The Problem- Girl. The Solution- Girl

School chale hum

2010-06-02T03:13:00.001-07:00

One of the most touching videos ever. The music absolutely haunts me!
Covers the beauty and innocence of childhood, the yearning to learn, the yearning to do something... Like the lyrics say 'Roke se na ruke hum, marzee se chale hum, school chale hum' which mean 'We wont stop even if someone tries to stop, we make our own choice, we choose to go to school'

Simply Beautiful!! Makes me want to go back to school again :)

Child Trafficking in India

2010-05-26T18:32:00.001-07:00

These are kind of men we live between... What a pity! What a shame!!

Education Once again

2010-05-26T18:19:00.000-07:00

Once again stressing on the importance of education, this woman is my role model! I aspire to do something like her... Check out the video... 'Contagious' is a good word :)

In Silence

2010-03-19T18:32:00.000-07:00

Do we cry in silence, or do we do something about it?

The Girl Effect

2008-11-19T02:54:00.000-08:00

Thinking about my last two posts,I feel there has been quite a bit of Girl power happening on mah blog.... And the third one is about a GIRL too , ha ha :) :)
Reminds me of a Quote from the 'Alchemist'-
"Everything that happens once can never happen again. but everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time"...

Guess its true!!!! Here goes...

Shehzaadi Baanu ‘Begum’-The True Princess

2008-11-14T22:42:00.000-08:00

Shehzaadi- The Princess of Hearts

A strange and lonely evening it was. I wasn’t complaining though…. I liked being on my own- gazing at the skies, singing to myself. Little did I know that this lonely evening would change my life in more ways than one. It was 6:30 in the evening and the Sun was yet to kiss ‘my’ world good-bye for that day. I call it ‘my’ world because little did I know that as the Sun set, it was one of a kind. It would actually rise the next day to a new world-that wasn’t exactly 'mine'.

So, here I was, all of 18, traveling alone, standing at some station supposed to be the last stop of Bangalore city. I was feeling nauseated with the filthy smell of cow dung that was coming from somewhere near the ‘never-cleaned-in-the-past-2-years’ railway station and heaved a sign of relief when the Blr-Hyd Express finally arrived. Since I hadn’t got a reservation (I decided to go home for the weekend just an hr b4 the train left), I had to squeeze into the Non-reserved Ladies compartment. And I have never despised a moment more in my life as much, as when I put my step inside to see what the compartment
looked like. It was more horrible than I expected. It reminded me instantly of the scene where ShahRukh Khan is shown in the movie 'Swades', sitting in a train amongst rural folk. But this was much worse!! It was annoyingly loud and overflowing with people! The seats were all made of wood (not proper berths) and each one of the ladies there seemed to be fighting even for a foot space, with all the seats up n above already occupied. Most women in the crowd seemed very poor and some probably didn’t even carry dinner with themselves for the journey.

It was tough to find a place to settle down…But to avoid any talks to the people around, I crawled up on the upper berth at a place where a lil’ girl was sleeping. I took her in my arms, sat down n put her head in my lap…She woke up startled, her baffled face asking me Who I was and What was I doing. She didn’t appear more than 9 years old to me. She had very light clothing on her, unsuitable for the weather and when I told her not to worry and get back to sleep, she innocently came back and curled into my lap.

It was a wonderful moment. What I felt then, I still haven’t been able to interpret till today. She woke up a lil’ while later and asked for water, I gave her some from my bag and started a conversation with her. And that’s how she started telling me about her entire life, with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. She told me that she was a servant at a Nun’s and that she was made to do works ranging from washing dishes to cleaning to ironing clothes, but she didn’t frown even for a second, saying all of that. Tears started rolling down my eyes when she exclaimed that she had not seen her mother for 2 years because she had come to know that her family sold her to someone but luckily, the nuns had adopted her and saved her from unpredictable misery and crime. All of ten, this lil’ child had seen the world more than many of us see in 20-30 years and yet had learnt to remain so full of happiness.

She pointed and showed me where the Nun with whom she was traveling was seated. The nun seemed like an epitome of love. Though I didn’t get to speak much to her, all through the journey, I kept admiring her simplicity. Just then I realized I hadn’t asked this girl her name yet..and so I did. and when She told me that her name was ‘Shehzaadi Baanu Begum’, I was taken aback by the name. Iit echoed in my ears… and filled my eyes with tears.

