back with a bang
It is back with a bang. Nanhe's lost smile was there to greet us when we went visiting yesterday, reminding us that children have their own way of dealing with problems, ways that remain mysterious as Nanhe's battle is far from over.But the feeling was short lived....
not yet time
A friend dropped by this morning. We had not met for a long time, yet there was a time when we shared the same ideas and concern and were all set to rebuild the world over innumerable cups of coffee. At that time we both taught in universities. We liked the same...
How many more..
How many more children will have to be abused, mutilated and killed, how many more mothers will have to live with questions than can never be answered before we become responsible as a civil society and say enough!We are supposed to have a law and order mechanism but...
a matter of the kidney..
"Go buy a kidney for your son, it costs one hundred thousand rupees" were the words said almost casually to a desperate mother by a doctor of a leading government hospital. The son is our own Nanhe battling renal failure.I guess for the doctor it was a quick an easy...
Invisible and impregnable barriers
Many newspapers and news channels chose to sum up 2006 in India as an year where people power finally emerged. True they have many reasons to do so: Jessica and Priyadarshini got justice, the Right to Information Act was salvaged from potential hijackers and the son...
an ordinary day
Come January 1st and we all set out making new resolutions for the new year. I use to do it too and then somehow these were forgotten as life took on its course. This year I just let January 1 be like just another day, the difference being that I watched it go by with...
the right to be a child
There are laws and declarations, organisations and institutions and more all seeking to protect children's rights to be children. Conferences are held and debates too..But if I were to tell you that the right to be a child lies hidden in every child rich or poor...
an unequal battle..
Nanhe's predicament haunts me ceaselessly. As someone wrote: this is the battle of the mind and the heart, and none of them are wrong.Nanhe is precious to many of as we are addicted to his smile. Somehow when Nanhe smiles than for that tiny moment everything seems so...
reconnecting – a story in six pictures
It was a very special day, Utpal was to visit his mom. He got up early. wore his new sweater and shoes, and was all set to go. He has asked his best friend Kiran to accompany him.His little head was filled with confused images. there was a time, only a few months ago...
in real danger
My mother died of cancer. Many do. The difference was that she stubbornly refused all form of treatment. She bore her excruciating pain with rare courage. Life had to be lived till the very last breath was her leitmotiv, and she did, remarkably alive as she quietly...
for a handful of spinach…
Have you ever wondered how much a handful of spinach costs? A few coins on a market place, a little more in a fancy store... and a few leaves picked up in a field would not be missed by its owner.Not quite. In a remote village in the state of Bihar a little 10 year...
a very special tree
oThe world celebrated Xmas. In a tiny lane of an urban slum in Delhi a bunch of very special kids did too. Just like children all over the world they wanted a Xmas tree and nothing could stop them.Nothing to write home about, some would say, but what if I told you...
a very special xmas gift
Xmas has always been a time of joy and giving, of cheer and even miracles. As you grow up you stop believing in Santa, but there is always the anticipation of finding out what the little packets around the tree contain.My xmas gift came a day earlier and in the most...
tale of two Indias..
As winter sets in in India's capital city, once again we get reminded of the existence of 2 Indias. While one is busy preparing for highly westernised festivities, the other is huddled around makeshift fires simply trying to survive.This is India a land where extreme...
the cotton carder
I happened to be standing at the gate when the cotton carder went by. Hearing the high pitched sound of his carding bow was a Proustian experience as it brought back a flood of long-forgotten memories.There was a time when you could plan your day with almost clockwork...
a verdict of hope
The Jessica Lal verdict is out. It took a long time coming. Wonder why as she was shot in a place filed with Delhi's own page 3.For seven years we were almost mute witnesses to a mockery of justice where the entire system connived to save the killer who was a is said...
what makes news…
What makes news in our land? I wonder. or let me rephrase the question: what makes lasting news.. The reason I ask this is because for the past week I have been trying in vain to get an update on the plight of the Ghaziabad girls and their abuser!Just two tiny weeks...
never say die
Imagine my surprise when a mail dropped by this morning from another land asking me whether I would give a motivational talk to the staff of a big organisation. The reason stated for choosing me was my can-do-never-say-die spirit.The idea was daunting, particularly...
of quotas, castes and reservations
We just have completed a socio-economic survey of all the pwhy children. Among the questions asked were the place of origin, education of parents and caste. We wanted to validate what we knew intuitively: more than 80% of our kids belonged to some reserved category or...
sometimes you wonder why…
project why came into being to try and answer some of the innumerable whys that stare us in the face demanding answers. the answers however remain elusive and bring more questions and as you carry on you realise that apparently simple questions lead to deeper and more...
even she smiles..
