Om Sri Sairam
We have taken enough Punga with NGOs
through our last posting.
Being Dust(ChemburDust that is) helps.
No fear of further degradation.
We shall carry on with our 'True' stories
with the resonating byline..
Apun ChemburDust
Aatha vaatha kuch nai.
By consciously switching on and off
the junk in head labelled as "Knowledge",
which the world packages and sells since ages,
we discover how blissful,Induced Ignorance is.
What was mistakenly acquired as 'Knowledge', was
in fact 'information' even the Computers exchange..in bytes.
So why not just 'click on Head (read 'Use')
for info needed and then click off'.
As our Yogis of Yore did.
Just 'use' the head when needed. But 'live' in heart.
As a Computer never feels egoistic due its rich database,
so should be the Heads too,even with tons of info.
Try keying into a Comp,all the info
the most 'knowledgeable' ones claim to know,
and discover that they don't exceed even half a Pen-drive!
And have a hearty laugh looking at these half-Pendrivers
floating around with bloated egos,
many getting branded as 'intelligentia' in society.
But these half-Pendrivers push their content as 'Wisdom'.Which is not.
Corporates and banks going after such 'intelligent' ones,
discover to their dismay
that "intelligent people can also commit intelligent frauds".
That demand more resources to find and fix.
They suffer from another type of AIDS.
(Acquired Intelligence Disaster Syndrome)
You need something more than Intelligence. Values.
That come with Love as a Package-
Wisdom with Values arise from the soul
soaked in divine Love.
Gautam Buddha couldn't have cleared CAT.
Nor was he a hi-fi techie. Not even a Nerd.
But He saw so much Pain and anguish around.
Fired by Love and compassion
He sat under a tree with open heart.
And Wisdom happened.
Making nearly 380+ million folks follow,
around the world,millennia later,even today.
That is the power of Love.
And its offshoot Wisdom.
Ok. Good luck to the world obsessed with 'Intelligence'.
Apun ChemburDust.
Aatha vaatha kuch nai.
Our currency is Love.
Non-'heady', Pure-'hearty'...
Now back to our worm's eye view
from the bottom of the Pyramid...
About three years ago we
started an experiment with Love.
The kids in Mumbai slums have a unique problem.
They dont get space to study during examns.
The cramped one room-cum-kitchen-cum-hall-cum-...
is all that they have as living space.
They gather in a garden during SSC examns
and study overnight.
We named them as 'Midnight Scholars'
and threw our lot behind them and provided support service-
Eats,tea and a dash of counselling as they eat,
in the middle of the night for three weeks
till the SSC examns were over. For the last three years...
After the Examns were over, they just loafed around aimlessly
getting vulnerable to the exploits of local criminals.
We quietly collected them all and started teaching them-
Personality development,Basic Computer skill (for job)
and spoken English(just to boost their ruptured confidence)
In the Dhanalaxmi Bank compound in Chembur
every Sunday 5 pm to 7 pm.
Free.No charges whatsoever.
(A good samaritan offered the space free.)
We spoke to the students closely and found-
they have abundant energy but no direction.
Back home in slums there is no proper support system.
Many homes are headed by irresponsible leaders.
Kids go astray and the parents have no clue.`
These kids are condemned by all around and lost self-respect.
Based on the inputs, we fixed our priorities.
Restore self-respect. Treat them with dignity.
Provide support resources for the courses.
Could be a dictionary or any book.
They shouldnt touch the Parents for
any resource required for our courses.
Conduct the courses regularly, consistantly.
And help them settle down meaningfully in life.
Else they would feel ignored in yet another counter of life.
Rules set based on Priorities.
Rule No.1 - Dress code.
All were made to feel important and dignified.
So wearing a Tie was compulsory in the class-
Now everyone has to wear even a Blazer.
(may not make a diff to us. But for them Yes it does).
Most of the executives'homes in Mumbai
are full of unused junk, that include inter alia
out of fashionTies and out of shape Blazers
(Sorry. Blazers are in shape. Only the execs went out of...)
We went with the hat around
and collected some goodies-Ties and Blazers
fitting apna Public .
A Midnight Scholar in Blazer making his point...
Rule No.2.
Don't touch Parents for money
to buy any resources relating to our class.
Like Dictionary, books, English Newspapers etc.
Then they may simply stop them from attending..easy way out.
