A Day Well Spent

August 14^th 2010, at 2.00 on a sultry afternoon we set off to do our bit for the less fortunate. While some of our luckier batch-mates went off on personal vehicles, the majority of us were left to board T51 to Tambaram. After a deep sleep on the bus, a sweltering hot walk and a confused auto ride we finally reached the Good Life Center .

When we got there, sweaty and worn out, we weren’t sure of what to expect. I , for one, was very apprehensive. How would the children react? What could I possibly say to these kids whose lives were so different from my own? But I needn’t have worried. From the moment we entered the premises we are assaulted by kids from all directions. With perfectly practiced manners, they came up to us without the slightest shyness shaking our hands, asking our names, and introducing themselves. In those initial 5 minutes those kids took good care of us.

As “official photographer” (I’ve given myself that name) a lot of kids instantly gravitated towards me just as we all used to follow the guy/girl with the camera during our college days! I had innumerable kids come up to me and ask me for a solo picture, posing and preening till the perfect shot was achieved just as we do for our facebook profiles. Proving that circumstances can be different but essentially all kids are the same.

I didn’t have many personal, one-on-one experiences but I do remember one boy named Surya. I’m sure all of you will recognize the name. He was all over the place, chatting up everybody and making sure to get in every single one of my shots. He was loud, rowdy and energetic as only a child can be. But that all changed when he took me to meet his “friend Vicky”. Vicky was a quiet, mentally-challenged child sitting by himself off to a corner. With a sensitivity that belied his rambunctious exterior Surya introduced me to Vicky, taught me how to shake hands with him and lit up with pride when he told me, “Vicky only listens to me”.

I’m sure you all remember the boy who sang us that incredibly inappropriate song! Later on in the day he soundly beat me and Megha in a bunch of mathematics games. In our defense, he just learned his multiplication tables and its been quite a while for us! I learned a fun hand clapping game which an older boy called Venketesh kept making me play. And when some mysterious cake was distributed, a bunch of very affectionate girls came up to feed me as photos were taken. Sadly most of the cake ended up on my glasses. When we played ‘Kola Kolaya Mundhirika‘, one girl spent the entire time telling me we were playing the game completely wrong. And all the while, little baby Amudhan was passed from one person to another, adored and endlessly photographed.

In the middle of this chaotic mess, the running and shouting and screaming ,stood a few older boys. They leaned against the walls, by themselves with their hands crossed over their chests :the very picture of surly adolescence. When I tried to involve some of them they brushed me off and walked away and I just knew what they were thinking. They had probably seen countless groups of outsiders like us come and go, especially on national holidays. While the younger children had their innocence to protect them I’m pretty sure these boys were hyper-aware of their situation, of just how hard their lives were going to be. Surrounded by excited children I just couldn’t go up and talk to them. Even if I had been able, I don’t know what I could of said.

At one point I had a good opportunity to look around at what my fellow batch mates were doing. Akshaya sat in one corner with a bunch of girls, perhaps imparting more of her fortune-telling wisdom. I saw Suresh anna and Andy singing while the kids showed off their best moves. I saw Sridhar sitting with a bunch of interested boys teaching them god-knows-what. Sathya akka was in another corner listening to a boy recounting a long and complicated tale. And the whole time we were there I saw Santosh anna sitting and talking with paati, persuading her to take a picture and listening as she spoke with tears in her eyes.

The games were played, the chocolates and balloons were distributed and all too soon it was time to heft our bulging bags and say goodbye. The trip back home, for me at least, was tiring but I think I speak for all when I say we all had a long, exhausted sleep in our individual beds.

Thinking back about the day we had, I am glad to have been given this opportunity and ashamed that it took this glimpse of these children’s lives to remind me of my good fortune. To say I will definitely go back and visit again is to make a promise I’m not sure I can keep. But I will say this and I hope you will agree. By some twist of luck, and for no reason at all we were given loving parents, happy homes and opportunities upon opportunities. By that same arbitrary, divine lottery these children were denied the pleasant existences we have been lucky to lead. We complain and moan about the day-to day difficulties of our lives, and that’s not going to stop just because we had this one experience. But if, now and then, you think back on this day and ,just for a moment, remember that we are indeed the fortunate few I think August 14^th 2010 can be considered a day well spent!