smile hanuman
kids are quite amazing.. mr p wore his Hanuman mask and had us in peals of laughter as we kept telling him to smile and he kept obliging under his mask not realising that no one could see his face..we finally did tell him to remove it and the dazzling smile was...
in my Inbox
This morning as I entered my office the light on my cellphone was flashing indicating a message in my inbox. I rarely use this facility and normally what awaits me on the screen is some promo or the other. I opened the message - not a promo this time - and read the...
remembering kamala
Girl’s education is accepted as a fait accompli in our day and age. However this was not so when my mother was young. Today on her 16th death anniversary I remember with fondness the way she told me about her early school days in Meerut in the early 1920s.“When...
excuse me saying this….
Excuse me saying this, but why don't you sell this house.. imagine how many heart surgeries it would sponsor..This is what a project why supporter and now friend said when he dropped on a Sunday to finally put a face to something he had till date known through the...
my very special begging bowl
This morning I began the mail I sent to many friends and supporters with the words: here I am, begging bowl in hand.. and many answered with the words: please do not use phrases like begging bowl..Most of the mails I write when I seek help are instinctive.. true that...
which one did he hear..
Just when you sit back and think that you have done your bit, and maybe can take a break , someone decides otherwise and a tiny broken heart lands softly on your planet. One look at the trusting eyes and innocent face and your mind is already racing.Deepak is 7 months...
no bananas for my mommy…
I lived a rare moment today.. one that I cannot truly describe as it was a kaleidoscope of emotions and feelings..A late call yesterday night asked me to come and meet utpal's mom who was in hospital with multiple problems.. they also asked me to bring utpal along.....
they did it again
It has almost become a habit and we blase about it..The class X results were out and all the kids passed with a few compartments, mostly students who had joined us recently or were very weak when they came to us, some even failures..At a time where reservation is...
not to the manor born
In my quest for a future for Utpal there have been many lessons that have come my way. The overwhelming support for this child, the kind words of people from far away lands have crated a network of friends till date unknown.Many have also pledged their support to...
a potato chip and a prayer
Wonder what a mundane potato chip and a prayer to God have in common..Yesterday I had a fall as the old knee gave in resulting in a badly bruised ankle.. An ice pack and bandage later I hobbled to where Utpal was playing.. he stopped and looked at me with a quizzical...
pass fail ka khel
Once again the dreaded happened: two young children of india took their lives away in the land capital city because they failed their Boards examinations.This has been happening with obsessive regularity and yet no one had don anything to put an end to this..Wonder...
a mom of substance
Ram Pyari, Nanhe's mom had told us that she was off to the village for a few days with Nanhe. We thought nothing of it, though we wondered why she had chosen the hottest month to do so..Yesterday we were taken aback when she came back and told us that actually she had...
even if the road is a long one
The children in this picture belong to our okhla primary centre.. and if one were to believe all the pro quota politicos, they are the supposed beneficiaries of the reservation policy. Most of them are dalits and OBCs.. what is noteworthy is that all their pwhy...
summer of 06
The summer of 2006 will go down as one of disturbed and angry students, greedy politicians, brutal policemen and bewildered citizens..All is not well on planet India.. the hydra headed monster of reservation has resurrected for reasons that only God or a few...
celebrating mothers
It will be mother's day this month .. and everyone will celebrate it..To me mother's day has taken a new meaning this year, though I lost my mother almost 16 years ago.. Kamala was a beautiful woman and a woman of spirit.. she chose not to marry till India was...
they simply wait
What do ritika, soni, champa and umesh have in common. They are all students of our special section; they are all slow learners and live in a world of their own where things are not quite the same as in ours. They take the same auto every morning under the benevolent...
ours is not to wonder…
remember nandini, the spunky bright village girl.. the one whose heart could not be repaired and whose dreams are in our custody, the class V student who as an infectious smile and an admirable desire to learn.. well she amazed us once again..nandini wants to be a...
and the twain shall meet… of hidden agendas
One was born in a place that has acquired a generic name in north india - madrassi - and the others were born on a polluted road side waiting for unfulfilled promises of an uncaring administration.. one traces its ancestry to one of the 12 rishis, the others to the...
are you dreaming
A friend and supporter sent a mail with these words: "Are you dreaming to hopefully build a concrete school in the area for such kids one day..".This is a question that has come our way many a times... and that is why I thought that it needed to be adressed and...
meri mummy…
You think you have seen it all and that you are immune to heart wrenching situations.. well beware that is not the way life is..Utpal has now been a resident of my home fro over 2 weeks, he adjusted like a fish in water and laughs, plays, eats, sleeps and plays.. true...
