As I was growing up, Children’s Day always left an indelible impression on me for it was one day out-of-the-blue that made us feel special without reason, during a time when we always yearned to be loved and pampered, childhood. This Children’s Day a few friends from work and I decided to experience that feeling all over again! We planned a visit to a school for the less privileged and to partake in their festivities.
We were guided by a gentleman from an NGO which has adopted many schools and was celebrating Children’s Day with the kids. We were going to be part of a group that was to conduct some activities planned for kids and mingle with them. The four of us took off late in the afternoon but what awaited us was startling! The school wasn’t actually “a school”, it was more like a loft with a staircase so narrow that it would necessitate an adult to squeeze through the passage, so steep that one had to climb like it were a ladder and so out-of-place that it appeared from no-where in a badly lit, dingy two feet wide alley which also had an open sewer flowing in between. But this wasn’t the startling part! What was startling was that the little six feet by ten feet loft housed close to forty kids, some innocent angels and others, the rambunctious kind, bubbling with exuberance nothing short of what I felt the day we were going to watch Jurassic Park at school! Notwithstanding the claustrophobia, the chaos and the sultry swell, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling away in the company of these kids.
One of the girls also welcomed us in English and I must say it was very impressive. After getting the kids to settle down we decided to kick-start the proceedings. The first game that we were to play with them was ‘Housie’ (also famous as ‘Bingo’). The rules of the game were explained, the stubs distributed to all the kids and game about to begin when one of the volunteers from the NGO suggested that we also play the game with the kids. I thought it was a wonderful idea to be one with the children and gladly accepted my stub!
The game started off with royal applause and advanced with happy pandemonium, the children hooray-ing when they could strike-off numbers on their stubs and others boo-ing when their stubs didn’t have the number announced. I was doing pretty well myself and my colleagues were awed too! In the middle of this happy commotion my eyes glanced a cherubic girl of seven, may be eight! We were almost half way through the game and everyone seemed to be animated but she was sitting dejected and uninterested and the reason wasn’t too difficult to discern. She had barely struck out any number on her stub and was feeling let down by the lack of serendipity. With every passing number she let out a muted sigh and her demeanor turned graver.
Immediately, I squatted by her side and showed her my stub on which all the numbers but two were already struck out! I quickly grabbed her stub, gave her mine and whispered, “now, you have only two to go!!” She looked back at me, smiled for the first time, her eyes reflecting a magical glint. Almost like she were injected with a potent dose of insta-pep, she was now happily swaying, hurriedly comparing stubs with other children, tugging at my trouser tightly before each number was called, making vivified pleas for the numbers she wanted and cat-calling when the numbers didn’t match with those on her stub. I couldn’t contain my excitement too. As the game progressed we rooted together for the two numbers on her stub.
We were guided by a gentleman from an NGO which has adopted many schools and was celebrating Children’s Day with the kids. We were going to be part of a group that was to conduct some activities planned for kids and mingle with them. The four of us took off late in the afternoon but what awaited us was startling! The school wasn’t actually “a school”, it was more like a loft with a staircase so narrow that it would necessitate an adult to squeeze through the passage, so steep that one had to climb like it were a ladder and so out-of-place that it appeared from no-where in a badly lit, dingy two feet wide alley which also had an open sewer flowing in between. But this wasn’t the startling part! What was startling was that the little six feet by ten feet loft housed close to forty kids, some innocent angels and others, the rambunctious kind, bubbling with exuberance nothing short of what I felt the day we were going to watch Jurassic Park at school! Notwithstanding the claustrophobia, the chaos and the sultry swell, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling away in the company of these kids.
One of the girls also welcomed us in English and I must say it was very impressive. After getting the kids to settle down we decided to kick-start the proceedings. The first game that we were to play with them was ‘Housie’ (also famous as ‘Bingo’). The rules of the game were explained, the stubs distributed to all the kids and game about to begin when one of the volunteers from the NGO suggested that we also play the game with the kids. I thought it was a wonderful idea to be one with the children and gladly accepted my stub!
The game started off with royal applause and advanced with happy pandemonium, the children hooray-ing when they could strike-off numbers on their stubs and others boo-ing when their stubs didn’t have the number announced. I was doing pretty well myself and my colleagues were awed too! In the middle of this happy commotion my eyes glanced a cherubic girl of seven, may be eight! We were almost half way through the game and everyone seemed to be animated but she was sitting dejected and uninterested and the reason wasn’t too difficult to discern. She had barely struck out any number on her stub and was feeling let down by the lack of serendipity. With every passing number she let out a muted sigh and her demeanor turned graver.
Immediately, I squatted by her side and showed her my stub on which all the numbers but two were already struck out! I quickly grabbed her stub, gave her mine and whispered, “now, you have only two to go!!” She looked back at me, smiled for the first time, her eyes reflecting a magical glint. Almost like she were injected with a potent dose of insta-pep, she was now happily swaying, hurriedly comparing stubs with other children, tugging at my trouser tightly before each number was called, making vivified pleas for the numbers she wanted and cat-calling when the numbers didn’t match with those on her stub. I couldn’t contain my excitement too. As the game progressed we rooted together for the two numbers on her stub.
Soon the game was over, the two numbers were never called, another kid claimed victory but the outcome of the game was meaningless for I knew that the little girl had already won. She was enlivened and raring to play the next game and that was a moment of revelation to me. I realized that these less than fortunate kids need not your material favors or protracted munificence, all they need is hope, a hope that strongly conveys to them that are also part of the race, the race in which winning doesn’t matter but running most-definitely does… the race of life!
PS: To those outside India, November 14th, the birth anniversary of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister, is celebrated as “Children’s Day” in India to honor his sempiternal fondness for children
6 comments:
That's a sweet post. And it was a very nice thing to do by your n your friends... I am sure it felt great. And of course you know that Children's Day is special to me as well. Thanks for the wishes :)
Wow! The way you've described it is deeply moving.
Jaya: If Children's Day was special during childhood for all the fun-at-school, it has most definitely been memorable the last few years on account of a good pal's birthday, thanks for dropping by!
Kirthi: Nice to have you here! Jest like old times, eh? :)
very well written.and ofcourse enjoyable..I could picture the lil girl.I also relate to her. I am also stricken with lack of serendipity. i feel bad that no angel has yet given me a stub with most numbers struck out..but I think her example has had an edifying effect on me ! maybe I should also remain animated and raring!
p.s- do u think that I would've needed to squeeze through that narrow passage??-kadambari.
K!! --> My .. my, look who was here! Thanks for the kind words. Btw you ARE animated and raring, if not overtly so :) And angels generally tend not to help fello angels, now you know why you don't find winged fairies in white fluttering around you!
p.s- You didn't pay heed to what was written about the 'squeezing through' bit I reckon. It applies to grown-ups whereas you are a ... he he. Be good missy.
he he ..very unfunny."..." now it appears to me that you don't pay heed to whatever u have written..how can u contradict something u've written?it says an 'adult'...Its ok.I'll try and not mind it at all..
p.s- btw, I am not convinced in your explaination...why don't they help people of their ilk? Didn't they learn 'charity begins at home?'....-kadambari.
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