Right to Education

Amidst the daily dose of depressing news that today’s media delivers, I will tell you an incident with an extremely positive and happy content. Of course, this will never find a space in the daily newspapers we read or the news channels we surf, but it surely deserves a space in my blog.

On 1stApril 2010, India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child. I like many became aware of it, but never experienced its effect on the grassroots. This was to change from January 2012, when my work brought me back to New Delhi. I started residing in Shahjahan Road with my parents and was introduced to a remarkable lady – Savitri, a quintessential household help seen abundantly in the National Capital Region.

Savitri, was not only efficient in her work but had a very optimistic approach towards life. Although, an uneducated lady she possessed a very modern outlook. Was her constant interaction with the families of bureaucrats residing in the colony the reason to this attitude or her zeal to improve her and her family’s life the reason, this is something I am unaware. The day I stated to interact with Savitri, I saw a very intelligent women in her, she grasped things quickly was a keen and eager learner and asked appropriate and clever questions. In many of her conversations she showcased regret and misfortune for not being educated, but in those same conversations she showed determination to educate her baby girl. Her entire dreams were woven around her daughter’s upbringing.

One evening when I returned from work, I was introduced to an adorable smartly dressed toddler in our house – Savitri’s daughter, Ayushi. In a very polished manner she exchanged pleasantries with me with her toothless smile and stuttering speech. Like any other kid, she was adamant not to go to school and wanted to play the entire day. I was instantly in love with her and played and joked around with her. Ayushi had traits of her mother -Intelligent, quick and eager learner. In our half an hour of interaction she learnt how to operate the IPOD. Savitri, insisted I make Ayushi realize the importance of school and asked me to teach Ayushi something new everytime we met.

As spring came, the day also came to enroll Ayushi in a preschool. Ayushi was admitted in a government aided school, but Savitri was not very keen with the atmosphere of the school. She complained to my mother about bullies in the school, the teaching methods and also the school’s distance from home made the little girl’s commute troublesome.

The prestigious, Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School, was just stone throw away from our house. Its proximity is so that we would wake up to its morning assembly and hear the marching beats for several days prior to the sports day. My mum, this school’s alumni, suggested Savitri to try for the school and mentioned the 25% reservation owing to the right of children to free and compulsory education act. Savitri, was excited to hear this and rushed at the first instance to the school’s premises to enquire. Her excitement was short lived as the authorities told her that the seats were filled and she would have to try next year.

Savitri set her goal for the entire year. It was to prepare Ayushi for this elite school. She decided to leave no stone unturned to make Ayushi the appropriate fit for it. Many lend their hand in her entire year’s quest, our neighbor tutored Ayushi every evening and helped her with every subject, my mum helped Ayushi speak grammatically correct English with the correct diction, my father gave his letter of reference and monitory help whenever required.

By the end of the year, I was preparing my shift to Sydney with my husband, I would occasionally meet Ayushi and she would surprise me every time with her new learning. Finally the D day came. I was talking to mum on Skype and Savitri interrupted by asking me to pray that all goes well. Ayushi, gave a very good interview, the selection committee was impressed with her, since she was residing within the 1 km radius of the school this added to her favour. The next day the big news came, Ayushi, was selected to start studying in Raghubir Singh Junior Modern School. A prominent school of New Delhi, for which parents lobbied extensively to get their kids admitted. Add to the absolute joy was the fact that she would be educated free of cost throughout her schooling and all her expenses related to academics would be borne by the school.

Today, Savitri is a proud mother; Ayushi, in her own sentences looks forward to study in the school where there are beautiful swings and lovely gardens to play. Ayushi’s tutor our neighbor can’t stop smiling on her pupil’s achievement. My parents and I are delighted and are very happy for Savitri’s family. Above all, we are thankful to this wonderful act by the government that aided to fulfill this mother’s dream and none of us misses any opportunity to narrate this tale of success!

 

Able or Disable?

