Well, as most of my friends (and definitely, my managers) knew, I was really desperate to get back to Chennai for my birthday. Partially, cause for once in my career, I wanted to spend my birthday with family but more importantly, I was eager to see Kamali Atte’s activities at the various NGOs she works with.
The only one we were allowed to go to was the Chennai Street Child Project sponsored by World Vision. It was the usual birthday so go there and distribute lunch. Then atte got the brainwave (Dad obviously will take credit so let’s see) to add another packet containing soap, toothpaste and other hygiene- related stuff as well. Granny thought that it would be better if I went at the end of the class just to distribute the stuff and return. Obviously, she’s been confusing me with my Dad a lot nowadays. 
So I went to actually attend the classes that my aunt kinda teaches. There is an employee Anandi who does the teaching but my aunt also adds her own perspective to all the discussions. The “school” basically is conducted for an hour and a half at the local church. There is no classroom and stuff. Everything is taught under the shade of massive coconut trees. Interestingly, one of the questions that was being discussed was “What all do coconut trees provide?”. The question of whether they provide shade was a divisive one 
Anyways, after that the discussion veered into “Tell us 5 personality traits about you.” where every kid had to get up and talk about his/ her good and bad character traits. It was a heart-breaking experience. Kids with smiles on their faces standing up and talking about how they steal, lie, fight with their parents, hate studies, and don’t go to school. But with this huge smile on their face like their lives were like a wonderful experience. These are street kids remember? I mean once, my aunt asked “How many of you took a bath today?” Half the class raised their hands. Next question: “How many took it at the railway station?” 90% of the those who took their baths raised their hands. No problem? “Well, the police officers were on the other platform and so we didn’t get caught!” Getting caught to ensure hygiene? Maybe we should think about that time we see some kid cutting a water tube and using that to fill his bucket. What was real funny was these kids would talk about 4 of their character goods/ bads and then go “I lie as well”. It was hilarious and kept me all happy when they would say 4 bad things about themselves and then go “I also lie” Yay! In fact, these kids opened up like a champagne bottle’s cork top. It must have been incredibly difficult at the beginning to get these kids to open up. I’ve seen it at NASEOH. You need to build a level of trust to get them jumping around like this. For which Anandi gets a paltry Rs. 2000/-. Even hers was a heart-wrenching story. Mom suffering from diabetes. The only job offer she has is one in Sriperumbudur which is about 30 km from Chennai which she can’t take because of her mother. What was driving her in this endeavor is her passion
One kid called Lateef (in the photo – top right kid) kept getting called off again and again for misbehaving. Man this kid was sharp as a tack! When he got caught for not paying attention time and again (it was obvious), he was able to repeat what he apparently wasn’t listening too. Later I found out, he was a kind of ringleader among these kids. Very promising kid. I just hope he doesn’t stray off this path. Especially when Anandi told us how both his parents were absolute drunkards and never cared about his progress in school or otherwise.
In all this despair, what really kept all our spirits high was this constant giggling and joshing around by these kids. When my aunt got them to do some basic stretching and stuff, it was chaos all around. And an incredible fun kind of chaos. All the kids apparently like to sing and dance! Which was really really cool.
It really took me back to NASEOH when we were never too busy (especially during exams) to take a Sunday off and just spend it in a worthwhile way. I wonder where all those Sundays went. But there are a few things I need to say:
How lucky I am because I could be on the streets today like these kids.
How lucky I am that I have never been abused, molested or harassed
How lucky I am that I have a home to go back to
How lucky I am that I go back to parents who love me
How lucky I am that my parents have ingrained in me my good habits. The bad ones I picked up inspite of them.
How lucky I am that the only thing I have to complain about is my work habits and that I don’t like my job too much. Not that I have nothing to eat, spent the nights in jails or go home to drunk parents.
How lucky I am that I got a chance to appreciate this.
Best Birthday Ever !!!
