by anouradha bakshi | Mar 27, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
Every child deserves more than a place in a classroom. True inclusion means understanding, acceptance and the support needed for every child to thrive. This story is about one little girl with ADHD whose experience reminds us that admitting a child to school is only the beginning. Making her feel that she truly belongs is the real challenge.
It is not enough to invite them to the party, you must ask them to dance
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 spoke about the importance of creating a platform where childhood dreams can take flight. That platform, he reminded us, is not merely a physical place. It is a mindset built on encouragement, perseverance and the belief that every child has possibilities waiting to be discovered.
I have often felt that this was at the heart of Project Why.
At one time, I had even suggested the byline “Where Children Dare to Dream”. The final choice was “Because It Makes a Little Difference”, a phrase I have always loved. Yet somewhere deep within me, Project Why was always about dreams—about giving children the courage and the opportunity to imagine a future beyond the limitations imposed by poverty and circumstance.
One of my favourite authors, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, wrote in Flight to Arras: “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.”
When I first imagined Project Why, I saw only a rock pile. But within that rock pile I carried the image of a cathedral: the dreams of children waiting to be fulfilled. Project Why became the platform that Randy Pausch described—the place where children could begin to believe that their dreams were possible.
The early years of Project Why were simpler. The dreams were clearer, the path ahead easier to understand, and the world seemed more predictable.
Today, everything feels different.
We are living through a time of extraordinary change. Artificial intelligence is already transforming the way we work and the skills we value. Many of the jobs that we know today may look very different tomorrow. The professions that parents once considered secure may no longer offer the same guarantees.
So how does one dream in such uncertain times?
There is no crystal ball to look into, no fixed roadmap to follow. The dreams that parents have carried for their children for generations may need to be reimagined. Yet, in the midst of all this uncertainty, there are millions of children who cannot afford to wait for the future to reveal itself.
They need guidance today.
They need opportunities today.
They need someone to help them understand the possibilities that lie ahead and to prepare them for a world that is changing faster than anyone imagined.
I know this personally. For over four decades, I worked as a language interpreter and translator—a profession that once required specialised skills and experience. Today, artificial intelligence tools can perform many aspects of that work within seconds. The world has changed, and it will continue to change.
Many believe that entrepreneurship will continue to thrive in this changing world. New models of education are already emerging, using technology and artificial intelligence to personalise learning and develop skills beyond traditional academics. Some of these ideas are exciting, although many remain far beyond the reach of the children we work with.
But the question remains: how do we prepare our children for a future we cannot fully predict?
At Project Why, we began by focusing on what we knew would always matter. A strong foundation in language, especially English, and confidence with computers are essential tools in today’s world. We have therefore started introducing these skills from the earliest classes.
India has one enormous advantage—the energy and potential of its young population. In the coming years, millions of young Indians will enter the workforce while many developed countries face ageing populations. The ability to communicate, learn continuously and adapt will become among the greatest assets a young person can possess.
Yet skills alone are not enough.
The future will still need people who can care, create, connect and understand. Many professions will continue to depend on qualities that machines cannot easily replace: empathy, human relationships, responsibility, creativity and the ability to solve problems in the real world.
Nurses, therapists, caregivers, teachers of young children, counsellors, social workers, creative professionals and many others will continue to play an essential role. The future will not belong only to those who know the most; it will also belong to those who understand what it means to be human.
So where is my cathedral?
It lies in the dreams of the children of Project Why—the dreams they dare to have, the dreams they discover and sometimes even the dreams they have not yet imagined.
My role today is not to decide their future for them. It is to give them the tools, confidence and courage to build it themselves. Sometimes that may mean helping them pursue a dream that seems impossible. Sometimes it may mean gently guiding them towards a different path when I fear their chosen road may lead nowhere.
But perhaps that is the true meaning of education. Not to give children a ready-made answer, but to help them discover their own possibilities.
When I first looked at that rock pile called Project Why, I could only imagine the cathedral I hoped to build. After all these years, I realise the cathedral was never a building, a centre or an organisation.
The cathedral was always the children themselves.
And my task remains the same: to help them dream, to help them believe, and to help them find their way in a world that none of us can fully predict.
I may not know exactly what tomorrow holds.
But I still believe in the power of dreams.
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
After 25 years of leading Project WHY, I faced the challenge every founder eventually confronts: how to ensure the organisation would survive beyond me. This is a story of resilience, hope and the people who helped secure its future.
For every founder of a social organisation, there comes a difficult question: What will happen when I am no longer here?After 25 years of building Project WHY, that question became deeply personal for me. This is the story of uncertainty, faith,
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 started Project Why, I believed I was setting out to change lives. I soon discovered that the people I thought I was helping were, in fact, changing mine.
Over the past twenty-five years, thousands of encounters—with children, parents, volunteers, and complete strangers—have quietly reshaped the way I see the world. They have taught me lessons that no university, career, or book could ever have offered.
These are five of them.
Lesson One: I owed a debt to my country
India has always felt like home to me, even though I was born and raised in Mauritius.
I was born and raised in Mauritius, the descendant of an indentured labourer who had left a village in Bihar in search of a better life. My maternal grandfather had been an active participant in India’s freedom movement, and my parents filled our home with stories of the country they loved so deeply. Although I grew up far from India, that love became part of who I was.
Life was generous to me. As the daughter of a diplomat, I enjoyed opportunities and privileges that many children could only dream of. I received a good education, travelled, and never questioned the good fortune into which I had been born.
