by anouradha bakshi | Apr 3, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
This little girl all dressed up for her second birthday is looking ahead at her future: what does it hold for her, she wonders. Let in unfold and be a mystery.
Tomorrow she will be 27010 days or 74 years old. Time to look back at the mystery and answer the one question that has always troubled her: when it is time to go can I look into a mirror and not have to look away. The little girl is me!
When I look back at the years gone by what first comes to mind is the abundance of love I was smothered me by my two doting parents whose only child I would be. It was pure unconditional love something I would understand much later in life. This love did not translate in abundant toys or making every wish come true. It was the time my mother and father spent with me, the stories they told me, the long moments of silence when nothing needed to be said, the gentle whisper, the loving embrace each one leaving indelible traces that would slowly make me into who I am. The values never spelt out but always shared as stories or gestures to emulate taught me long ago that giving was the most important thing in your live. Giving without expecting. Just giving. I first felt it viscerally in my gut at the age of three when my eyes were staring at the man without a coat in winter and not at the pranks of his bear. I still feel the same gut wrenching when I hear any street hawker walking by my window trying to sell wares nobody buys anymore. With malls and ten minutes delivery Apps and houses now transformed into many flats who goes down to the street to buy a few vegetables and smile at the vendor. Does anyone ask herself the question: will his family eat tonight?
I remember a friend sharing an anecdote from Star Wars asking what are the three most important words in the world? And no it is not I Love You; it is PLEASE HELP ME. I was never on Starship Enterprise but these words were seared in my soul a long time ago.
Life took over: studies, jobs, marriage children and now grandchildren and all the responsibilities that come with them. The love of my parents was still there, still unconditional. and my only strength and anchor but then by 1992 I lost both of them and my life became a dark bottomless abyss. For many years I could not find a way to get out of it.
But then I remembered a silent promise made to myself when I discovered the village my ancestor left way back 1890 and that still looked frozen in time. I realised that fate has given me everything though I should have been like the women of this village: illiterate and a grandmother at 30. Again the twist in my gut and the question: what can you do to help.
That is when a series of serendipitous occurrences happened and somehow at the dawning of my sixth decade I was prompted to create Project Why. Miracles after miracles, some big, some small and some unbelievably large came our way and in a a few short years we were reaching out to over 1000 children. Every time I felt I had hit rockbottom and would have to pack up and shut the door, a shot of abundance came my way. My helping journey was not over. Even the terrible diagnosis of MM in 2020 did not have the power to alter my course.
Along the way I understood many things. First and foremost there are innumerable good souls in this world and we at Project Why were blessed to build a network of such people that I call the Project Why Family. Next that honesty is the only way to follow; the rewards will come.
Today there are thousands of children who have completed their education and a great number has joined us as teachers at Project Why. Others have become successful in many ways. Four of our alumni have got admitted to IITs!
All this sounds great. But that is not the end of the story. Project Why has also been a spiritual journey for me, one where I have redefined my own religious beliefs. I do not need to visit any temple, go on any pilgrimage. I see God every day in the eyes of all my Project Children. I have also realised along this path that the first soul you must learn to love is YOU. You are your only lifelong friend and only if you love yourself can you help and love others.
I have often quoted St Exupery’s Little Prince where the fox tells the Little Prince that it is only with the heart that one can see rightly. what is essential is invisible to the eye. For seeing with your heart you have to open it and let love flow. I understood that my becoming a recluse was not withdrawing from the world it was allowing me to open the door of my heart to allow myself to walk in. To help anyone you need to learn to look with your heart.
And the last lesson of this journey as on 4 April 2026 is to learn to surrender completely to whoever you believe in and hand Her/Him the reins of your life. The more you surrender, the more the Universe fulfils you.
Today I am ready to go as I know that I can look at the mirror and give myself a pat in the back while I Thank the Lord for everything I was blessed with.
by anouradha bakshi | Mar 27, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
It took a long time for schools in India to be inclusive but today there are by law. Today schools in Delhi are legally mandated to be inclusive, following the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016, and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. All government and private schools must admit children with disabilities, provide reasonable accommodations (e.g., special teachers), and ensure a barrier-free environment.
Sadly some disabilities like ADHD or ODD are not included in RPwD Act yet. I hope they will one day.
A little girl was admitted into a private school in Nursery. She was diagnosed with the above mentioned issues. She is bright, witty, intelligent and full of beans but can also be defiant and difficult. But that is par to the course. Her first year in school went well though a little turbulent. But the next one was nothing short of a nightmare. Being very dark as she is from the South she was racially profiled as being ‘black”! This hurt her immensely. A core symptom of her issue is acting impulsively and thus picking up things that do not belong to her. This little girl did so and the only way the teacher found to deal with it was put her bag outside the class thus profiling her again and leaving her bewildered.
