by anouradha bakshi | Sep 6, 2026 | Uncategorized
“Don’t loose faith in India” were my father’s dying words. Both my parents were true patriots and loved their country with rare passion, a passion that they instilled in their only child. I fell in love with India from the stories I heard at their knee.
I am a proud Indian at a proud Hindu. My mother made sure I knew all about my religion. She celebrated each and every festival in the faraway lands we lived in. I never doubted my faith even when nuns in erstwhile Saigon (now Ho Chin Minh City) wanted to convert me. They offered me a double promotion! I was 12
Much water has flown under the bridge since then but my love for my country and the belief in my faith have never wavered.
Don’t lose faith in India were the last words my father chose to say to me and it is because of those words that I am writing this blog.
When I turned 40 I decided to open Project Why to honour my parents and because I believed that every child deserves the best. It has been a beautiful journey and it renewed my faith in my country as I found in this India all the values that my parents had talked about: generosity, respect for elders, for traditions etc.
But today I feel that faith wavering and I am plain angry. That is why I write these words.
In the past few weeks we have been privy to many aberrations and invaded by cockroaches! What started as a genuine student movement turned into a free for all platform with politicians eager to hijack the movement. And they did succeed. Students and children were quickly forgotten. All that they wanted was the resignation of the education minister as if that would solve all.
During the one month protest in the centre of Delhi everything that should not have happened did happen. With the craze for social media and the latest popularity of reels, everyone wanted a part of the cake and everyone wanted to go viral, never mind the content. We saw some terrible reels insulting our PM and others, insulting Hindu Gods all amidst a bacchanal atmosphere were all was permitted. Soon there were more bad elements than students and the decision to march to the Parliament ended in unnecessary, ugly and brutal violence.
It has been over a month and we are still witnessing the consequences of that violence.
The movement was said to look at the education scenario and bring the much needed change. As a person deeply involved with education I was happy that someone at least was talking of education. So much change is needed but sadly that is not the true agenda of our cockroaches! Post the agitation, some so called leaders of the CJP (Cockroach Janta Party) decided to visit schools in different parts of the country. They did aggressively, without any permission, throwing their weight around having ensured that the press was in attendance. And when met with resistance and complaints, they quickly played the victim card and went running to seek help from the courts and they got a rap on their fingers. You cannot enter a school at your whim and fancy, let alone take pictures! You violate the right of children and the POSCO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act .
What really angered me was that one soon realised that no one was really interested in the children of India or their education. All that the CJP leaders did was to regurgitate the figures of the Niti Ayog. Never did I hear of any road map or any plan. All one heard was unnecessary, empty and useless noise. And what is worse is that every card was played in the worse way possible: Hindu muslim, high caste low caste and so on. Switch the. TV on and you will see what I mean. No one is talking about education reforms. All that one can see are political games with every one wanting their share of the pie.
There are 248 million children enrolled in school as I write these words. 124 million attend government schools, There are two given realities that we cannot ignore: that children cannot wait for changes to happen and that with the advent of AI the job scenario is changing at a the speed of light. One salutes the government for the new education policy which seems to address the challenges of AI but my humble question is how long will things take to percolate to the remotest school and where are the resource persons. By the time everyone gets their act togetherI wonder how many batches would have passed out with useless knowledge.
In all the brouhaha about changes needed in the education system I have not heard one concrete proposal, one small idea that would benefit the children.
Many would ask what gives me the right to blabber about these issues. My simple answer is: working with underprivileged children for the past 26 years. I always walk the talk..We at Project Why have remained in touch with reality and kept our approach flexible and in tune with the happenings in the world. We have modified our teaching to include all the skills needed in to succeed in today’s day and age. It is an uphill task with a lot of resistance from the teaching staff as everyone wants to remain in their comfort zones. It took the use of the carrot and the stick approach to get things done our way. Today all Project Why children are learning English and computers from class I and we have incorporated all XXI century skills in our every day classes. My Project Why children will be able to accept every challenge that comes their way. Will write more about our approach in another post.
So my question to everyone including our ‘dear’ cockroaches is: will someone take the bull by the horns and ensure that EVERY CHILD gets what he or she deserve. In my humble opinion what is that what is needed is an interim programme that starts today till everything falls in place. I do not see any of this. I only hear strident voices bashing each other.
I just hope that some sane voices emerge and prevail.
I would also like to write about the what transpired between protestors and the police. It is important to understand that they have a job to do and are doing just that. The senseless beating of police in uniform was deplorable. My father taught me to respect the uniform and till date I will get up if any police officer enters my office with his cap on and I m 75.
Institutions need to be respected in any society worth its name. True there may be wrong doings but anarchy is not the way to handle the situation. We are a democracy and if you do not like the present ELECTED government then stand for elections and bring the change you seek but insulting the PM is not the way to go. To me the insults are a poor reflection on who we have become as parents, teachers and elders. Sadly unlike earlier times, there is not much for children to emulate. Children learn by watching what elders (parents, teachers and those in power) do and what they are seeing now is bad language, insults, violence and so on. No one is showing them a solution or a better way to go.
