by Anuradha Bakshi | Mar 4, 2010 | manu
In her bright blue and red dress little Radha sits with her friends waiting for the party to begin. Yes, once again it is young Yashu’s birthday and once again her mom has decided to bring the two Indias together. For the past 5 years now, the children of the special section celebrate Yashu’s birthday at Dilli Hath and for these children of a lesser God, it is a huge treat.
Come Saturday morning and all the special kids were on time, dressed in their nicest clothes. I must admit that my favourite was undoubtedly Radha’s blue dress! It was soon time to go and everyone piled in the three wheelers. The excitement was palpable. They soon reached their destination and were greeted by their hosts: Yashu, her family and some of her friends. The part had begun. There were games and more games, each with its share of giggles and laughter. Time stood still as children of a lesser God played and frolicked with children of a better one! Differences were forgotten as lost and usurped childhoods were reclaimed.
In the middle of all the fun, Yashu’s mom asked why Saheeda had not come. When she heard that she had left us she was stunned as Saheeda had been present at each and every birthday and her smile was one that no one could forget. And yet we all felt that she was there with us, in our hearts and smiling from the heaven’s above.
Once the games over, it was time to cut the cake and hand over the birthday card the pwhy children had lovingly made for their special friend Yashu. Then everyone enjoyed the yummy cake. But all the running and jumping has whetted appetites and everyone was looking forward to lunch. Everyone opted for chowmein bar our pal Manu who insisted on Chole Bhatura. He then stuffed his mouth and almost choked after which he proclaimed that he would never eat chole again! Lunch over, Yashu handed over return gifts to her friends: jewels, and picture frames, there was something for everyone.
It was soon time to bid farewell. The special children clutched their gifts in their hands and carried the lovely memories of a very spacial day in their hearts.
Yashu may still not understand what a wonderful and precious gift she gives every year to this very special children. I know she will one day. God bless her.
Do have a look a these every special snapshots of an ideal India!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Jan 16, 2010 | manu
If the rumor mill is right the slum where it all began may soon be raised to the ground. Yes I am talking about the street where I first met Manu, where we began our spoken English classes, where we started our tiny special section by the roadside in a word where project why saw the light of day. It is the street that even today houses our library, our computer centre and our senior secondary classes. For those of you who have never been to project why, the slum I mention, better known as Bhagat Singh Camp, or Giri Nagar slums, is a cluster of about 4o houses tucked away along the wall of the erstwhile Bhagat Singh College now the AND College. It has been in existence for more than three decades and is home to more than 200 souls.
Like in all supposedly illegal slums in Delhi, the residents of this JJ Colony have a valid postal address, ration cards, voters cards and all that supposedly makes one a legal citizen of the city. It even has a community centre build by the slum wing of the town municipality! And though the slum, like all slums in this city, is on government land, the tiny strip of land that houses it, is too puny to accommodate much else. Yet the rumor mill is buzzing and it seems that the college next door is in for some major makeover and is likely to acquire this small strip and turn it into a car park.
The Damocles sword that hangs on millions of residents of this city is about to fall on what we too have called home for a decade now. For the past few years I have been aware of the precarious nature of slums in our city and have often blogged about it. This is also why we felt the need of having our own centre and hence conceived planet why! Yet like all human beings we held on to the hope that things may not really happen. How puerile! The reality is that the Giri Ngar slum could soon be raised to the ground rendering many homeless, people we have lived with for many years, children we have seen being born and grow, homes we have witnessed being tended to with love and care. True the law has to prevail but what we will soon be witnessing is nothing less than a human tragedy, one that we are an intrinsic part of. I cannot even begin to think where all the people will go. Most of them work in the area and may lose their jobs. Rents are sky high. Options are few.
I cannot imagine the day when my morning will not start with a visit to this very street and my morning cup of tea with Rani’s mom in the little temple that is her home. It is where for me this journey actually began and the place where I need to go every morning to remain rooted to the true spirit of project why. Of all the trials and tribulations we have faced, this is undoubtedly the one that may cost us our very soul.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Dec 23, 2009 | manu
Guess what? Father Xmas came to project why yesterday and met all the creche children and the special ed kids. I guess a little bird may have let the secret out as the children spent the morning trimming the tree and making beautiful decorations to welcome him. Every single child made something to hang on the tree. Little hands shapes were carefully cut out and embellished and each proudly bore the name of the child who had decorated crafted it. Once done the trees – yes one in the creche and one in the special section – looked beautiful and unique. They were the project why trees!
Then for while time hung heavy as everyone waited for Santa. Most of these children had never seen Santa albeit in picture books, and I wonder what image they had of him. You could see expectation in every pair of eyes, and perhaps a little apprehension. Kiran was the fist one to see him and ran to tell the others. Santa had come…
Then, believe it or not, time stood still as Santa brought his magic spell. There was nothing else in the building but Santa and the children and for those blessed moments every one dared to dream. It did not matter who you were, where you came from, where you would have to return once the spell was over, it did not matter if you were poor, or could not hear or walk, or whether you had spent long years roaming streets, Santa was there to make you believe that anything and everything was possible, you just had to hold on to your dream. Every child went to Santa and though no words were exchanged, hearts spoke. You see this was a time where everyone saw with their hearts.
