Of being helped by those I went to help
Had the most beautiful afternoon yesterday. Visited the Dongri Children’s Home in Bombay. One section of it houses over a hundred children - who have been abandoned/have run away/been kidnapped/trafficked or are away from their families for whatever reasons. Till their families are found, they're housed in this facility.
The beautiful heroes at Ashiyana Foundation - led by Sachi, engage with these children regularly. On every alternate Sunday, they invite interested people to visit this facility and spend time with the children to try and bring some happiness to them. I'd been wanting to go ever since my friend Gurpal bhai told me about this and I'm so happy I finally did.
In the expansive hall where we spent time with them, the kids spread out depending on what interested them. Some children sat with a guy who brought his guitar and sang songs. Some did drawing with a few girls who loved the art form. Some did a clowning workshop by Natraj. Some crowded around the TV to watch ‘Chillar Party’. Some played Ludo, some played Carrom. Some played cricket with me and a few others. Some hung around away from all of us, watching from a distance but too uncomfortable to join in, perhaps they had come in recently and would take time to come to terms with what has happened.
So many of the children just wanted to hug you, to hold you, while they expressed their desire to go home and be reunited with their families. There was this mute boy who was amazed by my height and he play-acted a whole scene where we cooked together and fed each other some food before he picked up an imaginary bag and left for work. Some children had so much anger and micro-aggressions came out on small, little things. We don’t know what trauma they have passed through and so needed to handle situations with sensitivity. This boy who kept fighting with others while we were playing cricket, hugged me while we were leaving and said “Achha promise ab nahi ladunga, aap kal zarur aana”. I also remember this boy who kept holding on to me and just wouldn’t let go at the end, saying “bohot achha laga aap aaye, bas ghar jaana hai”.
The most moving moment for me was when one of my co-visitors, a fantastic singer - Vipin Heero, started singing ‘Allah ke bande’ with the kids and Gurpal bhai asked to explain the lyrics as well. I have a special connection with that song since it was the first song I had ever sung in public. As Vipin played the guitar and he and I sang this song, I took a shot at explaining the lyrics to the children there. “Toota toota ek parinda aise toota, ke phir jud na paaya”, “loota loota kisne usko aise loota, ke phir udd na paaya”, “girta hua woh asmaan se aakar gira zameen par, khwabon mein phir bhi badal hi the, woh kehta raha magar”, “ke allah ke bande has de, allah ke bande, allah ke bande has de, jo bhi ho, kal phir aayega”. In trying to teach the meaning of these lyrics to the children, I ended up learning so much! I realised the true meaning of these words for the first time, I realised how the song was talking about hope - where a broken, stripped bird kept dreaming of the clouds, asking you to laugh saying tomorrow shall be another day. Explaining ‘hope’ to a group of children who are away from their families and do not know if and when they shall be reunited, with ‘Allah ke bande’ playing in the background - there was some magic there!
Such experiences remind you to treasure the life you have and to try and be more compassionate, more sensitive to the ones who don’t have what you do. I strongly recommend all Bombayites to participate in this magical initiative by Ashiyana and Sachi, with amazing supporters like Gurpal bhai. If you’re interested, tell me and I’ll connect you.
You think you’re going there for the kids but once you do, you realise it was for you!