this relationship turned out to be strange

I have dreamt about you ever since I have known you... I grew up reading about you in the newspapers…seeing your pictures on the TV and in the magazines…I developed a crush on you when I was a child and secretly desired to meet you someday… to embrace you..to be with you..to sleep with you…and yes, I remember the day when I first met you in June,2010 when I was interning with Teach for India...when I met you, at the first glance I thought that you were beautiful...you were huge… you were noisy…you were busy but you were lively and happy I thought….


I knew I would fall in love with you…you were exactly my type…cheerful, friendly, lively, gregarious, interesting…but then…this relationship turned out to be strange….I started getting close to you..but the bond never grew stronger…the more I started knowing you…the more I saw through you.. I spent many nights sitting with you and talking to you.. I met your friends..I went for some late night parties with you…I sat with you by the sea… I tried doing everything when I was with you to fall in love with you… but then there was something missing in you inspite of your terrific aura that captured a million hearts who came in from across the globe to be with you…I failed to understand .. .and while I was trying to clear up my messed up mind…I was needed to meet my childhood friend…the first friend I ever made...I went to see him for a few months and the meeting was as awesome as always.. although, he is not as popular as you are, although you don’t get to read about him every day in the newspapers and he has lesser friends, but he really knows how to keep me happy…


Fate brought me back to you again last month..I got a second chance to be with you ..all set to fall in love with you this time and settle down with you …I did try…


I kept chasing you..but you were too busy..too fast.. the happiness that I saw in you the first time I met you was all fake I realized..I can now see tears held in your eyes.. the number of people that belong to you is escalating at a skyrocketing pace and people are pouring in from all over, and you are still struggling to fit them all… your heart aches to pretend that you are lively …you are awake all night to please your friends.. you love alcohol because you don’t want to feel the emptiness ..the only thing you understand is success and money...you have no time to stand and stare..you are sad.. very sad.. yes,you are noisy and have a big crowd around you always..but then, you don’t know your next door neighbor ..you are so lonely..


You are artificial…you have two faces… I see the millionaire’s sorrow in you at times, I also see the ragpicker’s dreams in you... I can’t decide which one defines you…you are crazy…you are way too confusing and complicated for me…you are definitely not my type....i was so wrong…

I haven’t been able to fall in love with you, dear Mumbai…you will always remain a good friend though…and I enjoy hanging out with you! :) Jamshedpur is my childhood companion and it keeps me a lot more happier than you can...but I am yet to find a place I can fall madly in love with…

Sneha

We Teach for India..one child at a time :-)

“My father didn’t see my face for d first 3 months after my birth because I was a girl ”

As this 16 years old, who was born in one of d thousands of families in Dharavi slums, stood before us saying this, her eyes full of water, I sat gaping purely amazed at the change that is possible…She told us that she is now preparing for IIT-JEE and has dreams of changing this country, earning a lot, buying her mother a sea facing apartment in Bandra and making her father proud of his daughter. All this she told us in super-polished English with an accent better than most people I know…she was more well-mannered than most people I know.. more mature than most people her age…much much more confident about herself than I was at her age…a gal from Dharavi slums to a girl of independence and dreams..this is d amount of change that is possible and this is the change they r looking for in each child in India…

This is one of the girls among the many kids I met during my work at Teach for India. This girl belonged to Akansha – an NGO started by Shaheen Mistri in 1990 when she herself was just 18 with a belief that change is possible and yes, she proved it right! With a stronger belief and the same amount of motivation, Shaheen started this another movement alongside called Teach for India -2 years back with a vision of removing the inequity in education in the country. I am delightfully amazed at the tremendous energy in the system and the kind of bars set by the people in this movement.