Adopted children often spend their early life in indifferent orphanages deprived of love or any human contact. They go into survival mode that often translates in such issues. The child cried for help in her own way: scribbling on her school books and other methods a little brain could conjure till one day she garnered her courage and voiced her pain: Please change my school!
Her mother did try to approach the school but in spite of all. efforts nothing changed and it was decided to change her school
When she was given her Transfer Certificate she was shocked to read that the reason given for the withdrawal was HEALTH ISSUES. This last profiling would become part of her educational journey and could hamper admission into another school or be a slur she would carry for life.
It is easy for law makers to make changes that rock the boat as they are not the ones to implement them. Including differently abled children does not just mean making a few alterations and accommodations. It is sensitising the staff, it is understanding that the slightest misstep can result in lifelong trauma and a feeling of rejection. Handling children with physical disabilities is easier but those with mental issues whose brains are not wired like ours requires extreme sensitivity and deep compassion.
Yes Education is a Right of all children born in this land, and inclusivity is the way to go but this should be done with great responsibility. I am sharing this personal story in the hope that someone who can make changes will read it.
It is not a complaint against a school. It is a gentle warning that in our rush to make changes that look good on paper we forget we are dealing with tiny lives.
Children with mental issues may have IQs higher than others but are wired differently. You need to enter their world.
This illustration says it all
Remember it is not enough to invite them to the party; you must ask them to dance
by anouradha bakshi | Mar 17, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
In his famous 2007 “Last Lecture,” Randy Pausch highlighted that the platform to achieve childhood dreams is not just a physical place, but a mindset focused on enabling others, perseverance and passion.
I have often said and once had even suggested the byline “where children dare to dream” for Project why, but the consensus went to “because it makes a little difference”. But somehow deep in my heart Project Why was always about fulfilling dreams, big dreams!
One of my favourite author is Antoine de St Exupery and one of his quotes that comes to mind is: A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral from his book Flight to Arras. Project Why was my rock pile when I first conceived it in my mind and my cathedral was the dreams of children I could fulfil. It was the platform that Randy Pausch described in his Last Lecture.
The early years were easy; the dreams feasible, the world still comprehensible. But today everything needs to be redefined. I am at a complete loss when I try to imagine tomorrow. It is said that AI will surpass all of us, that the jobs we know and aspire to will vanish. Nostradamus even predicts the arrival of aliens in 2026.
Then how can anyone dream. There is no anchor to hold no crystal ball to gaze into. All the dreams parents had for their children are blown to smithereens. Everything has to be reimagined. And in the midst of these troubled times there are children, zillions of them who do not have the luxury of time. They need guidance now. They need to be told what to dream about. They cannot wait for things to enfold.They need to be told now what awaits them in the future. And for those who still do not believe that many jobs will disappear, I am a living example. I was once a proficient and successful language interpreter and translator was paid, over 4 decades ago 1000 Rupees a day! Today ChatGPT, Claude or many of the AI assistants that exist today can do my work in seconds.
It is believed that entrepreneurship will remain and thrive. I was taken aback when I discovered the alpha school, a school where kids crush academics in 2 hours, build life skills through workshops, and thrive beyond the classroom. Alpha School, an AI-driven school with a high school location in Austin, Texas, offers a full tuition refund (approximately 40000$) if a student does not earn 1 million$ by the time they graduate. It is worth a read but a pipe dream for us.
In our quest for the best way to arm our children with the tools needed to succeed in this new world, we realised that good knowledge of English and computer skills were essential and we have begun in earnest teaching these from Class !, India has one huge advantage over other nations and it is its young population. It is said that by 2030, in 4 short years, India will have 750 million or half its population under 30 and will thus drive global labour supply as populations are rapidly ageing in the so called developed world. So language, English and others will be huge asset. That is sine qua non. To give you an example of today a plumber with good knowledge of English can get a job in Australia for 8500 US $ per month (800000 rs).
Bu there is a challenge that all will face. Parents across the board would never wish their child to be a plumber, carpenter, electrician and so on. And this definitely is not what a child will dream. There are other jobs that will survive the AI assault: nurses, caretakers, therapists, early education teachers, social workers, counsellors, creative artists, construction supervisors etc. Jobs that will require empathy, human connection, physical dexterity, accountability and so on.
So where is my cathedral: the dreams I want my children to dare to dream? And what is my role today. To allow and help them fulfil their dreams even those that I know are doors to nowhere or to gently guide them away from their dream and help them conjure a new one.
I am lost so help me God.
by anouradha bakshi | Mar 15, 2026 | Anou's Blog
Memento mori (“remember you must die”) , originated as an ancient roman tradition where a servant would whisper this phrase to a victorious general during their triumph parade to prevent hubris. It serves as a reminder of mortality’s inevitability to encourage a purposeful, humble life.
