Volunteering Blues

You just cant miss this stuff if you are in Bangalore, specially if you are with Prasant Mohanty and Smitha MM. I came across these two unique people during my stay in Satyam.Well,as my previous write up goes,I just wanted to do something for the society and got determined.The change in was much like Shah Rukh Khan of “Swades”, only the situations I was put in were very different from it.When I went into Jogupalya school for the first time, I was taken aback by the magnitude of life the school possesed despite the fact that development in that school was fully lopsided.Government barely bothered about the school, and it had gone through every phase of being pulled down.The sheer strength of the teachers and their very strong will to keep it going,somehow, made the school, brave and a true temple of learning.Tamil school children didnt , have a decent pair of clothes to put on,not even a pair of footwear.Children were not even clean,and came to school only to get a mid day meal. The first thing which came to my mind was my school education. Costly school,the facilities which we had, the necessities there which are by far a luxury here.I was suddenly very determined to do everything to make that school develop.It was a task beyoned an individual’s reach.Then I met few people who directly were not very effective as a volunteer but were highly determined for the jobs.Mayank,Karthik,Sumit ,Vikram to name a few.These people had given a lot of time of their lives for volunteering and trying to bring about change.Change in mindset of people,change socially,economically and making India truely shining.

These people gave me a different kind of strength.Whenever I met them,I felt that the future of people whom they are working for is secure because they were so dedicated to the work.The most peculiar thing which I noticed in all the slums is, that people are very sceptical about sending their children to schools, always blaming the financial conditon.This however is not true in many cases and even the BPL (Below Powerty Line)people can send their children to government schools,as they dont charge a fees, give uniform ,books and one time meal to all the children.

One of the most emotional momeents in my volunteering experience was in Sathi. I heard 3 stories in a day.Reality is so hard hitting,that sometimes we also tend to lend a tear or two to its name.That day I met 3 kinds of chidren, innocent, distressed and misguided.They all seemed to me as the common denominations or I would rather call them the true representatives(picture) of indian children.

The inncocent child had gone to play cricket near the railway station, just wanted to see a train and he didn’t even think in his wildest dreams,what experience this small wish of his will bring to his life.He wandered from his home reached hyderabad and then bangalore.A child of 11 years,dosent know any language other than Marathi and dosent see his parents for days together.When we are 11 years old we are so protected, that we never think of such a situation. When I tried to see world through his eyes, and it was a horrifying experience.The child says to himself, “I don’t know where this thing is going?where is father,where is mother, where is shivaji?how far is my home from here? why doesen’t anyone answer my questions,?who knows marathi?which place is this?”.Imagine to find food and shelter after days of travelling and that too with so many boys in the similar situation.This boy when he was talking to my friend Imran in Marathi,was not ready to part with him and suddenly found a sense of security in this unknown world,where he was plinged into darkness by a small act of innocent negligance.

The stories of being distressed and misguided were very similar to movies.As they told about those,I was wondering,what are we doing to our future.People are fighting to save higher education from the cluches of Quota system,we are fighting to give basic primary education to the children,give guidance to the youth,give them motivation to come back and study,become respectable people,earn and give back to their families.

My dream as a volunteer is to give education to each and every person in India.This although seems farfetched and highly difficult,I am sure someday we will make to most educated nation in the world.Once this happens,it will trigger a chain of events which will create an ecosystem of love,peace,prosparity and of course happiness.

52 Number Bus

Our life is full of associations, all kinds real and virtual. Some associations are there by default and some we do by choice.Some associations ie the virtual ones are neither by default or by choice.These happen by themselves.We dont come to know when these actually happen. I wanted to talk about one such association.It is the 52 number bus of Ahmedabad Municipal Transport Service.

There is a small poem on these associations which I want to share:

In love we get connected,

When we’are happy or dejected,

to everything aorund us,

whether it is a flower or it is a bus.

I also got associated with something,

which i also felt a strange thing,

the 52 number bus it was,

looking at which my mind used to pause.

When ever I saw it It gave me her thought,

 this always made me feel distraught.

But some things are bound to change,

Love is lost and people become strange.

These associations hoever live forever,

It reminds me now of all the good times we had together.