This is the 1000th post in my blog. And that got me thinking...How do I make this blog post special? And I did the best thing possible. I decided to let someone else make this post memorable.
Readers of my blog know that I support Project Why, a NGO organization that has done wonders in enabling God's children to express themselves and find rightful place in this world. This organization is run by Anouradha Bakshi , a person whom I have come to admire a lot. Her blog is definitely a revelation for me. This special blog post is titled "Childhood Dreams", read on...
Childhood dreams
It is indeed an honour to be asked to write a guest post on a blog. Blogs are indeed very special private spaces that one must be weary of seeing invaded in anyway. So I begin this post by the very quote the author chose to display for the past few days. "Life is half spent before we know what it is." (George Herbert)
For many of us life is something we chose not to ponder about. It passes by one day at a time and we just let it pass. We react to bits of it with anger, joy, frustration or a mix of all and then simply move on. Most of us do not need to get off the spinning wheel and look back at times gone by. It is only in times of crises, when we are hit by something too large to fathom that we allow ourselves to take stock of our on lives. I recently read The Last lecture, a book by Randy Pausch where the author talks about life as being the platform to achieve childhood dreams. This candid definition was perplexing as most of us like defining ourselves as who we are today: a successful professional, a good homemaker, a enlightened professor and so on. But come to think about it there many such successful or not so successful people. What is it that makes each one of us who we are and I guess the real answer lies in our childhood dreams and desires.
For the past 10 years I have been engaged in what is today known as developmental activities and running what could be called a successful NGO by the name of project why. It has been a roller coaster ride with its share of angst and challenges. But in spite of everything these 10 years have been the best of my life. And knowing myself it is not because of the kudos or the appreciation one has received but because in some way it fulfilled a lost yearning. And as I set out on a long journey down memory lane a long forgotten incident came back to life:
The big bear has just finished the last of his antics. The noose around its snout ensured he did not step out of line. The owner in his tattered and threadbare clothes stands proudly hoping to get a good take. The house is imposing; its inmates look rich.
It is a chilly morning in this small Indian town. A watery sun is trying to break through the late morning mist. The grandmother has specially arranged the show for her 3 year- old grand daughter who has come from across many seas. She gets up and gives the man a few notes. A lot for a simple bear show in times when a few coins bought a lot of ware.
The man still wants to try his luck.
"It is very cold, Memsahib, would you be kind enough to give me an old coat"
The grandmother knowing the game smiles and tells him to go. The man insists. The grandmother raises her voice and repeats her words. The game goes on for a while till the man realises he will get no more and packs up his ware, urges his bear to move on and walks out of the gate.
As everyone gets off the rope chairs that had been laid out in the veranda for the performance a loud wail is heard:
"You are all very mean, you have so many coats hanging in your cupboards and you could not give the man one"
It is the little girl who has been watching the show from a corner, a tad frightened by the huge animal. Maybe she saw much more than the simple antics of the performing bear.
The grandmother and all present try to reason with her and tell her that the man has got a lot of money and must be happy. But the little girl refuses to be quietened and goes on crying and repeating her now almost incoherent pleas.
The grandfather who had remained in his office now comes out to find out what is happening. The little girl is still saying in between wrecking sobs:" you have so many, why did you not give him one".
The grandfather somehow sees beyond the words and simply asks his wife to find a coat and send the house servant on bicycle to find the man and give him the coat.
Only when the servant comes back and tells all present that the coat has been given does the little girl stop crying.
The year is 1955, the small town Meerut.
I had forgotten about this incident and yet when it came back to mind it had lost none of its poignancy. I could still feel the pain, the anger, the helplessness and the relief I had felt more than half a century ago. I also understood why project why came to be and why it is the one and only thing that truly defines who and what I am.
Life is half spent before we know what it is, as to really know what it is we need to have the courage to go way back and find and accept our long lost childhood dreams and seek a way of fulfilling them.
anouradha bakshi
project why
9999079705
skype: projectwhy
drop by:
http://projectwhy.org
http://projectwhy.blogspot.com
http://www.dearpopples.com
Showing posts with label Project Why. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Project Why. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Another Opportunity to make a difference
Readers of my blog know that I support a charity organization called Project Why.