No one whispered these words in my ear but I think God must have the day he send me to this earth. as I can say with absolute conviction that I have lived a humble and purposeful life.
Almost three decades ago I began my Project Why journey. Many tried to dissuade me and make me change my mind saying that India was too huge a country ridden with problems and it would make no difference. I simply said: If I can make a difference in ONE life it will be worth it.
God whispered Memento mori again in May 2020 when I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. A simple Google search for MM says Multiple myeloma is a rare, generally incurable blood cancer. The operative word is: incurable! The mori became a stark reality. It has been six years and I am still around taking no conventional treatment. I presume God has his plans.
Whatever then plans maybe, death was knocking at the door; the key was with the one upstairs. But for me there was only one question: what would happen to Project Why.
Those who know me well will tell you that I have become in my golden years a very private person almost a recluse. There was time when I was a party girl and loved going out, I guess this was also because I was the only child of diplomat parents and had wine and dined all over the planet. My profession as a conference organiser made me shake hands and meet heads of states.
The death of my parents plunged me into deep depression and it took years for the clouds to lift and the reason they lifted was because I set up Project Why!
That too was God’s plan as no matter what challenges came our way, He always conjured a miracle. But the person that emerged from those dark clouds did in no way resemble the person I had been. My 24/7 was dedicated to the children sent my way. No world existed for me beyond my precious project. The recluse was born.
I never felt the need to blow my own bugle or to share the achievements and success stories though they were abundant. What mattered was to soldier on.
On November 1st 2025 we celebrated our silver jubilee. I would have liked it to be a quiet affair with the staff and children but a dear friend who is on my Board insisted we celebrate in a big way.
It is only then, after a quarter of a century that I and many others realised the full extent of my achievements. I had never felt the need to tom tom about myself. I always said that I planted a seed and my team had nurtured it.
True I feel immense pride when I see my children achieve and achieve big just like the two children in the picture I carried in my arms. Today they are successful young adults who I know will make a change in the world. And there are many like them!
Of late some kind people have taken it upon themselves to craft a future beyond me. I have again accepted it as God’s gift with utmost humility. I do not know what God’s plans are. I only hear the words Memento Mori and know that I need to stay clear of hubris! I will simply carry on as long as God gives me the strength.
The tiny tinge of hubris I allow myself is that if Project Why has to shut it doors, I want it to be when it is in its full glory. I do not want it to die a painful and slow death.
So my petition to the Lord today is to give a sign of what awaits me so that I can plan the biggest celebration imaginable to celebrate three decades of a life of compassion and purpose if need be.
I never created Project Why to glorify myself, or to be known by one and all. I created it because
a small three year old watching a bear dance did not see the bear but the man in tattered clothes freezing in the cold. The coat she insisted was given to him was the beginning of my journey.
I do not care whether any one remembers my name or face when I move on. I know I live in the hearts of every child I helped.
Memento Mori! That is the only and indubitable reality.
The rest is in God’s hand.
by anouradha bakshi | Mar 6, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
Angels do not have wings. They look just like you and me.
This post is a little personal. I beg your indulgence.
Over the past 25 years of my Project Why journey I have faced many challenges, witnessed many miracles and realised that there are many good people in this world. Over these years we created a wonderful network of people from all over the world who became part of the Project Why family. I was blessed with an amazing team that stood by me and believed in my dreams.I also realised that there there was someone watching from the heavens above who I fondly called the God of Lesser Beings. He conjured miracles every time we were in need or distress. However for over two decades we lived from hand to. mouth. Today I understand that it was His way of testing me !
I knew we had a sound model the proof being the umpteen success stories that came our way and filled our hearts with immense pride but our funding model was fragile and depended on me. I was no spring chicken and every year that went by brought its share of grey hairs and worry lines. On this journey I was alone and rapidly ageing. My dream was to see project why live beyond me and though I held on to it tight I was unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
There were many sleepless nights and in the dead of those nights I knew that were I not able to ensure sustained and long term funding I would rather close Project Why when it was still thriving than have it die a slow and painful death after my demise.
The darkest hour precedes dawn and mine came in 2020 not only because of the pandemic that hit the world and turned it on its head but also because I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. The end that was till then hypothetical became a stark reality but I knew I would soldier on till my last breath.
That is when the God of Lesser Beings decided that I had passed his test and decided to intervene. A series of events would shape the future. A desperate plea at a Board meeting; an email, a visit and the rest is history.
In today’s world heroes do not wear capes, and Angels do not have wings. They look just like you and me but with one difference : they are answers to your prayers and messengers of God!