We supply all the stuff required, free.
Rule No.3 - Reading 'Free Press'daily a must
We tell the students, a Vada Paav costs Rs.6/-,
while 'Free Press' English Newspaper costs Re.1/- only.
No big deal.
So it is a must for all to read Free Press everyday
with Dictionary on the side.
And the newspaper should be delivered home everyday
and not bought at random.
We offer to reimburse the monthly bill.
Rule No.4 - Listening to FM English channel a must
The DJ girls in FM channel(Eng) blurt out fast all crap.Pure Bakwas.
But for a learner of the language, it helps to pick up spoken stuff.
It is also to eliminate the estrangement our slum kids feel
vis a vis the urban youth who flaunt around.
The small FM dibba costs only 50 or 60 bucks
which we offer to reimburse.
Rule No.5 Improve the Personality with Love and Truth
We impart values highlighting the role of Love and Truth
which are in our main agenda, so that they
turn out to be responsible citizens atleast,
if not flashy corporate execs focussing on personal GDP.
We run programmes in between like
'Dial-a-DaadiMa' whereby they were asked to touchbase
with their old relatives even if in native place
and we offered to foot the STD bills.
Each one's experience in re-connecting with the elders
was shared in the class.
We repeatedly emphasise the roles of 'Heart' and 'Head'.
Use the Head for info but live in Heart forever.
And certain basics of life like our Master says-
Just 'Love All and Serve All'- "Help Ever.Hurt Never".
We have students from different Religions.
So we play Religion-Neutral. but Spiritual-Positive.
When you ask the students "What is your Religion?"
All will shout in unison "Discipline"
And when you ask "What is your Mantra? "
You will hear the chorus-"So What. What Next"
We taught them to chant this whenever they face any failure.
We chose to name the English speaking class "Bol Bindaas"
True to its name, after prolonged consistent efforts
now the kids come up and speak fearlessly
before the audience - though in broken English.
But they would improve over time.
Faulty language? See the body language...
We have tied up with a Computer class
and send them to learn computer basics at our cost.
We take them on Study tour to places like
Nehru Science Centre etc.
And big corporates to show how they function.
The new experiment with Love is still on..
When the students come one after another
facing the audience fearlessly and speak out,
however faulty the language may be,
we watch in amazement with wet eyes.
As an illiterate mother watching ecstatically
her little kid speaking big things she doesn't understand.
Who cares for the language. It can self-correct over time.
But with their body language they make a firm statement.
-'We have arrived'.
And for poor illiterate mothers that we are
it matters a lot- Our Kids have arrived.
"We have arrived"- Midnight scholars in session
May be many of them end up as simpletons
and join the unsung honest workforce of the country
who silently add to the GDP more than what they receive.
That cross-subsidises the spend-thrift lives of corporate czars
and cunning Politicians, the nation is destined to live with.
But their little world they live in would salute them, for sure.
For the sheer determination they showed in pursuing our course
to transform from mere Slumdogs to Smart Midnight Scholars.
Next time when you bump into a slum youth in Chembur
who is well behaved with humility and tries to converse in English
just encourage him (/her).
The chances are -You met a Midnight Scholar.
What can be more rewarding..
Without forgetting we recall that
Apun ChemburDust
Aatha Vaatha kuch nai.
And it is pure Divine Grace in Action.
Come. Join the experiments with divine Love.
And discover new contours of life.
Om Sri Sairam
R.chandrashekar
ChemburDust
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"The (Seva) programmes must satisfy a local need, solve a local difficulty. They must arise out of felt needs and should be adapted to local conditions....The flower that is your heart gets fragrance by means of the seva you do, and so it becomes more acceptable to Me. Love is the essence of that fragrance....You have the role now of demonstrating that all is not lost, that there are still people who believe in Truth, Righteousness, Peace and Love, that acts of loving service rendered in a spirit of humility and reverence are still making people happy, and that the day when the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God will shine bright and beautiful is drawing and dawning near." - Sri Sathya Sai Baba in Poornachandra Auditorium, SSS Speaks Vol 13- More details in http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume13/sss13-18.pdf ------------------------------------------------
N:B. The experience gathered here is brought out in the form of a book tobe published that would also include contributions from each student titled " Experiments with Love- Midnight Scholars of Chembur". This will be available in Amazon.com world over soon.
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