So please take a moment to think and find out solutions that work starting TODAY. Children cannot wait. They grow every minute.
Last but not the least let us talk religion. What I always liked about the Hinduism my parents taught me was its all encompassing nature. As a child my parents always allowed me to fast with my muslim friend, got to church with my christian one and celebrate Sabbath with the jewish ones. It never made me less of a hindu. But today, in the name of sensationalism and the quest for social network visibility, al is kosher. Bash Hindu Gods and traditions seems to be the flavour of the day. This has hurt me immensely as this is in no way what I was taught.
The divide and rule approach inherited from the British has been perfected by today’s politicians and this will ring the death knell of all we held as true.
I urge every one whose heart beats for India to wake up and. see the writing on the wall and for once move out of your comfort zones, stop been armchair protestors and come out and say what you feel.
Even if I wavered for a bat of an eye lid, my faith in India is strong, my heart beats for India and I will not lose faith in my country. So help me God.
PS The picture you see above is that of the Yamuna children in their new centre. They are the true children of India. Their parents grow vegetables on the banks of the river and we ran a centre for them in the midst of fields. These are children no one cared for and yet they are the brightest, kindest and grounded children of Project Why.Today their fate is uncertain. Of the over 100 kids we had earlier only 26 have joined are new centre. Their future is fragile and uncertain. We will continue to hold their hands for as long as possible.
These are the children that need your help and support.
Sadly they are the forsaken ones.
by anouradha bakshi | Aug 6, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
FCRA or Foreign Currency Regulation Act is something NGOs aspire to as it allows them to get funds from foreign countries. Today FCRA is out of the closet. The government wants to amend it and the opposition is up in arms.
Wonder why?
Till date the FCRA did not have stringent rules and many were misusing the money. You had 50% available for administrative cost which could mean anything: the spa cost of the top person, entertaining friends and so on. Some time back, the government amended it to 20%.
Working areas were defined loosely and could be interpreted to suit any situation. Rigorous reporting was not mandatory and it was a free for all. When you said you ran an NGO people looked at you in a strange way. And many thought all NGOs were dishonest.
A guest in a TV programme, an eminent one at that, stated that NGOs should not get money from abroad and raise their needs from within the country. Well my dear Sir this is what we have wanted for decades but were never able to do. At best we raise 10 to 15% from India and that too painfully.
Some may wonder why do we need NGOs at all. Good question. I can only talk about education and women’s empowerment as that is the field we work in. When we started over a quarter century ago, schools were in a poor state and drop out rates alarming. Sadly they still are. Over 1 lac schools in India run with ONE teacher.
We arrested drop out rates, pushed children back in school and ensured that they complete their schooling with honourable marks. Today we are busy redesigning our approach to meet XXI century skills in a job market hijacked by AI.
Were we successful? I leave it to you to decide: 4 of our alumni made it to the IIT, we have chartered accountants, journalist, lawyers, engineers, dental assistants, army officers and more. In my humble opinion NGOs are still needed in the field of education.
Over the years we have grown as Project Why is not a static but a dynamic organisation ready to answer any WHY that comes its way. Our needs have also grown and no matter how we packaged ourselves funds from India were not forthcoming. We have survived thanks to the generosity of Indians living abroad and whose heart still beats for India.
However we have ALWAYS complied with all government. regulations, and always used all the money we received for the stated purpose. I am quite flummoxed when I hear on debates that some NGOs do not use even 10% of what they get!
When I look at the new FCRA bill that is to be tabled in Parliament. I feel no panic at all. We have met most of what is asked barring maybe not shared our social media handles:)
That NGOs should be up in arms because they are asked to use the money for the purpose stated and give detailed account of how it was used to me it is a no brainer. Frankly, if you are doing good and honest work there should be no problem so why the hue and cry.
I am at a loss
by anouradha bakshi | May 21, 2026 | Anou's Blog, Uncategorized
I have been trying to write this post for some days now. Each time I decide to do so, another article appears in the press and compels me to change my approach.
OK let us put this in context.
Over the past weeks there have been a plethora of news articles on education. Based on the New Education Policy the CBSE has release its syllabus for 2026-27. For those of you who have been reading my blogs, you know how much I have been harping about how useless and unproductive the education system was in today’s world and how it needed to be turned on its head to incorporate the skills our children will be needing to navigate the employment scenario that awaits them and how we at Project Why have begun incorporating these skills in our teaching approach. So when my eyes fell on the title of an article that read: Rote to reasoning: How CBSE is resetting the way students think, learn and grow I was pleasantly surprised and decided to delve further into the changes that one expected. But before I could do so, another article appeared entitled Papa don’t preach: CBSE’s parenting guide raises concerns about overreach I fell of my chair and felt the need to address it immediately.
