We arrive bright and early in the
morning to find a large gathering of people waiting under the tent thing for
our interaction today. Today’s session is unique as Rakesh decides to mix it up
and try something new. He gives a small talk. The subject today was poverty.
What is poverty? Have you ever been in poverty? How does it affect a person
mentally, physically and emotionally? Instead of a regular interaction, he told
everybody to divide up into about 10 groups and then each group should hold a
discussion. Ravi and Prashanth and all assisted as the mass of people
segregated. Ravi took the mic.
“Haan,
to hum sab bhai-behen 10 groups banayenge. Jin sabka group number 1 hai, vo sab
yahan (waves hand right) par aa jayen.. Yahan par.. Yeh.. In do cheezon ke beech.. Yeh, kya
kehte hain? Father, in ko kya bolte hain? .... Haan, in ‘poles’ ke beech aa
jayen” (embarrassed smile).
A smatter of laughter followed from the
crowd. Ravi’s childishness was unexpected, but it helped loosen them up,
especially since topic was so heavy.
Each group elected a leader and a
general secretary. Then they held their discussion while Rakesh, Ravi and
Prashanth fluttered between groups and joined in. Once the time was up, the
leader and general secretary came up and shared what the group felt for each of
the questions.
It was interesting to note how different
all the answers from each of the groups were. Sure there were some things that
overlapped, but overall, most of the answers were distinct from each other. But
the end was most insightful. Rakesh spoke about the Millennium Development
Goals (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals)
and how they were all linked to
poverty in some way or the other. So in order to develop any country and help
eradicate a whole lot of its problems, you have to start with poverty.
What perspective! I hadn’t even seen
that coming.. How everything can be tied to 1 thing. Really makes you think..
In the afternoon there was a diverse cultural
program where there were dances and there was a skit on saving the environment
and there was also a qawali sung on national integration. The chief guest was a
young lady councillor, Ms. Renu Adhikari, who, when she addressed the audience,
said how important the issues we were bringing up were and how inspiring it was
to see young people taking the lead in tackling them. It was nice to watch her
on stage. She was wearing a pretty blue sari, and had a very confident quality
about her. She wasn’t afraid to be who she was and she projected that really
well. Something to embibe..
Another young lady, Ms. Richa Raj, gave
an inspiring speech. They announced that she was an Assistant Professor at St.
Stephen’s College in Delhi. She just looked soooo young! Like a student
herself! And she spoke so well about country and how we, as young people, can
make a difference.
A young gentleman, Mr. Bishen Singh
Bhisht, took the stage soon after and spoke in crisp Hindi which was equally
motivational and fiery. He was also a professor in a place close to Kathgodam
(I forget the name). He’s done many collaborations with various NGOs and all
and arranged programs for school and college students. He told me later he had
only written half of what he spoke, the rest just came naturally. I realized
that he just felt so strongly about it that he spoke from his heart. That’s how
it ‘comes naturally.’
Just seeing the energy of these youth in
their respective fields was inspiring in itself. I guess sometimes, we don’t need a famous personality to give us
that push within and derive inspiration. These people showed us that.
Our girls performed their dance drama
today. In many places they performed a Mother Teresa prayer dance, now we got
to see the whole dance drama of which this was a part of. The Mother Teresa
piece was moving on its own, but seeing as part of this larger drama, it
reached a whole ‘nother level. I remember quietly wiping away a few tears while
watching them.
Hats off to our girls! Only a job well
done could trigger that response..
In the evening after the program, a
bunch of us head down to visit the Gola Baraj river close by. It was so
pleasant! And not to mention so beautiful! After so many long days of travel
and non stop programs, this was a very refreshing touch to our stay here. And
especially since we came with the intention of leaving work behind for a bit.
On the way we picked up some samosas and pakoras. The weather was cloudy and a little windy, as though about
to rain. (What some in Delhi call ‘India Gate Weather’) Having the samosas and pakoras here and now was the like the ultimate enjoyment. As they
say, It doesn’t get better than this.
And it doesn’t.
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