Update from Nidhi Bajaj; Asia Pacific Anita Award Winner 2010
Hello everyone! Here is another update on this memorable trip that we all are enjoying in my country ‘India’…
Being from India, for me, this journey has not been about the places I visited but about the people I met and the things I learnt! I feel I have been the most fortunate to have a company of such amazing people during this journey. I have been enjoying this trip more than my anticipation, courtesy: them!
Summing what all we did in the past four days in few paragraphs is a rather tough job and also unjust to the amazing journey we have had, so I will stick to the reflections of the 4th day and leave the other days for my friends!
We dedicated this day to TAABAR, a foundation funded project which has been doing highly appreciable work in the area of protection and education of destitute and run-away children! We arranged for a picnic for all the 35 kids staying at the TAABAR home at a village resort in Jaipur. I have volunteered for this organization many times before this visit, met the children and the staff staying at the shelter home many times, yet this visit was very different from all others…It was a wonderful experience!
We did it all; ate typical Rajasthani food, danced with desi thumkas (Indian Bollywood dance moves), played cricket-badminton-clap games-ball-and what not, enjoyed every moment of our interaction with the kids, learned about the Rajasthani culture. But most importantly we UNLEARNED! Witnessing the children enjoying their present to the fullest without mourning over their past made me unlearn the notion that present day’s happiness is dependent on past experiences! Seeing the genuine smiles on their faces after receiving gifts from Michael made me unlearn the attitude of taking things for granted…for what is ‘Nothing-So-Special’ for us is a luxury for them! They made me unlearn the thought of trying to seek happiness when actually it is present within..all that is required is to break the shackles of self restriction and get over the notion of a social image.
Well…with a fear of sounding too preachy, let me avoid detailing on my reflections and start describing the day! It was a perfect setting, a village resort depicting the country side culture which indeed was a great experience for all the visitors to India; at the same time a place with two huge play groungs, swings and paddle boating for the children! All this complimented with delicious food made our day!
One of the most memorable activities of the day was the ice-breaking session initiated by Lindsey and Marianne…It was fantastic to see the children coming out of their shells, showing their true selves..some shy, some very forth coming, yet all having one thing in common…the genuine efforts they were putting in to communicate their feelings and that too very successfully inspite of the language barrier! Following that was a dance session…which was the time the children completely took over the control..they soon assumed the role of our trainers and everyone had some dance move to teach…can’t help but smile when I think of it! In India…and no cricket!!!!! IMPOSSIBLE! We all divided ourselves in teams with the kids playing captains…and what fun! Every 4 or 6 was complemented with music with the beats of ‘Dhol’ (Indian Drum). The players awaiting their chance to bat, could not not restrict themselves outside the field so they soon jumped in to play ball…it was the first ever cricket field having more than five balls during the match…amazing isnt’t it? Tired after the match everyone moved for lunch…served in the true Rajasthani style- cross legged we sat on the ground, with food served in plates made of dried leaves and the glasses made of smoked clay! The hospitality is worth mentioning- the waiters wore traditional garments: dhoti kurta with a turban on, they even let us take pictures with their turbans on..it was a sweet gesture of hospitality! Post lunch we were all very tired yet we could could not see even a slight decrease in the energy level of kids…there was no stopping!!!
This day has been very insightful for me and I am taking back a lot of cherishable memories with me! I hope to be coming back to TAABAR for volunteering purpose more often than before, although I know what I experienced this time is the most precious on account of my wonderful and like minded friends on the trip who all have done something very special to make the world beautiful in some sense.
Before penning off…I am making an earnest request to everyone reading this blog to wish all those kids a very happy and satisfied life ahead which helps in diminishing their pains and forget their hurt!