I asked her if she was happy with her life, what did she study, did she go to school? She said she was ‘Ok’ with her life and liked it better now compared to doing nothing when she was sitting at home. She exclaimed that her true moments of happiness are when she is reading and writing Arabic, which she learnt from a teacher, though she dint attend school. She also said people loved her handwriting and it made her feel very special. Oh yeah, that she truly was!!!!
I was not satisfied with most of her answers but what surprised me most was to hear such inspiring and self-motivating words I have ever known and that, from a girl like her, who was kept as a slave and never given proper food or clothing!

I took out a piece of paper and a pen from my bag and asked her to write down her own name in Arabic. She did it and my happiness knew no bounds. I was even more excited when she tried to write my name and said that it was a little difficult but she would surely practice to write that too. The conversation went on and I realized that how miniscule and frivolous the problems in life were, when compared to the circumstances this innocent soul has been through. At 10 years of age, she had seen the world! Not only that, she had never lost her faith in God, ever!!!

We shared dinner I had got and then curled up into my lap the same way as before….it felt really good !I woke up in between the night sometime(thanks to the uncomfortable wooden seats….and found the Nun wide awake, sitting upright!! I asked her and she said that she wouldn’t eat or drink or sleep unless everyone around her has done so too… At this point, I was at a complete loss of words. This girl and the nun seemed more like angels to me, with all they had to say and all they did, they truly were angels!!!

It was 6 am…. The train was about to reach Hyderabad. Shehzaadi Baanu and the Nun had to get down at the first station in the city and the time to part had come. Before leaving I felt like asking their address so that I could visit them. Instead only these few words came out of my mouth-'Shehzaadi, What do you want to be when you grow up?'

She instantly replied that she wanted to be an Arabic teacher. And this time, I was more elated than ever! It was probably the most beautiful answer ever. Her eyes shone brightly and were teary due to the heavy morning fog, but not devoid of Hope, Energy and Happiness. As a person, I had always felt that the toughest thing in the world was to give back what you have got, and dedicate you life to it. Because that’s what teachers did.
I was very surprised at her words and wondered how was it that a tiny depraved soul like hers, knew the inner meanings of happiness, hope and giving!

She got down from the train and walked away smiling; little did she know that this lil’ Princess of hearts had actually changed my life forever.
Its been 3 years since that lonely summer evening. Yet, even now, some days when I feel that I am in the deepest of depressions, Shehzaadi Baanu’s smile revives me and gives me hope- gives me a reason to be happy and the reason to pray. Shehzaadi was special and will always be, she has achieved something people keep pursuing and running behind all their lives- to understand HAPPINESS, and she did that at an age when people don’t even know the meaning of it. That evening, ‘my’ world did change!!!

P.S: Shehzaadi.. I hope you read this someday. After all, its you who taught me the meaning of Hope.

My Angel

2008-11-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

I called you mah 'Angel', you called me yours....

You were mah teacher... And I was yours...

You taught me to learn your language, Braille....

I taught you to communicate with me thru' e-mail.

Alas now thats the only way we shall communicate....

As you move away from me, to a far off place!!

I know its for your greater good...Infact,

The greatest thing that has happened to you!!!

And you deserve it very much dear!!!!

Every bit of it, you do.....!!!!

You are one of the greatest of God's creations;

Your kindness, your patience and your courage...

Make my life seem so full of light...

Its light you cannot see.... But its light you fill mah life with!!

Cheers to your success...

May happiness kiss your feet all the way :) :)

I will miss you!!!!!!!!

SashiRekha is blind.. She is a teacher at the Devnar School for the blind at Begumper, Hyd. She helped me see the world thru' her eyes... though she lost her vision a few years back.

She taught me the basics of Braille script and how to interact with and teach blind kids...

And she is an amazing teacher for sure!!!!!

Her knowledge to use the keyboard(as she cannot use the mouse) can put most of the higly qualified software engineers to shame.. And her hard-work, dedication and courage to rise above the ordinary is an tremendous inspiration to one and all... not to forget, her ever-smiling face... which will make you cry out of happiness!!!!!

