Every year around this time I write a blog. However much I have been away from blogging recently, I did not want to break this tradition. The previous blogs around my birthdays have been mixed with happiness for things I achieved in that last year, some dissatisfaction with slow progresses on some other things, apprehensions for what lies ahead and the urgency to do something magical in life. This birthday is slightly different. Even though I feel a sense of dissatisfaction, there is a sense of contentment that things will happen on their own time. Even though there are apprehensions, I get some confidence thinking they may be unnecessary. Even though there is urgency to do something magical, there is also the knowledge when things happen on their own time, they happen in the best possible way.
The last one year has been a very significant year as I changed relationship status from single to married, changed jobs and changed apartments. It is this dynamics of life that keeps me going every year, year on year. All that I want to be stable is the constant desire of doing something for the people of my country, something that can help them change their lives for the better.
I have written about it earlier, but would like to mention it again. Friends of Salaam Baalak Trust is the UK chapter of the established charity Salaam Baalak Trust which has been tirelessly working towards the rehabilitation of street children in Delhi since many years. I still can’t forget the experience I gained during the Indian summer of 2007 when I was teaching the students from 2 extreme spectrums of the society – the elite and talented undergraduates at India’s best St. Stephen’s college on one hand, and the extremely bright, but with latent talent school final kids of Salaam Baalak Trust at a not-very-posh shelter home in Paharganj. While I realised it was very easy to teach students who are talented and they know they are smart and inquisitive and there are all comforts available to teach and learn, it was a challenging experience to teach students who doubted each sentence they learnt – whether they would be able to remember it, whether it will help them earn for food, whether it will help them go mainstream ever. I have seen the brilliance in them, and they need us to help them bring that out to the world. Please donate as much as you can or forward it to people who would like to donate or just help in whatever way you would like (may be organising fund raising events in UK, US or India).
Coming back to my birthday, I want something magical to happen so that all of these children get all that they want. Something magical happens so that all the terrorists in the world stop killing as the last thing I wanted to hear was about another bomb blasts in Mumbai. Something magical so that all the health problems vanish and we feel hale and hearty always. Something magical so that we have love, appreciation, respect for each other in the world so that living becomes more fun and celebrating birthday truly becomes a celebration of life.