10 days…40 awesomely amazingly inspiring people…one
constant feeling…overwhelming!!
When I started this journey, I was like a blank
slate, no emotions, not even excitement. There was a deep sense of acceptance
and somewhere a sense of relief that I was finally getting down to some action.
Last
year in the month of April, I visited Chitrakoot – A model village in Madhya
Pradesh. It did not take me long to realize that this is what I see myself
doing, this is where my passion lies…reaching out to the unreachables, giving
them access to equal opportunities for development and growth. I went through a
big emotional turmoil, for the expectation mismatch at the family took a toll
on my patience. I did not know how to convince them that this is what I want to
do. At the end I decided to stay back in Mumbai!
From the beginning the intention of getting
involved in Rural Development was with a philosophy of Prevention. Everyday I
would see tens and hundreds of children working at a tender age, most of them
had come from their villages in search of better future to the cities. As an
outsider, looking at a situation objectively I could see how badly they were
trapped in the vicious circle.
How can I change this? How can I work towards
giving a childhood to every child? How did it all started? From where can I
start? Many such questions only led my belief to become stronger – We need to
work at the root, at the source, our villages!!
Within 4 months of starting my work in Mumbai,
I was ready to go to Lucknow and start our work in some of the villages in
Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh. On the night when I was to board the train
from Delhi to Lucknow, I was being called back by my family because of a
medical emergency which sort of rose due to my travelling to Uttar Pradesh.
Words still fail to express what I went through
in those 24hrs. Tears weren’t enough to express the grief, the anger, the
frustration and the helplessness. I felt as if I was being asked not to breathe
or not to live!! Even after I came back to Mumbai, this became a very sensitive
topic of discussion within family – Working in Uttar Pradesh!!!
I wouldn’t
say I wasn’t aware, I knew from the beginning that this is not a very easy
state to work in but at the same I knew the most that the state required interventions,
about time!!!
Months passed, I was finding new ways of
addressing the symptoms of the problem in Mumbai. Identifying and addressing
gaps in the systems, in the processes. Part of me was getting used to it and
but there was still a part which would yearn for otherwise!!
And then came May 4th and a very
quick glance on the facebook post of a friend and next thing I knew, I became part
of Gramya Manthan!!
Event during those 10 days, it was hard for me
to identify with one particular feeling that remained for long. The environment
was so intense that there were tens of emotions running through my veins at the
same time but deep down inside I was a lot at peace. I felt so belonged there….every
moment!! Be it interacting with super energetic friends, be it sitting in silence
experiencing the nature, travelling by bus everyday to the villages, walking in
the fields, talking to the fellow villagers….every moment was like a
meditation, I was there…in the moment totally!!
The feeling personified the last day when I was
standing in front of about 100 villagers, talking to them about how we can
together create a change and I could see that I really did not had to take any
efforts, the conversations were just flowing. And Yes!! That day there was a
feeling of satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy that my belief got reinforced –
Yes I do belong here!!!
And right now, after the program I am feeling
deeply committed and motivated. I know I can and I will be a part of the change
that we all are working to create there!
As I close my eyes I see – Anshu (the little
girl I met in Paliya), Avanish, Rangoli, Bhabhi, Aarti, Ankit, Mangoli and many
such wonderful people, gathered in front of Masterji’s house, giggling and
playing games.
What brings smile on my face is to see Udit, Sudha, Praneet and
my other fellow changeagents around and what makes my eyes sparkle is to see a
big soulful smile on Prakhar’s face :-)!
Feel blessed and grateful to Gramya Manthan, to
Prakhar, Kishan, Shubha, Neeraj, Sanjiv Bhaiya, Rajiv Bhaiya for being part of
such a memorable experience, to my fellow change agents for the love that you
gave and to the existence for the experiences that I experienced!!
There is no looking back now…the dawn is
finally here!!!