She has made a job in TCS-Tata Consultancy Services, and to think abt it.. she cannot see(she is more than 90% visually-impaired)!!! And she is gonna be a techie(just like us) soon!!!!!! She is moving to Mumbai on 15th Nov for her TCS training.

Here's wishing you ALL THE BEST for life to you mah dear friend :) :)

I will miss you no doubt.... Dont forget to email me,ok!!!

Lets fund Children, not schools.. Is this possible in India???

2008-11-02T21:43:00.000-08:00

I came across a brillaint article from Gurucharan Das(a columnist for the TOI) which I am sharing below, but wat I've got here are only the major points for a quick read..

Please do share your opinion about this...... Is this really possible in India???

MEN & IDEAS
Let's fund children, not schools

Indians know very little about Scandinavia — the nations of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Iceland. Some Indian males may fantasise about glamorous Swedish blondes; others lust over the latest Nokia phone from Finland. Geography enthusiasts know it as the land of the midnight sun. Old liberals like me remember Scandinavia for its over-regulated, over-taxed bureaucratic economies that drove away the great filmmaker, Ingmar Bergman, and also the tennis legend, Bjorn Borg.

All this changed, however, after their economic reforms. Scandinavia now combines the best in socialism and capitalism. It has the most caring governments — providing cradle to grave security for its citizens. It has also become amongst the best places in the world to do business. It takes only a day to start a business and a day to close it. You can hire and fire workers with ease. They have cut red tape ruthlessly, almost wiping out bureaucratic corruption. Scandinavia, today, is the envy of the world with the highest living standards combined with the best social welfare.

The most striking lesson for India is from Sweden’s education reforms in the early 1990s. Sweden has decentralised its system — shifting the control of schools from the centre to municipalities — and has given parents a choice whether to send their children to state or private schools (but paid by the state with a voucher). As a result, many innovative, for-profit schools have opened up who compete for vouchers. The number of students in private schools has gone up ten fold, from less than one to over 10%.

One of the most successful is a chain of 30 private schools, which encourages children to learn in small groups and lets them progress at their own speed. Children spend 15 minutes each week with a tutor, reviewing last week’s progress, and deciding on next week’s goals. This information goes up on the website for parents’ review. Successful teachers earn bonuses based on the children’s performance. Nearly 90% of the parents stated in a recent survey that ‘‘school choice’’ and competition have improved the overall quality of education. The poorest are the happiest, for their children can now go to the best schools for free. The ability to exit a bad school gives a poor child the same chance as a rich one to rise in the world.

Although Sweden is tiny compared to India, its school model is worth trying — at least in a few of our cities. Our government schools have failed, teacher absenteeism is rampant, and there is no accountability. As a result, even the poor are withdrawing their kids from government schools and putting them in cheap private schools (that charge Rs 100-200 per month). If any Indian politician were to advocate Sweden’s model — fund children, don’t fund schools — parents would be so grateful that the politician would never lose his seat. The supply of good schools would increase, the poorest child would have the same opportunity as one from the middle class, and government schools would improve because teachers’ salaries would be paid by parents’ vouchers. It would be a Diwali everyday!

Ram and Ali..

2008-08-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

Who r v?

Who's Hindu?

Who's Muslim?

Wen there's "Ali" in Diw-ali and "Ram: in Ram-zan

Help India in being United

Spread this SMS as far as u can, Vandemataram

This is one of the usual SMSes that you get during Independence/Republic Day...or during any sporting achievement...that's when the whole patriotic zeal is at its peak. Oh, I forgot to mention, this also happens during terrorist attacks when everyone is fuming mad at "FOREIGN ELEMENTS" and "ANTI-NATIONAL ELEMENTS". Anyways, so the above mentioned was the SMS that Divya sent me a few mins ago... I'm sure plenty of such messages will start reachin my inbox by midnight tonight. All Hail the Patriotic ferver.

What happens after such days go by?? We start lampooning the system, blasting everyone and everything and blaming anyone that we can find. Rang De Basanti had a good message..If you have a problem with the system, be a part of the system...the movie's a history, the message is soon becoming a history. Every country has their share of problems, everyone deals with them in their own way. Why do we keep complaining?

