by Anuradha Bakshi | May 25, 2005 | Uncategorized
arun’s operation has been shifted from the glamour of Apollo Hospital to the down to earth corridors of AIIMS.
many will wonder why?
Should I just say that only a few are to the manor born, and project why is not one of them. So then why did one even consider it…
Till recently we citizens why lived a simple life, solving the numerous problems that come our way, as best we could, within the realm of what we knew was available to us. The kind doctor next door, the government hospital where we could find an acquaintance, often a simple worker…and somehow the god of small things and lesser children was always there to help. We managed two open heart surgeries, saved a child from third degree burns, and took care of numerous ailments. Where there was a cost to be borne, we appealed to all our friends and help always came… the virtual begging bowl never failed..
Then one day came an award, the lights and glare of the media, the rush of adrenaline that happens in spite of one’s self. And to be honest one lost one’s way and for sometime got caught in a reality that was not ours.
The god of lesser children did try and steer us away, as right from day one was not comfortable. Sadly it took a while to understand that not every one is to the manor born, and that project why has to remain within the reality it can sustain and live by honestly.
So we made the course correction needed and are back on a road we know. Arun will be operated by what is the best available to all children born in India.
citizens why are not to the manor born!
by Anuradha Bakshi | May 22, 2005 | Uncategorized
and our task is to recognize this thought and help it toward completion.”
Everyday I get reminded of this beautiful quote as I look at the little children who come to project why. It is amazing how each little pair of eyes that look at you as they mutter their often inaudible and even incomprehensible : morning maa’m, tells a story.
Look at little Karuna, my angry young lady! She seems to be perpetually cross with god knows who, maybe life itself… She goes about her daily routine, but rarely smiles..
Some eyes are filled with hurt, others with longing… still others with resignation..
I wonder if they are aware that we adults will never discover the divine thought that brought their creation, and that by the time they are able to explain it, it will be too late.. there will be no one willing to listen…
Sometimes small children do share things that sound like dreams and we just brush them aside.. but next time a child does say something, even bordering absurdity, just stop and listen…
by Anuradha Bakshi | May 22, 2005 | Uncategorized
the past posts on this blog may have sounded to some full of anger and even hurt..
as i reread them on this quiet and hot sunday morning, i realised that it may have given to those who do not know project why, am impression far from reality..
so here is a glimpse of what our little planet really is… and above all the spirit that pervades it..
planet why is a beautiful place, where in spite of all the problems and realities that surround it, children find time to be children… a world where adults do not shout at them but laugh with them, where there is love in abundance…
where hurts are healed, problems shared, and solutions found…
it is true that it lacks space and many of the things that a child centred environment should have but does it really matter… children come no matter what…
planet why is a place where the little prince finds a flower to water, and so what if there is no fancy watering can, an old discarded plastic bottle does the job just as well… ans so what if the flower is not a ‘pedigreed’ rose, it is a one that what was planted with care by children often called those of a lesser God!
planet why is a place where difference is celebrated and respected, where each inhabitant, no matter how small or insignifiant in the outside world, is king, at least for the fews hours spent on this planet…
this week is important as a child’s broken heart will be repaired..
so are we simply the planet that repairs broken hearts!
by Anuradha Bakshi | May 21, 2005 | Uncategorized
ashya and fatima are twins
they are 2 years old
all their milestones are delayed
they cannot walk and cry in pain if made to stand
they cannot talk.. nor do any of the things a 24 month child does..
they have been with us for almost a year and have not grown…
ashya and fatima have two elder sisters. the father drives an auto ricshaw and the mother takes on export ‘piece’ work..
the twins are neglected and have severe behaviour problems…
we recently took them to the doctor and were horrified to learn that they had a haemoglobin count of 4.6 and 4.3…
i know we are primarily an education support programme, but then does one sit and do nothing when faced with the tragic reality of these two innocent babies…
as i write these words i shudder at the hopelesness of the situation.. what is the value of two little girls whose chances to a normal life are very remote.. who were born into a society were girls have no place.. but then can one wish them away..
the doctors will give a verdict and a road map which may or may not make up for the lost time.. but then who will implement it.. and above all sustain it..
soon these little girls will become a burden no one will want to carry…
where does one begin…
but then can one just look away…
by Anuradha Bakshi | May 19, 2005 | Uncategorized
By this time next week Arun’s heart will be repaired ..
It should have been done years ago..
Today is the first time I could spend some quality time with this quiet, unassuming child… His tired smile was filled with hope and his frail body spoke volumes ..
Arun speaks in a soft, barely audible, voice.. he seems to have perfected the art of being unobtsrusive, almost invisible..
I wondered what went on in his mind .. Arun has held on to life.. imagine this child has gone through so much medical investigation.. so much discomfort and even pain.. and yet he continued to hold on..
I asked him what he likes eating and he simply said lauki and khichri… I guess this has been his diet for many years, a diet normally given to sick people..
Next week doctors are going to repair a congenital defect, something that would have been done years ago if Arun had been born in your or my home..
I know we will not be able to give him back his childhood, but let us hope Arun will soon lead the life any 14 year old should….
by Anuradha Bakshi | May 19, 2005 | Uncategorized
why is it that if one person thinks you have done a great job then everyone wants to say the same..
then you wonder whether there is any value at all to the ‘awards’ and ‘merit certificates‘ that get thrown at you.
strange that some of those who call and write praising you, have not even bothered to come and walk the hot streets and look into the children’s eyes..
for us at pwhy it has been ‘recognition month‘, newspapers, tv channels rotary Club and more…
I feel both amused and livid when I have to answer a call where after saying that the person wants to do a shoot or interview or hand a piece of paper he quicly asks: by the way what is it exactly that you do? or what is the nature of your work?
A dear friend who holds most of the media of today in contempt is even upset that I accept and go through the motion each time and get hurt almost every time…
But then when you hold the future of trusting children, like the one who sleeps in the picture, in your tired and feeble hands you cannot afford to brush anything away, as maybe, in spite of all the galling occurences, there maybe one person who will reach out…
So you carry on…. and deal with the hurt and the upsets by writing blogs such as this…
And sometimes add a touch of humour laced in sarcasm… as that is the only thing that helps..
Maybe all this is just a reflection of our times, when everyone is in a hurry, where ridng piggy back on others is the accepted norm, where a good story is the one that makes you cry in dispair or run in disgust…
So just as there are food festivals and commercial promotion weeks, there is maybe also pwhy award month
And as all things must past, this is will also go by and we will get back to our normal life.. a little angry, a little sad and a little tired… but ready to move on
C’est la vie!