WHY..just for children
we have moved.. to a tiny rickety building, in gali no 3 of the very congested govindpuri area.. away from the larger spaces we had, but we have moved to our own .. the building will house our early education programme and our special a kids in two large rooms on 2...
games gods play
I write today because I am a liittle perplexed..When God or whoever else is up there, lands you with a child whom he has put through much emotional and physical pain, a child with both ugly visible and deep seated invisible scars, what does he want you to do..Ease the...
CZS or the syndrome continued
I wrote about this syndrome earlier . This syndrome is far more complex than we think. As I watch students agitating against the quota system and being beaten up by policemen I feel more disturbed than ever. I realise that even pwhy sunk into the CZS as it basked in...
when was love logical…
In one night utpal lost all he had.. he did not have much by our standards but he had a home to go back to, and above all a mother whom he loved with almost illogical passion..but when was love logical...Over the last four years Utpal has taught us many things but...
a braveheart..named utpal
He is just four.. or 48 months old.. not a big man.. but a true braveheart.. he just checked his mom into rehab and will not be seeing her for six weeks.. that is the rule..His mom drinks.. and a woman that drinks is treated with utter disdain in slums where she is...
All God’s angels…
When little Leila Fodil left her country in 1983 to seek medical care in France, all she and her family must have wished was for her to win her battle againts leukemia. When, in spite of the love and care of her foster family she lost that battle in 1985 , no one...
brain games at pwhy
It was brain gym time for teamPwhy, as Sareylom held a day long workshop for our staff! Plates and flags were flung in the air amidst laughter and fun. This was the first workshop where all the staff participated..The aim was to help individuals integrate body and...
CZS or the comfort zone syndrome
We will soon be moving.. from a comfortable 6 room flat to a motley medley of space. Many are a little perplexed about this change.. but it was necessary as we were slowly sinking into the comfort zone syndrome a.k.a according to me as the government job disorder.. a...
happy b’day anouma’am
This may just seem a fun picture to many, but for me it is much more.. if you look with your heart..This is our very special section.. one that has been crafted with love and patience with little souls no one wanted, let alone believed in..Two years back little Sapna...
a special gift…
When project why began as a small spoken english centre, I had begun dreaming.. dreaming of the day when it would become an independant entity and fly on its own on the wings of the people that made it happen: the kids, the community, the staff, the well wishers.. and...
He who has..
"He who has a strong enough why", said Nietzsche " can bear almost any how". I must be blessed, having project why!Life would stop if we stopped asking questions and seeking answers.. I guess that is why people often grow bitter in their twilight years.. there are no...
ramu’s reprot card
Ramu brought his report card this morning with a beaming smile.. i remember him saying that he would stand first and he did!Ramu lives in a cramped shack and has no place to study.. he often has to look after his siblings - babli and arzoo - as his mom comes home...
a smile referred to….
Shhh.. nanhe sleeps in the comfort of his home.. I know it looks more like a damp dungeon, but it is his haven as it is filled with the love of his little family..Last week was a bad one as he had many fits and spent some night in the hospital ward, but he is back...
a motley winning team
remember ramu, babli's sullen brother who was handled with great efficiency by our knights in shining armur... well he did us proud as he stood first in his school in Class V... and that is not all, all our primary kids have passed.. even those we did not think would...
heart caught in red tape
I do not know Anshu Kumari.. I just hope someone had shown her the way to our heartFix Hotel..A leading TV channel aired her story. It went like this: An 11-year-old girl in Bihar is awaiting help for her heart surgery despite President APJ Kalam offering to bear the...
a smile lost
nanhe is in hospital again.. and we are worried.. he was doing much better and we were waiting for the doctors to decide upon the next surgery.. two days ago he was unwell and was taken to hospital where he had a series of fit.. he was admitted immediately..nanhe...
don’t forget she is a girl
For young Sandhya the wait continues.. after her chicken pox got over and the 61 K were deposited, sanhya went to AIIMS and we were hoping that a date for her angiography and subsequent surgery would be given fast. Well for some reason or the other it was not and the...
fiestas of another kind
great bike.. all boys want one some day.. a valid dream that can be yours if you work hard would be the normal line to pitch..well not quite as one has been witnessing with growing panic..our ersthwile quiet world has been invaded by a new army.. and eebiz is the...