Project Why is going through a crisis ---> A matter of life and death
Here is the story verbatim from Anouradha herself
I am sending this mail as a large ditch effort to save a plot of land that came our way by miracle, and then slipped away for reasons we are yet to fathom. (I am copying a few links below that explain the whole saga should you want to know about it.)
Many may wonder why we do not just land go and carry on the way we were. There are two reasons for this behaviour which could seem out of sync with pwhy.
The first is that this piece of land has come to us at an incredibly low price at a time when property rates are soaring with quantum leaps and we know that we will never get another chance like this.
The second is that we believe that the bewildering string of events that brought this land within our reach is a sign of sorts urging us to walk that extra mile we may not have otherwise as the figures were too daunting.
It is a fact that till now we have always grown organically, each leap propelled by a crisis, a human emergency, a humane need and at first glance this sudden desire to acquire land may seem hubristic and bordering megalomania as are we not the ones who shied away from any form of permanency?
We have in no way altered our spirit. The need to have a piece of land stems out of perhaps the most urgent humane need and finds its seed in the very first crisis we responded to and that saw the creation of pwhy. When we held out our hand to Manu we knew t was to be for life. There was no way we could ever accept him having to go back and roam the streets to survive. That is when we knew that Project had to one day become Planet Why.
Along the way many Manus have dropped in our lives, each needing a place to spend their lives in dignity and peace. This piece of land is the first step towards ensuring just that.
Last week we thought the land was ours as we had a loan that gave us one year to seek the needed funds. Then a large part of the loan was taken away from us and our link to the land became tenuous. We needed to raise 10 lacs in a week to be able to buy two months. Yesterday evening another miracle brought that amount to us and we now have 60 days to come up with the remaining amount.
Had this 10 lacs not come our way we may have just tiptoed out. But once again there seemed to be a sign urging us not to give up.
For a project that has lived hand to mouth and whose funding pattern has been a struggle, raising a huge amount in a short time seems impossible. And yet we feel that we have to do it, more so because we know what the plight of the mentally challenged child is in this land.
We write to you today to seek your help as we know that once again this dream will come true just as every other dream of ours with the help of people who can still see with their hearts. Yes the figures are staggering but every little bit that is handed out with love has the ability to transform into unfathomable riches.
We are of course thinking of ways to raise funds and would welcome any suggestions you may have. One of the ideas mooted has been to have a short film competition. This is something we are looking at.
Enclosed is a case for Planet Why. Please pass it on to your friends, set and who knows another miracle will come our way.
As Christoper Reeves So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
Come on Guys. Let us all do our little bit to support this cause. We cannot be like Anouradha. But we can definitely help her in achieving what she wants to achieve.
Project Why is going through a crisis ---> A matter of life and death
Here is the story verbatim from Anouradha herself
I am sending this mail as a large ditch effort to save a plot of land that came our way by miracle, and then slipped away for reasons we are yet to fathom. (I am copying a few links below that explain the whole saga should you want to know about it.)
Many may wonder why we do not just land go and carry on the way we were. There are two reasons for this behaviour which could seem out of sync with pwhy.
The first is that this piece of land has come to us at an incredibly low price at a time when property rates are soaring with quantum leaps and we know that we will never get another chance like this.
The second is that we believe that the bewildering string of events that brought this land within our reach is a sign of sorts urging us to walk that extra mile we may not have otherwise as the figures were too daunting.
It is a fact that till now we have always grown organically, each leap propelled by a crisis, a human emergency, a humane need and at first glance this sudden desire to acquire land may seem hubristic and bordering megalomania as are we not the ones who shied away from any form of permanency?
We have in no way altered our spirit. The need to have a piece of land stems out of perhaps the most urgent humane need and finds its seed in the very first crisis we responded to and that saw the creation of pwhy. When we held out our hand to Manu we knew t was to be for life. There was no way we could ever accept him having to go back and roam the streets to survive. That is when we knew that Project had to one day become Planet Why.
Along the way many Manus have dropped in our lives, each needing a place to spend their lives in dignity and peace. This piece of land is the first step towards ensuring just that.
Last week we thought the land was ours as we had a loan that gave us one year to seek the needed funds. Then a large part of the loan was taken away from us and our link to the land became tenuous. We needed to raise 10 lacs in a week to be able to buy two months. Yesterday evening another miracle brought that amount to us and we now have 60 days to come up with the remaining amount.
Had this 10 lacs not come our way we may have just tiptoed out. But once again there seemed to be a sign urging us not to give up.