I will tell you what disgusts me the most. When a person asks me "What caste are you? Are you a north Indian or a Southie? Northies are so and so and southies are so and so..." I mean, enough already. I'm a human being...digest that. Most of us, as kids, have been taught about our respective religions-- Many of us, at least a few of them that I know, have been taught "You're a Hindu, You're different from a Muslim"... Many were encouraged to make friends in their own religion. Many girls I knew were adviced that they get a groom in their own caste and religion. I don't know about my friends on the blogosphere, but it certainly holds true for many I knew personally.

Unfortunately I have elder brothers at home who lambast muslims... the hypocrites that they are, they have their best friends who practise Islam. I am not saying that my brother's are bad...they aren't good either. My maternal grandmother has something against muslims and Pakistanis too. I have tried to talk to her many a times, telling her about the amazing friends I have, who are muslims, but we never went out to be friends with them asking their religion. She always has this "You have not seen what we saw during the days of Independence...it would be difficult for you to understand". I am sure ..it is already very difficult to understand their psyche.

I have told my mom, I would have no problem marrying a muslim...if he's a good person, someone I am compatible with, I could care less about religion. Mom is not religiously inclined, but dad is. Mom says this fact out to a few family friends, just to see their reaction. I am also interested in those reactions which range from utter disbelief to "are you nuts", "are you joking", "you're just saying for the heck of saying it". I've never recieved a single positive response to the whole deal. What I do get is comparisons to the recent Rizwanur Rehman-Priyanka Todi case....and I am not even close to thinking of marrying ANYONE right now. Late last year, a Pakistani chat friend was visiting India, my hometown at that...and he asked me for my number...which I gave without hesitation (I think I trusted very easily...some would call me stupid, but I think I had chatted enough with the guy to understand that he wasn't a "TERRORIST").

He called me up when he was here. We spoke often and he told me how he loved the city and it felt like home...except that it was a bit modern here. He loved the malls, he said and he loved the food. He wanted to go to Agra to see Taj Mahal but they need to get permission to travel to other cities too (I didnt know about this fact). One of his remarks -"The Police treat us like Terrorists..we have to report to the station every few days... and we are asked questions that sort of unsettle us". I found that was really bad on our part. He asked me if I would meet him and take him sight seeing. I said I would. When I told about it to my parents, mom told me dad was skeptical. I couldnt bear to tell him that my parents thought that meeting him would land me in trouble. I kept avoiding him.

I had a chat with him after a few days, and he was in a bad mood. He had finally begun to miss home. He said in the beginning, everyone was good to him. Then they started to compare India and Pakistan, he was deeply hurt that people have a very low opinion about Pakistan. He said "People think all the people there hate India and all of us are terrorists....it is not like that.. we are not primitive cavemen... why cant normal people here think of us as normal human beings and not as Pakistanis or Terrorists or Muslims or whatever". It was the first time I had felt ashamed at my fellow human beings. Even Gujarat Riots didnt rattle me as much as this chat.

He went back, and we never spoke again.

Bottom line is, we keep talking about Uniting a divided India. Its not impossible. Initially I had thought about changing the past and present generation's views on religion. Its a sad reality that past cannot be changed. The present and future is in our hands. And we can do a lot to make it a bright one. Lets not teach our children differentiation...let them be free in their choice.. lets just teach them about the innate goodness that is present in every human being. Lets just warn them about the bad things in the world, and not put a label to it as "So and So did it for So and So reasons and they are so and so". Lets not give anyone or any religion a bad name. Peace to the world...and HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY...to India and Pakistan.

What's the Hurry???

2008-02-17T06:31:00.000-08:00

Hello all you people in a hurry,
I am a new co-blogger on this extremely beautiful blog, where we want to express our voices about our one true love. Our Nation.

So, where was I?? Yeah. Sorry for being so sarcatic. I can't help but do that right now. I just came back from the train station. And....needless to say, it was one of those off-days that things just aren't going YOUR WAY. And needless to say, the frustration about the way things work here got to me....for the umpteenth time.

This is something I have been meaning to write on, for a real long time. But, like every other Indian, I don't seem to have any time AT ALL.