Santa spent a long time with the project why children, giving cookies and sweets and above all love. Even Manu, who rarely bonds with anyone, had something special to share with Santa. But then it was time for Santa to leave and the spell would soon be broken. But I know that every child would carry the image of this wonderful Santa who came from far tell the children that dreams did come true. You just had to dare dream and hold on to them.
You too can share this very special day:
This wonderful day was created by Lolita and Lukas. Lukas was a unique Santa who did not play the role, but was Santa for those special moments. Bless you both
by Anuradha Bakshi | Dec 11, 2009 | manu
Supercat is her email id and yet the name fits her like a glove. Cat a volunteer from Leeds leaves project why tomorrow after nine wonderful and fulfilling weeks. A slip of a girl, Cat is feisty and full of joie de vivre. But above all she is a young lady who knows the fox’s secret and applies it to everything she does: it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.
Cat landed one afternoon and walked into our hearts. Her warmth was infectious, and her smile heartwarming. I still remember sitting with her one evening as she quietly shared her future plans and being floored when she told us without much ado that she has decided to work in palliative care with the terminally ill. She believed with passion that they deserved love and care and had the right to die with dignity. Her words moved me and I wondered what made a young girl like her walk such an unlikely path. The answer was simple: she just saw with her heart.
At project why, Cat worked with the special kids and brought cheer and laughter into their lives. Everyone of them took to her and vied for her attention. Be it Anjali, Manu, Champa, Honey, Himanshu, Ankur, Anuraag or Shalini, they all loved their Cat Didi. But it is little Sohil that stole her heart and it is he who asked the question we all wanted to ask but did not quite have the courage to: Why are you leaving Cat Didi?
But I know she will be back, till then we will make do with memories of her and with saying booter instead of butter!
by Anuradha Bakshi | Nov 26, 2009 | manu
In a few hours I will be awarded the karamveer puruskar. This award is meant to recognise individuals who have been pivotal for leading change beyond their business as usual by being committed on individual levels to work on social issues.
You may be wondering why this post this morning. One should have written it tonight or maybe tomorrow, when the glitter of the event would have dimmed and only memories and snapshots remained as testimony of the day. And yet I felt the need to share a few thoughts before the event, the lights, the glitter. Tonight people will speak of the achievements and make them sound extra-ordinary.
As I scan the past ten years of my life, the ones that brought me to this day, I feel no sense of great achievement. I just did what I had to. There was no choice. Manu had to be given back his dignity, Utpal has to be saved from his terrible ordeal, Meher had to be given a second chance, Babli could not be allowed to waste her brand new heart and Manu, Champa, Anjali had to have a home. And today little Sohil needs surgery or else he may lose the only chance he has in life.
As I said there was no choice, no option. One could not look away and walk on. One had to stop and do something. That was all I did: stopped! Nothing extra-ordinary in that. Today I pray that I have the strength and courage to continue doing so, each time a deafening why is heard.
by Anuradha Bakshi | Nov 12, 2009 | manu
Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done.Louis D. Brandeis
To many this picture is just a piece of barren land. And yet it hold many dreams in its custody. The dream of ensuring that a bunch of forsaken souls can live and die with dignity, the dream of safeguarding the work started a decade ago, the dream of securing the morrows of many children born without any. This land is hallowed ground as it this where planet why will one day see the light of day.
It has been eighteen months since this piece of land has being lying barren, braving heat and cold, and hoping for the first brick to be laid. It has been eighteen months since I have been trying to share this dream with one and all. Eighteen month since I have been attempting to make people believe that every child has the right to a great future and that every child is worth fighting for and investing in. Eighteen month since I have been hoping that Manu and his pals will be safe forever. It has been eighteen months since I have received a string of letters stating: your idea is a worthy one but unfortunately does not fit in our programmes, we wish you luck or the present economic situation makes it impossible for us to… It has been eighteen months since I have quietly filed these without showing my disappointment to any one, hoping against hope that the extra strand of white hair or the barely perceptible stoop is not seen by anyone.
Yes the past eighteen months have been hard. The dream I refuse to give up on seemed to be slipping away and yet I knew I could not give up on it though I found myself surreptitiously making impossible plan Bs and Cs. Everyone seemed to have something to say against my dream: too expensive, too large, in a word: impossible! And yet all I asked was the price of flowers or a bucket! Yet I held on to my impossible dream praying for a miracle.
And it came today. Not as a cheque with the required zeroes or a promising letter but in a mail from a young girl that simply said: I have some good news, I have been talking to several teachers at school, the head of charities and the sustainability group teacher. I know that Planet Why is going to be environmentally friendly so I approached Miss Browne (head of sustainability at my school) to see if we could do some fundraising for Planet Why as part of a sustainability group project (which I am part of.) She thought it would an excellent idea and has seen the information about planet why from the website. Hopefully this will help towards the building of planet why which i am determined to help happen!
I was no more alone. There was someone else who believed in my dream and was determined to make it happen and somehow I knew it would one day.