For a project that has lived hand to mouth and whose funding pattern has been a struggle, raising a huge amount in a short time seems impossible. And yet we feel that we have to do it, more so because we know what the plight of the mentally challenged child is in this land.
We write to you today to seek your help as we know that once again this dream will come true just as every other dream of ours with the help of people who can still see with their hearts. Yes the figures are staggering but every little bit that is handed out with love has the ability to transform into unfathomable riches.
We are of course thinking of ways to raise funds and would welcome any suggestions you may have. One of the ideas mooted has been to have a short film competition. This is something we are looking at.
Enclosed is a case for Planet Why. Please pass it on to your friends, set and who knows another miracle will come our way.
As Christoper Reeves So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
Come on Guys. Let us all do our little bit to support this cause. We cannot be like Anouradha. But we can definitely help her in achieving what she wants to achieve.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
An opportunity to make a difference
Readers of my blog would perhaps know that I really do like the activities that is done by Project Why and I do regularly read the blog written by Anouradha, the main inspiration behind Project Why.
Today morning she send out a mail to me mentioning about Nicola. I would request you all to read this blog post first.
She desperately needs to have a hip surgery done and Project Why is taking initiative for it. They are desperately short of Rs.40,000 ($1125). It is by no means a small amount for anyone. But the principle is small drops make up rain. I request you all to contribute towards this noble cause and make a difference to someone whom you really even don't know.
Please do pass this around and pray to God that this amount is obtained soon and Nicola is well soon.
Contents of Anou's mail:
"Dear All
Some of you may have read N's story
http://projectwhy.blogspot.com/2007/06/woman-of-subtance.html
http://projectwhy.blogspot.com/2007/06/all-gods-angels.html
Over the past 7 years we have reached out to many children and even adults but never have I come across an individual more deserving than Nicola.
To see one whose childhood was usurped by predators, whose teenage was hijacked by substance abuse and who anyone, no matter how generous would have written off rise like a phoenix to become a beacon of hope for many is nothing short of a miracle.
When we set out to raise money for her hip operation - subsequent to a road accident - we were given a figure by the hospital authorities themselves.
We managed to raise the required amount with the help of friends in record time.
However last week when N went to the hospital to fix her date of surgery, we were shocked to see that the same hospital had upped the amount by a whopping 40 000 Rs.
This is not the place and time to vent one's anger over this. the fact is the we need to raise the missing amount as N has to have her surgery done as soon as possible.
I am confident that we can all spare a little to help this wonderful person and single mom.
I am sure that like in the past, you will once again reach out and help us overcome this hurdle.
In deep gratitude
anou
ps: in case you have already helped, and this mail recahes you, please just pass the word around!"
Today morning she send out a mail to me mentioning about Nicola. I would request you all to read this blog post first.
She desperately needs to have a hip surgery done and Project Why is taking initiative for it. They are desperately short of Rs.40,000 ($1125). It is by no means a small amount for anyone. But the principle is small drops make up rain. I request you all to contribute towards this noble cause and make a difference to someone whom you really even don't know.
Please do pass this around and pray to God that this amount is obtained soon and Nicola is well soon.
Contents of Anou's mail:
"Dear All
Some of you may have read N's story
http://projectwhy.blogspot.com/2007/06/woman-of-subtance.html
http://projectwhy.blogspot.com/2007/06/all-gods-angels.html
Over the past 7 years we have reached out to many children and even adults but never have I come across an individual more deserving than Nicola.
To see one whose childhood was usurped by predators, whose teenage was hijacked by substance abuse and who anyone, no matter how generous would have written off rise like a phoenix to become a beacon of hope for many is nothing short of a miracle.
When we set out to raise money for her hip operation - subsequent to a road accident - we were given a figure by the hospital authorities themselves.
We managed to raise the required amount with the help of friends in record time.
However last week when N went to the hospital to fix her date of surgery, we were shocked to see that the same hospital had upped the amount by a whopping 40 000 Rs.
This is not the place and time to vent one's anger over this. the fact is the we need to raise the missing amount as N has to have her surgery done as soon as possible.
I am confident that we can all spare a little to help this wonderful person and single mom.
I am sure that like in the past, you will once again reach out and help us overcome this hurdle.
In deep gratitude
anou
ps: in case you have already helped, and this mail recahes you, please just pass the word around!"
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