So, where was I again??? Yeah. Train station. We went to drop this aunt of mine from Aurangabad. Most of the people I know, don't bother to take platform tickets. Even if the counters are empty or there are very few people. Well, I am proud to say that I am a very law abiding citizen (like my parents) and HAVE to go by the rule book (yeah some, "COOL" people think it is dumb... whatever!!!). I don't know why there was such a huge rush at the Secunderabad station counters. Normally it isnt that way. Don't know what the deal was.

Anyways, the huge rush....and only two of the 8 odd counters had someone manning them. People were buying train tickets as well as platform tickets from those two counters. And mostly males. My mom joined one of the queues. There wasn't any separate queue for ladies, coz there were like 2 ladies present there apart from my mom and me.

I joined in with my mom coz i didnt want the herd of sweaty men pushing my mom around. It was pretty nasty. I even went to the extent of asking my mom to just forget about the ticket, and just go to the platform without one. She wouldn't listen to me. I thought I'd rather join in.

There was an almost stampede at the counter. It beats me as to why we always build so much, and NEVER fully utilise those services. EVER. 2 out of 8 counters open. Platform tickets being taken at the same place as normal ticket. We eventually got the tickets after being pushed a little bit, and mom seeing my temper for the first time. I was literally shouting at people for cutting the line and pushing the females around.

As usual. I commented,"What animals". It was almost a slaughterhouse and we felt like animals waiting to be chopped off. It was truly irritating, disgusting... and after all, it wasnt the first time that we were experiencing it.

Why the sudden outcry u may ask?? Well, when there is talk of so much modernisation and development, you start expecting certain things to change. And just when you think that they ARE infact changing... you get a rude shock that things are still the same...at many place.

We are developing.... in a very unorganised way. And we are behaving like animals. We dont seem to want to wait for anything. On the roads, we forget our manners, shout all sort of possible expletives, and just look at our convenience rather than what is right. Every Indian identifies with what I am trying to say. Maybe right now, I am too very frustrated to put it all in here.....

I must say that India will not develop as long as its citizens are such self-centred people. I dont think being so unorganised is going to help us in any way.

Why the hell are we in such a hurry???

A Hope

2008-02-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

Today was one of the most wonderful days of my life...
Just when I had thought that there is little Hope in this big bad wicked world,.... the world that had TRUE HOPE sprang up in front of eyes and revealed its existence to me....
It revealed itself to me in the form of kind and modest auto-wallas, in the form of sweet lil' dancing kids with dreams in their eyes , and in the form of a simple and humble person who has been struggling and succeeding at making such a world exist.

I had been planning a visit to the Sphoorti foundation (a simple grassroots organization working for underprivileged children) for almost a month now.. and I was cursing myself that I wasnt able to!! :(
(reasons:my accident after-effects and work pressure)

But I finally got a day where all seemed to fall in place and so i set off from home today morning, full of Hope :) . I had chatted with Srivyal(more on him later) and got the route from him.

I wanted to take chocolates for the kids but he advised me to get notebooks instead.So my first destination was my old stationery shop I always bought my school books from. The uncle was elated to see me after so long,asking whether we were still at the same home n wat my bro was doin now etc.

Some kind and encouraging words came from him as I revealed my purpose for buying the notebooks and it made me smile. After this, I was out of cash and needed to run to the nearest ATM.

I was looking for an auto,franatically checking my watch,just hopin that i dont lose time.And lo and behold, an autowala i knew since childhood came and stopped his auto in front of me. He is actually the brother of the auto-uncle who used to take me to school everyday. He gave me a big smile( I was so suprised he still recognised me even after 8-9 years) and just asked me to sit. He spoke to me and asked me the same Q's as the stationery uncle did and felt very happy to hear my answers. He dropped me at the ATM and dint take any money I offered, his smile and joy filling me with happiness as well.

After a 1-hr bus journey from my place I finally made it to the Sphoorti home where I was ushered in by the 40-odd sweet lil' kids into their tiny abode with excited handshakes and smiles, and all of them introducing themselves to me!

They showed me their collection of prizes and trophies and the gifts they had got for Christmas with the joy unmatched in the entire world..

They danced and sang and sat in my lap as though it meant the world to them...

Well, this is their world after all isnt it....

Lil' kids, with Big eyes, full of dreams and full of Hope... They have so much love to give and they have so much of more within their less to share it with everyone.

