Life

Vaishali, the name still lingers in my mind…the eyes still haunt me…its been 2 yrs , n I had enough reasons in life to forget her…but her face is still vivid in my memory. I m talking about a 3 and a half year old whom I met in samparc, an orphanage in Malavali, near Lonavala
We(our office group) could manage to go there 2-3times in our pint-sized attempt of spending some quality time with the kids …
we had a chance of meeting around 80 children…every child special in his/her own way…how we got the idea of visiting the place, how did we conduct the sessions there is not what I wish write here…

It’s there, where I met Vinayak, a boy studying in 4th grade…he sang the “powada” (its type of folk song sung in praise of Shivaji Maharaj) with pride …
Later that evening while on our way back, I had a chance of speaking with the concerned authorities. And the first question that popped up in my mind was about the know-hows of at least some of the kids…I simply couldn’t comprehend how could have “he” or “she” …actually almost all of them, land in there….
I wished I could get answers to few of my questions…But, the answers were appalling. I so very wished them to be far more different…or maybe they were far better unanswered. Nevertheless, they were all real!!!

Vinayak’s parents had committed suicide in front of him, when he was merely a kid studying in third grade… they avoided facing AIDS and preferred facing death …But what was Vinayak’s fault…he had to face it all for no mistake of his… the gruesome memory of which was still very clear to him…no doubt…he remembered it cut to cut..Scene to scene…date and time …and almost everything that could have happened that day…
A trauma for his entire life…but I will always remember him for the “powada” he sung…with pride, courage and confidence…

Vaishali – the youngest kid who was 3.5 yrs old and who was with the organization right from the age of 2 months…she had a phenomenal magnetism in her…she had big, dark black eyes! What was astonishing about her was the way she gelled with everybody…with ease… she hardly needed any introduction …you smile at her , and she will smile back at you stretching out her arm , her fingers sliding gently in yours…without even your realizing it…
Vaishali was an unfortunate daughter of a sex worker…who was left with no other option but to leave her at Samparc..

Then there were Baby (she had landed there from a remand home, nobody knows how she landed up there), Jayashree, Abhishek (proudly donning the name …since he shared it with his favorite actor Abhishek Bachhan) …
Every child had an heart wrenching story…and everybody was fully aware of their stories…But the best thing was this didn’t at all hinder their confidence – to live life , to enjoy life , to learn different things…Everybody came up with variety of ideas when asked to picture their imagination…
Their past did not stop them for thinking out of the box, did not limit them, their creativity. They all had a dream of who they wanted to become after growing up…and again it wasn’t a typical goody-goody answer but real answers…

I can go on and on…

I know there are so many vaishalis and vinayaks …
I am pretty sure that somewhere it would have been extremely difficult decision for their parents too...
Its sad that how can circumstances be so bullying that you have to take such ghastly decisions…
As an outsider, I feel connected to them in hardly 2-3 meetings, definitely it would have been the most painful moment for be it Vinayak’s parents or Vaishali’s Mother…

Or may be I don’t know…

Today almost two years later, I still remember them all, and also the promise that I had made to myself…..

While saying a good bye, I was thinking of what I can get for them the next time I visit, was just trying to remember everybody’s choices, hobbies…trying to figure out how maybe I can manage to get some funds from people I know who might help, or may be some nice clothes…etc…my thoughts were suddenly stopped by Baby, who with 3-4 other kids came running behind me calling out my name.. “Didi, we wanted to gift you something…and she gave me a beautiful hand made greeting card …with a message saying “thanks for spending time with us…do come again”…