Uprooted...Dreams

They dream ,they aspire,they need and they require..

They crave for it but alas do not acquire..

These lines perfectly describe the plight of these children and their family.

While i interacted with strangers for the 1st time i realised how warm and enriching the experience can be.

At 1st i was hesitant to appraoch the 3 kids who actually gave me curious looks to why i was looking at them..but then i eventually figured out a way and gathered courage to ask them to what their names were and what they did..

After much persuasion their grandmother agreed that i take pictures of them and of course after much convincing by us(My groupmates and me) she posed for a picture.

Once she was convinced that we were people whom she could trust she told me some hard hitting facts about the life they lead here in Delhi.

She told us about the meagre income of their family...as the children's mother works as a labourer in a factory nearby and the father as a guard...both working extremely hard to make ends meet and yes educate the 3 children,which was a very pleasant thing to know as here in India people with lesser resources tend to compromise on the education of their children often girls...absolutely ignoring the consequences of it..

What fascinated me the most was that inspite of our sudden interest in their lives they were like an open-book to us...it was heart wrenching once they started to give us glimpses of their lives..and they themselves offered to take us to their residence...and we were delighted at their proposition..

What touched me the most was that Grandma(whom i instictively called dadi ji for some reason) complaningly told me that how Mahima had not eaten lunch because she had lost money in school, how the doctor at the hospital had demanded Rs.1100 for an X-Ray which was way beyond her capacity to pay.

But it was a special feeling when Mahima agreed to eat when i coaxed her to. It gave me an entirely new high..

Well anjan the youngest of the lot was a brat and i loved him..in his photos one can clearly see his naughtiness sprinkled twinkling eyes..

He kept jumping and posing in fact he constantly smiled while he looked at me..i had that feeling of taking him in my arms and give him a peck or 2..but i was too shy...

I just managed to smile back and pull his cheeks once besides telling everybody that he was so so sweet..

Once we reached their place it was a sad sight, i almost choked with emotion since it was such a small room and to me it was almost an impossibilty that the room actually accomodated 6 people at one time.

The kitchen at 1 corner,the shelf at another and that was it,no bathroom,no bedroom,no living room infact not even a fan in the scorching Delhi heat..had never looked at the grey shades of life so closely..

It made me realise to how lucky i was to have a life of my DREAMS...and perhaps of theirs too..

As a token of my gratitude to them for giving me such an insight into "LIFE" ,i bought them a few sweets but it gave me satisfaction and happiness unlimited!!!

This may have been an assignment but it turned out to be a memory which i will cherish for life ...and i am sure ll' give me my most wonderful recurring Dream in the days to come and remind me of the day forever...