Mine were Adish and Asha Jain and their beautiful family. The very first time Adish And Asha Jain visited our Okhla centre in March 2022 they decided to. adopt us not for a year or two as most funders do but for as long as we would exist. When God sends its Angels it is with a divine plan. They did not just sign a cheque with multiple zeroes. That is easy. They took it upon them to transform what I call my mom and pop shop and make it XXIst century savvy as only then would we be able to accede to long term funding. They asked one simple question; was I willing to accept change even though it may be painful as it would entail stepping out of our comfort zone. My answer was a loud an unequivocal YES!
The journey of transformation began and yes it was not easy. But change we did one step at a time from becoming a sound administrative structure, to changing our teaching approach and incorporating the skills needed to succeed in the XXIst century: English. computer skills, digital learning and so on. We did all as best we could.
March 5th 2026 will remain the most important day of my journey as Adish and Asha Jain brought their entire family to visit our Project. Before I go further I would like to say that in my 74 years of existence I have never met such a beautiful family. We were honoured to have Samir, Shailavi and their beautiful children Kavya and Milan, and Sapna and Bhupesh. Each one a testimony that good and kind people do exist in this sometimes incomprehensible world. I somehow felt that I had always known them: they were family.
My deepest gratitude to each one of them and to the Lord who heard my desperate plea. You will always be in my heart.
I have often been asked to define the essence and spirit of Project Why and I always quote a line from St Exupery’s Little Prince:”It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye”. The Jain family sees with their heart.
You may ask how have they impacted Project Why. The answer is simple: they gave a nearly dying organisation wings to grow and soar into the future.
by anouradha bakshi | Feb 2, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
When I decided to set up a not-for-profit in the memory of my parents and to pay a debt I felt I owed my country as I had lived an extremely privileged life, I had already worn several hats and interacted with people from diverse origins and status. Having been a professor, an interpreter, a social secretary amongst other things I had rubbed shoulders with a wide variety of souls and thought I was well versed in human nature! I could not have imagined how wrong I was and how taking one tiny step across an invisible line would change things forever.
Today, with over two decades of Project Why under my skin, I feel I am competent to look back at the lessons that came my way after my fifth decade, a time when one believes one has seen and learnt all. I wonder what is it that makes you change the way you look at things and once again I find myself thinking of St Exupery and his Little Prince. Maybe my life too has been a voyage across planets each more bewildering than the other, and Project Why was the one where the maxim of the Fox was truly validated. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. The moment I decided to seed Project Why, I could only see with my heart!
A dear friend suggested I write about the 5 things that Project Why taught me about people. This is something I had never thought of so it is a journey of self discovery I share with you.
The first ‘people’ that comes to mind when I think about Project Why is undoubtedly Manu. I have said it many things but repeat it again: if not for Manu there may have not been Project Why. The lesson he taught me was to never say die, but more than, that that no life, no matter how wretched it may seem, is without purpose. Every life has a meaning and needs to be respected and celebrated. Manu’s was to see I set up Project Why. To most Manu would simply be an annoying mentally and physically challenged beggar, but to me he was my inspiration, my mirror and the one who showed me the way. He taught me to respect every human being that came my way.
The next thing that Project Why taught me about people was that if you ever reached out to help someone in need, there was no going back. It was a one way street. No one taught me this lesson more than my darling Utpal. When I reached out to save him from his third degree burns and allowed him to walk into my heart, I never knew it was a till death do us part deal. I had thought that I could heal his wounds and help his family look after him, maybe pay his school fees and be present when needed. That was not to be. Utpal became my foster child and today he is part of my life forever. This is also a lesson I follow for Project Why. No matter how difficult things look and are, there is no going back. My inner most desire is to see Project Why live beyond me.
Th next thing Project Why taught me about people is that if you truly trust and believe in someone, they live up to your trust more that 100%! This was proved to me in ample measure by the wonderful team I picked up from the community. Everyone warned me that it would be an impossible task but I instinctively knew that I was making the right decision. And though none of them had the degrees and diplomas, the profile and experience each one has done me proud and never made me regret my decision. I simply had to make them believe that I trusted them and the rest was history.
The next thing Project Why taught me about people is that there is more good than bad in this world, that values like compassion and generosity exist in ample measure in most people and simply need to be ferreted out. The way to do it is to be brutally honest and candid. One of the most beautiful things Project Why created is a wonderful network of souls from the world over and of all ages who have reached out to help and support Project Why. All I had to do was to tell my story from the heart and me the only child, the orphan got the most incredibly beautiful and supportive family and was smothered in so much love that it will take me many lives to pay back. I feel so blessed.
And last but maybe not the least Project Why taught me things I never knew existed about another ‘people’ and that is me. The reclusive almost hermit like person I had become after losing my parents, the person who ran away from numbers and could not even balance her home budget, the person who could never ask for the money that was owed to her become almost extrovert and even gregarious and began asking for help unabashedly for the children she had decided to make hers. I found within me qualities I never knew I possessed. Project Why became a true discovery of myself!
