Joy of Giving!

17th November, IMT Ghaziabad:

"Bhaiya, maine bhi ek gaana suna dun sabko?"- This one sweet and small sentence by an even smaller and sweeter girl made me smile. This little girl (with an eye on the pencil boxes being handed out to performers) kept on insisting that she just had to perform.

It was the Joy of Giving Event, organized by MadF (yes I am a member) at IMT Ghaziabad. So we had 126 kids of all age groups barraging in to have their share of the limelight- some even a bit surprised that why all these bhaiyas and didis are spending so much time with them. Little did they know that these particular Bhaiyas and Didis were learning a very important lesson- of being happy, from them.

The day began with me and three MADF members going to Noida and receiving the kids. It felt strange to be the one getting the kids into a line, checking the head count, when some years back, I was the one being counted. being marked present. Then came the teachers: agitated, excited, worried, eyeing us with outmost contempt- for arranging this event on  a Sunday.

After an eventful ride back to the college, with umpteen recitation of "Lungi Dance", "Tum hi ho", "Raghupati Raghav raja ram (the new one)" and a whole lot of shouting, we reached the campus. It was heartening to see so many individuals, all busy with the trivialities of an MBA program, eagerly waiting for those kids. All formalities done, we started with the cultural events- to find the chief guest missing. Then began the search for someone who would light the lamp- culminating in one of our foreign faculty- who I think never really understood what the heck we were doing!

The kids then began performing- and there was no other word for it- were simply superb! It was mind boggling to see these kids- with their limited resources performing the way they were. Dance, song, skit, jokes, even shayari! Standing there holding the mike, I was marvelling at these little gems, who were so confident and composed to hold their nerve in front of so many people and actually enjoy it. I could see myself in that crowd- the little me hiding in the backseats, not having enough courage to go on the stage!

Then came lunch- with me of course smuggling some ladoos for myself (MadF guys, I am not even sorry!), followed by Arts and Craft and a bollywood movie. Here again, the creativity that the kids showed, was awe-inspiring. I still can’t believe that kids that young can grasp things so quickly, have maturity and that adolescence at the same time. The day ended with a number of pictures being clicked, those kids bidding us farewell and the volunteers bidding them goodbye.

I stood there, watching those angels say goodbye, I was wondering. With so much work and with so much pressure, why were these individuals so keen to organize events like these? I guess it’s that feeling of fulfilment, of achievement that you get when one of the kids comes to you and says, “thank you Bhaiya” and runs away. Also, how could these kids, barely making ends meet, could be so happy, so involved into things, when we (the lucky ones) have everything and yet crib for more!   

  I guess that’s life, isn’t it?