Of course there is innocence, but there is strength too.. Most of the kids(age group 6-13) seemed much mature for their age. They were very simple and down-to-earth, so aware but yet uninfluenced by the outside world of badness.

And yeah, now I have to mention about the 1 person who has made these 40 lives beautiful and has given them hope- Mr.Srivyal.

Srivyal is surely one of the people I respect most in my life now! He has dedicated his life to this and his dreams and ambitions have been inspiring for me too.. He is a strong and has an amazing will-power.He is humble and down-to-earth, and more kind than u can imagine. And this I can say because I heard it from someone who has known him for quite sometime and has been a witness to his helpful nature and compassion.

And this was no one else, but an auto-wala again...(God, sorry for having blamed them in my last blog!!)

This time it was an auto-driver Ashok , the one who drops the usual groceries and helps in the other works in making Spoorthi run smoothly, who dropped me from the Spoorthi home till Tarnaka.

He told me that how kind Srivyal was and how he had helped him in many circumstances and had even offered to take his 2 kids into the Sphoorti home for their betterment. Now, thats true compassion!!!!

And then, when he dropped me at the nearest bus-stop and I took a 50-rupee note out, I was so shocked when he was not ready to accept it. I was taken-aback... It could have been 60-70 on meter easily!!! And he said he dint wanna take it bcos Srivyal had helped him too much and he couldnt take it bcos he was doing it for him...

I was speechless and I was so over-whelmed. He just took Rs.10 inspite of me requesting him to accept my money.

At the end of the day, I knew just one thing... There is Hope after all :) :) :)

A really wonderful day it was....

Look who's complaining ..

2008-01-26T08:39:00.000-08:00

I am really pondering about where and how to start off....After all, its my India... my pride, my country, my identity...

I feel India in my heart, my hands...

I see it with my open eyes, helpless hands and a painful heart!!!!

I feel India as I walk past those old huts , still rooted at the same spot, as they were 10 years ago...

I see India in the faces i smile at again and again.., the same faces i have been smiling at the 'kirana' or 'stationery' stores where i bought my toffees and pencils since i was a kid...The dry smile never seems to fade, the emptiness in the eyes is eternal..but there is a difference- an extra pair of lines(read wrinkles) drawn across the forehead and under the eyes...

For most of these people, life never changes...it just goes on and on!!

I see India in the rugged hands of my 'kaamwali baai' ...... in the tears of the lil' girl with messy hair and torn clothes,who stops by my car window asking for a rupia or 2... in the queue of beggars outside the temple with 'katoris' in their hands and.. in the group of kids running behind a cycle tyre(or actually, i must say-the plastic tube) trying to make the best toy out of it!!!

While some of us complain about not having the latest mobile phone/gadget, or do worse-'brag' about havin them,flashing and endorsing them... there are still a few those who dont know wat it feels like to have or feel a mobile/phone in their hands or hear voices thru distances... I feel India in those hands and ears which are yearning to do so.

I see India in the autowalas who look more of 'goondas' , fighting for a rupee or 2 , for change-'chillar' as they call it, and demanding almost double rates or as they wish!!!!

And oh yeah, how can I ever forget our very own magnificent and endurance-proven 2-wheelers supporting 2 adults and 2 kids, or 3 kids is it????(talk abt the Indian-automobile manufacturing wonders)!!!!

The oh-so-exciting Bollywood and the so-called 'news' channels that cant stop talking abt it.....redefining 'news' and making it synonomous with 'gossip'...

I still see most of us complaining.. blaming each other... throwing away responsibilty and expecting some one else to be a Hero or a Leader

And when we dont find one, we are ready to WAIT as its our life-long habit, an Indian trait!!

Wait, to fetch buckets of water, to get rashion every month, at govt. offices, at banks, at the signals.... well,almost everywhere!!!

We dwell and enjoy, rather relish our mediocricity, taking pride in our snobbish and lazy attitudes....

Well I need to stop now... I can go on and on and on and on abt it...

Or may I could write a bit of the conclusion that I've got- 'Yeh India hai boss'

Well, tats the conclusion I have got from others... NOT WHAT I HAVE MADE...

Cos I being ME, can never lose hope...

MY CONCLUSION- India is rising... The Golden bird is about to take off...

I wanna be a part of it!!! DO YOU??????