Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Eclair - new lessons :)


"Even the interaction has a value in itself, the fact that somebody came to them and thought them to be worthy to talk to, will be a memory in their lives. Even if nothing concrete comes out of it, it is a humbling experience for you and a joy forever for them". I keep on looking at her - my professor, lost in the profundity of her words, reveling in every inch of truth in them. I had gone to her with all my worries, how my efforts were not bearing fruit, how things were back to square one, how I could never get a bunch of kids enrolled in a hobby class. And there, she tells me the crux of it.

I had started Eclair with exactly same intentions but had eventually started measuring it by the result of it than the journey throughout. So if the kids were enrolled, I thought 'that' was the achievement, now I know what the achievement was - the joy of laughing together and playing together.

This Tuesday was a memorable one - its a mela outside the temple always, hordes of kids throng the footpath seeking food and alms from the devotees.

And then their didi comes - 'jal didi"! They had laughed at the strange name. Now they wait for the next Tuesday, for another round of fun and frolic and the joy of aiming darts at the dart board and playing with the huge hoola-hoo ring. Suddenly, the world becomes lighter for them and they are kids again, away from the burden of collecting coins which the devotees throw at them from a distance.

"okay - agle mangalwar ko khelenge - bye" - I bid goodbye to the energetic little class, trying hard to convince them that it was time and that I had to return. After a lot of pestering, and playing the game 'one last time', they finally heeded to my call.

"Bye" - I wave at them, "Go back to your homes now" ... I wait for them to depart.

They just stand and look at me, smiling ear to ear and conveying me a world of thoughts through their innocent eyes. Probably, they are amused. Delighted, may be. People by the roadside hardly smile at them, do they?. They've seen people moving past in a hurry all the time, failing to even acknowledge their existence by the side. They had to get themselves noticed always, by shouting, by running wildly in the middle of the road or by just coming in the way of some passers-by. And now, its a new world.

Begging has become a side vocation now, they are here to play and learn.

One of the little girls - Roshni looks at me and says, 'chankyoo'

She somehow remembered the lesson from many Tuesdays back.

"Par kyun?" - I quip.

"Aapne humare saath khela" - she says blushing. And then the rest also shout, "Chaankyoo"

I am all smiles. Its a different feeling :)

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