for all.Sophie who had planned the party made a little speech...
for everything…
In many schools across our city where English is taught children are often heard singing the following prayer:Thank you for the world so sweet,Thank you for the food we eat.Thank you for the birds that sing,Thank you God for everything.Strangely this prayer transcends...
party time at pwhy
It was party time at project why and everyone was busy sprucing up their dancing shoes and rehearsing the latest moves. Even little Komal who has just learnt to stand did not want to be left out!This year we were truly privileged as we had not one but two parties. One...
nanhe is back
Nanhe is back. After a long break.. a few months actually. Nanhe is back after long negotiations with his mom as often the battles with moms are arduous and foregone as it is almost impossible to deal with the passion and lack of logic of a mom's love for her...
busy being grateful
Life in the past eight years has been an exhilarating roller coaster ride with a medley of wonderful experiences, sensations and events that hit us at such a staggering pace that one often did not quite have the time to savour them fully.I guess it was because one was...
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...