I just got some pictures from katy who has been a regular visitor to the ghaziabad ashram for the past 4 months. Somehow she never gave up, even when others did..I spent a long time looking a them and was moved to see how quickly and easily children forget the ugly...
we need you
I have been perturbed about the future of the ghaziabad girls. Often when I am uneasy about something I sit quietly and let my thoughts wonder in an unbridled way. It fills the terrible emptiness that threatens to devour me, and often brings some solutions or at least...
a return courtesy call
A few days back we had made some courtesy calls, to find out about the well being of some of our children.This morning, little Deepak made his return courtesy call. It was a very special moment for all of us. He came in his grand mom's arms but soon decide to show us...
one week .. and too many questions
One week ago we were celebrating the rescue of the girls after a 24 hours vigil! Most of us would have liked them to come to Nirmal Chayya Delhi as initially planned. But, in spite of the presence of two autonomous central bodies. National Commission for Women, and...
nursery blues– yes to interaction; no to interview
I have watched with despair the comings and goings of the new admission policy for nursery classes in public schools for quite some time. Had it not concerned children, I would have been amused.We are once again faced with the normal beating around the bush attitude...
yesterday’s news, tomorrow’s fear
In recent days we have witnessed many convictions of high profile people. yesterday the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgment stating that no permission is needed to prosecute public servants charged with corruption case.Most of the aforementioned cases have come...
courtesy calls pwhy style
In times when nets and cell phone proliferate, making courtesy calls is almost an aberration. There was a time when paying a call was the only way to get the news you sought. Oddly, in some cases it remains at times the only way at our disposal.Three calls needed to...
bags of hope
You may wonder why this silly pictures of plastic bags. Actually they are not just plastic bags. They are bags full of hope.As I write this post they sit patiently under my ironing table, in the very corridor where one little bundle of joy ran blissfully pretending to...
Once you chose hope..
Once you choose hope, anything's possible said Christopher Reeve and he knew what it meant.In the past few days many have written about the plight of the ghaziabad orphans. Most have expressed anger, outrage and their desire to help the girls and see the abuser...
whose life is it anyway
Nanhe has lost his smile, pain was too big an adversary. It is heart rendering to see him moan in pain. He is not eating and can barely sit up. He barley connects as he is on heavy medication. His body is swelling because of his tired and stone ridden kidneys.His...
just what we feared
When we first heard of the ghaziabad ashram, it was at a gathering where the ashram was presented as a humanitarian project needing help. two visits were made by us on the pretext of cleaning, but in the hope of getting some of the girls to vindicate what I...
morning has broken
Morning has broken, like the first morningBlackbird has spoken, like the first birdPraise for the singing, praise for the morningPraise for the springing fresh from the worldHad I written this post yesterday, it would have been filled with anger, dejection and ire. It...
Night
Night was the title that Elie Wiesel chose for his account of the horrors of a concentration camp. No adjectives, no nuances, nothing, just one word night to qualify the horrors.The little children of swami ashram spent one such night, if not worse, as there was not...
Outraged and dejected
Some of you may remember my post about the little house of horrors, and the plight of orphan girls locked up in pure hell. I had ended the post with the words: we need to act.Some of you may have wondered why the ensuing silence and even thought that we had forgotten...
In the name of a father
Yesterday was my father's 14th death anniversary.. It almost slipped my mind. Strange as there was a time when I almost lived for that day.. planning all kind of commemorative mush: flowers, rituals etc..Wonder why the change: simply because of project why!Mourning...
Wish I had a dream catcher
Good dreams slip through the hole, and bad dreams get caught in the web.. says an old Chippewa tradition... whereas the Lakota tribe believes that good thoughts get retains in the web while bad ones slip through the hole... which ever way I wish I had a dream catcher...
how long does it take to become jaded
A few days back little Deepak went back home after his heart surgery and tomorrow little Anil goes for his. Statistically speaking they are no 8 and 9 in pwhy's heart repair shop!It was just over three years ago that we answered a desperate plea from a great father ....
remake the world
Too many people are sufferingToo many people are sadToo little people got everythingWhile too many people got nothingWe wile remake the worldWith love and happinessRemake the worldPeople, put your conscience to the testJimmy CliffIs this what these two little lads are...