A group of outstanding college graduates and young professionals who quit their lavish lifestyles and are pushing themselves out of their comfort zones each day bit by bit, are all working selflessly towards one goal, one vision…the vision of independent India..Independent in the true sense of the word...how can a boy who is dependent on his maalik to tell him how much money is to be deducted from his pay for his absence at work be called independent…or a girl who depends on the sunset to guess the time be called independent… HBS grads, IITians, Brown, McGill grads, etc, X-Schlumberger, Mcknsey, Deloitte, Infosys etc employees have joined hands to give their 2 yrs to this movement and in the long run become leaders in different sectors and contribute in their own ways to remove this inequity…
2 yrs of long working hours, several sleepless nights, litany of complaints from the parents, lesson plans, copies books, reading writing calculating..2 yrs of relentless effort, unshaken willpower, insane passion... 2 yrs towards building the future of each kid…

Teach for India is a happy feeling, a pleasant profession and a noble sense of accomplishment.. .I have realized that among a million changes that TFI brings in its fellows, some of the most significant ones are that the cynic in you disappears at TFI…the passion in you rejuvenates… the energy in you is rediscovered...the joy of giving is re-realized…

All small actions like doing nice things for each other secretly, free hugs, writing about each other, reflecting your thoughts and actions, playing fun games to bring out the feel of one team …or… all big things like trying to work hard with each child individually, bring out the best in each child patiently, working crazily for that one Zameer who is not as smart as others in his class, or convincing that one parent who wants his child to quit school since he thinks it’s of no use to him..everything that they do brings a smile to atleast one person in this world …I have never seen a more focused group of people or a more devoted group..

I came here just because I love kids! I came in with a belief that inspite of all this effort, it is simply impossible to change a country with 1 billion people… I came in with a mindset that most Indians have…But, now ..Now I can see the change that is happening..n I am enjoying every part of it... and that love for children, I came in with..that has increased 10 folds :)

Impressed by the happy environment here and motivated by the strong sense of possibility, each day I work as much as I did before an exam in IIT and I still feel I should do more.. coz I know, every action of mine is measured in terms of each child’s progress…I am proud to be a part of this mega change, a part of this movement which has taken pace and will bring out the vision that - one day every child will attain excellent education! Oh..I so love those innocent eyes of children..so so much :)

Small things that make a Kgpian content...

1. Sleeping endlessly with no alarm to wake you up...
2. Proxy attendances..ever did it in school or dare to do it at work?
3. Watching 20,000 diyas light up simultaneously... :)
4. Reaching at 11:00 for a 10:30 lecture...
5. B C Roy instant medical certificate..
6. Being a minute away from your favorite movie,song or series...they say books are your best friends...i choose to say it is DC++
7. Pressing F5 infinite number of times expecting a new update every time on Facebook...
8. Entire wing sharing one bucket and one broom...
9. Annual cleaning of rooms for hall days...
10. Sitting at Tikkas from morning to evening doing nothing...
11. Guys catching a glance of some random girl for a fleeting moment and getting blown off...
12. Saying "she is the one" for the nth time for the nth bandi...
13. A solitary girl walking on Schols Ave at 2 am without the fear of thieves or eve teasers...
14. Fight with confidence with a random guy from another hall over a petty issue because you know your hall will definitely support you no matter what...
15. Tempo shouts...
16. Wearing crushed/unironed clothes and yet not being the odd one out...
17. Guys roaming around all night,drunk,shouting on the streets without being tagged "awara"
18. Bandi,addiction and Interhall participation- you are GOD here!
    

These are some of the small things that a kgpian feels good about..things which were never felt before...things which will never be felt again...

Kgp definitely cannot be summarized in just 18 points...Addition to this list will be welcomed.. :)

Shabd

Shabd woh hain jo bolte hain…
Shabd woh hain jo sunte hain…
Shabd woh hain jo samjhate hain…
Shabd woh hain jo ulajhte hain…

Shabdon ke arth woh khud hain…
Inka wajood yeh khud hain..
Dard hai,kashish hai,pyaar hai,aakrosh hai…
Kyunki shabd hain…


Bechare,bebas inke paas na koi maa’zarat hai na inhe koi shikwa..
Zabaan ke haathon katputhliyan hai yeh shabd…
Yeh wohi shabd hain,jo aapko pal mein khush kar dein..
Yeh wohi shabd hain,jo agle hi pal aapko hairaan kar dein..
Yeh wohi hain…jinhe ek lamha chahiye sab kuch tabah karne ke liye…
Yeh wohi hain,jo sab sambhal de chand lamhon mein…
Shabdon ki aadaton pe na jaao,niyamon pe na chalte yeh..
Yeh shabd kewal bol nahi.…
zindagi ki vivashta hai yeh shabd....