Years later, I travelled to the village in Bihar from which my ancestor had departed more than a century earlier. What I found was heartbreaking. The village remained desperately poor. Roads were little more than tracks, electricity was unreliable, and higher education was almost unknown. Yet the welcome I received was overwhelming. These people, who owed me nothing, embraced me as one of their own.
Standing there, I realised how much I had been given simply by accident of birth. For the first time, I truly understood what it meant to owe a debt to my country.
When my children had grown up, my parents had passed away, and I found myself with the means to do something meaningful, I founded Project Why. I thought I was repaying that debt. Twenty-five years later, I have come to realise that the more I have given the more I have received.
Today, with twenty five years 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.
Looking back today, after twenty-five years, I realise that each of these lessons arrived disguised as a person. None was planned, none could have been taught in a classroom, and each changed me forever.
Manu taught me
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!
by anouradha bakshi | Jan 30, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
When I decided to cross the proverbial Rubicon, to leave the armchair I had sunk in post losing my parents in an almost catatonic state, I did not know where the journey would take me. I just knew I had to step out and so I did. I also knew that it was time to redeem a pledge made on a hot summer day in a village in Bihar to pay back for all that I had been given. Having discovered my ‘roots’ I realised that it was an accident of history that propelled me into this side of the divide. I should have been on the other. Anyway what matters was that the time had come to walk the talk.
I had no road map then. I had to create one. I had always been disturbed by the plight of children begging at red lights. To me every child had a right to education and a better life but for these kids there seemed to be no hope. Begging was a ‘profession’ a ‘business’ and as long as there were people who would give money, it simply thrived. It was all demand and supply so if one cut the demand… So I thought.
So why not address this issue as part of my paying back journey. After much brainstorming with like minded souls, one came up with, what naive me believed, a programme whereby we would urge people to give nutrition instead of coins. And when the business of using children to beg would not be lucrative, maybe it would stop. How foolish was I! Today a quarter of century later. there are as many children begging at red lights as there were then. You got it right, our nutritive biscuits project died a quick death and we were left to lick our wounds.
For years I drove by the same crossing under the Nehru Place flyover. Many families live under this bridge. Their profession: begging. If you drive past early in the morning you will see women cooking on make shift stoves. The children are already knowing at car windows in the hope of an elusive coin.There use to be a little girl who was a baby in her mother’s arm when I first laid eyes on her. Then she grew up and must have been about 2 or 3 when one Sunday as I drove by I saw her being initiated in the art of begging.
As years went by she grew up and we made friends! She knew I never gave money and most of the time carried fruit or biscuits in my three wheeler. One day she came running and asked me for chocorate the generic time all the beggar children who knew I did not give money used when they saw. My little girl with huge light eyes is now all grown up and I guess she will be married and soon produce children who will follow her footsteps.
Some years back we started a small outreach for the beggar children of Kalka Mandir. They are the ones in this picture. You would never say they are beggars. They look just like any other children all smiles and giggles. Kalka Mandir as all temples is home to many beggars. There is a small shelter where women go when they are expecting and about to deliver. As many women come with their older kids, we decided to run our first lass there. For some time it was a dream come true and that is where I met my bucket baby. But then some people did not like what we were doing and threw us out. We tried in two there locations but we sadly had to close. I felt the look more than anyone else. This was not the first time happened to us. We had earlier tried to teach the children under the flyover close to mu house and the children were thrilled, but again we are shooed away by some men. I guess they did not want the children to get the ‘taste’ of anything other than panhandling. They knew that education had the power to rock the boat.
We rarely look at a beggar in the eye. Maybe because we feel uncomfortable or guilty. I do not know. However it is a beggar woman who taught me one of the greatest lesson or my life. I was in college and had gone to Connaught Place for some errand. A beggar woman started following me asking me for a few coins. That day my pocket was empty so I stopped, looked her in the eye and told her gently I do not have anything today. I am sorry. She took both my hands in hers and said to me “you have given me more than you can imagine” I was perplexed not quite understanding till she added ” you looked me in the eye; you acknowledged me as a human being”. I can never forget those words and since that day have always looked at beggars in their eyes.
Beggars are human beings first and foremost. Many beggar parents in Kalka Mandir did send their children to school.Should you visit in the morning you will see many children in clean uniforms, their tresses coiffed beautifully ready to go to school. The children. are eager to go to school and learn and parents do their best. I remember a beggar woman sitting on a step with her two school going children and holding a copy book and a pencil. She was helping her kids with their homework. I asked her if she had been to school and she proudly answered, ”I have studied till class III!”. One wonders what brought her to where she is now.
Beggar parents do care for their children. How can I gorget my beggar friend Rani whose compassion touched me. She had a niece who was orphaned and rather than send her back to the village decided to keep her to ensure she get and education! And what was even more touching was the fact that many of the beggars who were sitting around seconded her decision and offered whatever help they could proffer. But what moved me was how the very people we reject and sneer at, the ones that live on our so called ‘charity’ had a heart far larger than those who live behind gates or in impregnable mansions.
The children you see in the picture are children just like ours. They deserve a childhood, an education and much more. When will we get outraged at the kids who knocks at our car window at a red light and wake up and do something. I do not know.
I only know that it is the plight of a young beggar that shook me out of my torpor and compelled me to act. 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. I live by his maxim.
So next time a beggar child knocks at your car window, don’t look away. You do not know what miracle is hidden in her eyes.