One Sunday morning, when I decided to get up a little early (defied the implicit law of waking late on holidays) I decided to do some channel surfing and stopped at a channel to see ‘Satyamev Jayate’ a show gaining extreme popularity. The topic of discussion was how disability is treated in India. The entire show was intriguing and thought provoking. A lazy Sunday morning and a very hard hitting show did not gel with my lethargy, but it helped me rekindling an amazing experience of my life. Soon after I got married I joined my husband in London, UK and was searching for suitable job opportunities. I came across a job on linked in and sent my resume for consideration. After few days I received a letter from the organization’s technology head - Henry Osaka (name changed) showcasing an interest in my profile. The first round was telephonic and I interacted with a very high spirited voice with an extremely infectious laugh. We walked through my resume and he surprised me by mentioning he had read each and every blog of mine and quoted my writings in his conversation. I heard him spell bound when he spoke about the company and their vision, in simple words I was super impressed and was smitten in the first conversation. After progressing couple of rounds, finally a meeting invite came across my way - a face to face conversation with this vivacious voice . The day, date and venue was fixed and we both looked forward to meet each other. On a bright monday morning with great enthusiasm I embarked my journey to the desired venue. I was mentally preparing myself for the interview and had all my transcripts sorted. Once reaching the company’s office I enquired at the concierge and was asked to take a seat and wait for him. While waiting, the receptionist was all praises for Henry. She thought he was a thorough gentleman and had the amazing capability to inspire people around him. After a few minutes of wait, a familiar voice called my name, I turned around in the direction of the voice to see the man i was supposed to meet. There in the long corridor, stood a motorized wheelchair and on that sat the man I was supposed to meet. He had exceptionally small limbs and was breathing through a pipe connected to a portable oxygen cylinder. With his small hands he steered the wheelchair towards me and greeted me with his ever friendly voice. For a moment feeling of surprise swept me. We exchanged pleasantries and he guided me to a meeting room, I followed him through the corridors as he traversed them with ease and greeted all the passers by - fellow colleagues. After we were seated inside the meeting room, swiftly he placed his laptop on his lap and started the conversation. His fingers moved fast and though he had to strain his neck to see the laptop screen, it seemed effortless. During our conversation, I got to know he drove to work, enjoyed cooking and participated in events with a social cause. Seeing Henry seated besides me the feeling of pathos or compassion never came. On the other hand, feelings of respect and high regard kept creeping in. In no sense could I term him disable, for me he was more able than many. Holding a key position in a prestigious organization, leading a normal life and smiling his way past the challenges life had thrown on him. As a spectator there didn’t seem any deterrent to his life. The reason it seemed, Henry with his will power had made sure that the hindrances he faces in his day to day activity never come in limelight, rather his work, his perseverance and his jovial nature stay in the forefront. I recollect when I came back home one of my friend had asked how was the interview? I had no answer for this as honestly it was no longer important if I got the job or not but it was more an honour to meet in person Henry Osaka - whose mundane day was truly inspirational.        

Raju ban gaya Gentleman!!

As I began my new job, I was weighing my options for the commute. My search ended with the Route No 2 bus. The first evening when I boarded the bus I was welcomed by a young lad with a warm smile. “New to the bus Madam, which place will you get down?” he questioned me. I was amazed to hear the fluency in his speech for a foreign language, and furnished him with the necessary details.  As time for the departure came close, the bus was filled by young professionals’ chirpy talks. After a minute of hustle bustle and settling we embarked for our journey. At the first red light, the young lad took out his set of books and turned around with enthusiasm. Promptly, the girls sitting nearby hurriedly scanned the books and enquired about his latest progress. Apparently, every evening on the way back home the care taker of this bus is taught English by the passengers. The entire route is filled with chatter related to verbs, tenses and subjects used in English language. The lad has an incessant endeavor to speak correct with the perfect diction. Each day he comes up with a new doubt and each day brings a new learning. It is extremely rewarding to see this young boy’s zeal to learn something new and it is equally good to see professionals after a long day having the patience to teach something new. This makes me realize a very important fact of life that education does not require any high end buildings and funds what it truly requires is a desire to learn and the will to teach.

Sensitivity over Sense

Due to the volatile nature of memory, it is hard to retain all incidences of life in one’s mind. A search in the repertoire of one’s memory shows the planned, strategized and dogmatic happenings are less vivid, then the spontaneous, spur of the moment experiences, where the heart took the decision and the brain took the back seat. Scene by scene picture by picture they are stored in our brain cells. Perhaps, the elaborate storage of such incidences acts as a constant reminder to the mind that not always it rules our decisions. There is an organ below it who sometimes pulls the reins and accomplishes a task completely oblivion to the mind’s assessment of pros and cons. One cherishes such moments, speaks about them with pride and sense of achievement. I write about such an incident where the heart ruled the head, sensitivity prevailed over sense.

While mum was pursuing her graduation. Winters had hit the city very hard. Extreme weather conditions were in the forecast and the mercury just refused to rise. One morning when ma was leaving for her college, a scantily clad old man stopped her. In between the intervals of his shivers, he told her, he was extremely cold and wanted something to warm him. Without second thoughts ma hurried upstairs caught hold of her comforter and came down to wrap this around him. The man received more comfort from ma’s deeds than from her comforter he blessed her and walked away. Ma’s friends and her relatives have narrated this to me many times. I see pride and respect in the eyes of her near and dear ones when they recount the episode. For ma this was an instantaneous act where she listened to her heart and her head had to bow down. For me it is a lesson to be more liberal in the usage of my heart and definitely a soul stirring experience to hear a benevolent deed by my very own mother.