Before we delve further into the subject let me share my take on all policy changes specially in education. Think tanks with eminent personalities sit around a table and conjure wonderful policies that look perfect on paper and reflect all the desires of the ruling dispensation. Then these are translated into curricula that would be implemented across the country. Now for some statistics; There are 1.5 million schools in India catering to 280 million children and employing teachers 9.8 million teachers. So whatever policy conjured has to be implemented 1.5 million schools. This sets the scale of things we are addressing. This is what I wanted to discuss in this blog till I read the article mentioned.
But first the reason why I fell off my chair and one more statistic. If there 280 million children in school and we take an average of our kids by family we re talking of 70 million families.
As if is changing curriculum was not enough the CBSE decided to enter our homes! As is said in the article The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has quietly taken on a new role, not just educating children, but guiding how parents raise them too. Through its recent parenting guidelines and outreach, the board is stepping beyond the classroom into homes, nudging families on everything from screen time to emotional well-being. Remember we are talking of 280 million children. The 60 page framework looks like a playbook for parenting. Parenting is no longer private but drawn into the institutional framework of schooling. This is disturbing and discomforting.
It defines what parenting should look like: Bedtime rituals, mealtimes, stories, songs are not extras… They are the primary curriculum of early childhood.” People are uncomfortable with the tone that does not feel like a suggestion but an instruction. Parenting is not one size fits all. How does a mother of let us say 3 school going children living in a tiny hovel and working the whole day set bedtime rituals – often there are no beds or one shared by many – mealtimes, tell stories etc. She often has to deal with a drunk husband who puts on the TV loud and blaring and if she says something would probably be beaten back and blue. The article goes on to say Parenting has never been seen as a standardised activity in India. It is shaped by culture, class, language, family structures, and lived realities. What works in a dual-income urban household may not necessarily work in a small-town joint family. And yet, this calendar reads like there is a single, ideal way to raise a child… one that can be documented, scheduled, and rolled out across schools. This is nothing short of concerning.
The parenting guidelines given seem to be more for middle class urban literate families but our 70 million families are not that. I wonder if anyone who drafted this has even visited a slum dwelling let alone spent one night there. I for one resent anyone telling me how to bring up my child and yes though I understand the need to talk about mental health and the effect of screens it can only be gentle. We at Project Why have a Parent Project Partnership that runs well without diktats.
by anouradha bakshi | Apr 10, 2026 | Uncategorized, Whats new
Keerthana is 9 year old. She lives in Narapanenipalle, a small village in Telangana. Once there were 70 children in this upper primary school. But slowly with time passing the rural education scene has changed as parents migrate towards urban centres or shift their children to English speaking convent schools. It is a true crisis. Today in Telengana over 2200 schools have zero or near zero enrolment. But in Narapanenipalle, the story is different. Keerthana is the only student in the whole school. Her father stood firm in his decision to keep her enrolled fearing that once a village school closes, the community loses a vital pillar that may never be restored.
This school is a beacon of light. I has kept its door open for this little class IV girl so that this girl maintains her right to education. Every morning the bells ring, and Uma her teacher comes everyday and follows the curriculum in the same was as any school would. “Every child is entitled to an education,” a district official noted, “and as long as Keerthana is enrolled, our doors remain open.”
The story of this school shows the shift in the education scene in India.Parents are now more aware and tighten their belts till it hurts to send their children to an English Medium school often a convent. It is time our law makers look at education in a proper manner keeping in mind the rapidly changing scenarios of employment opportunities. It reinforces the idea that education is not a commodity to be discarded when the numbers don’t add up, but a fundamental right that must be protected at all costs and necessary changes need to be made in the state run schools to lure back parents.
But kudos to this little school who gives true meaning to the words: no child should be left behind.
by anouradha bakshi | Apr 4, 2026 | Uncategorized, Whats new
I had decided to celebrate my 74th quietly, without much ado but that was not to be.With the very eclectic social circle I have, it is quasi impossible for me to have one big bash, not that I like those. But everyone needed to be satisfied. So planned a small lunch with two of my favourite people on the eve and planned a lunch with my granddaughter at the mall food court.
In the morning Shamika kept insisting I accompany her to the Govindpuri Centre.The Okhla and Govindpuri staff were there with a big cake and hot samosas. Still par to the course.
But a phone call changed it all. The Yamuna centre staff asked if I would be home and whether they could drop by for a few minutes. Four children and two teachers came by with the most soul stirring gift I have ever got in my life. A huge basket of fresh vegetable picked in the morning by the children from their fields and beautifully wrapped. It was the children who had thought of this. And with it a beautifully penned card that thanked me for having brought education to their doorstep and with time convinced their parents about how important education was. I asked the 4 children who had come what they aspired to be: one teacher, two doctors and a police officer. Way to go. You have to dream and dream big and Project Why will be the wind beneath your wings. But you children have taught me so much too: the hard toil needed for farming, respect for nature and above all the ability to stay grounded something that your urban peers have forgotten. You have taught us all that you can hold on to your values and need not cast them away in the lure of what we call urban dreams. Stay this way beautiful children. That is my prayer for you.
There were many messages from across the planet from my Project Why family and my amazing team; many videos from each and every centre with heartfelt messages from my wonderful children.
All in all, it was the best birthday in a long time.
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.
