For those who don't know, I am
currently pursuing my Masters in Communication and Journalism from Mumbai
University. It's a 2 year course. The first academic year was just how any
course should be, lectures, assignments, deadlines and the usual.
The second year has been a joke to
say the least. The month of June was such that I was so engrossed in studies; I
had to look for free time. If it wasn't for Euro 2012 I would have died of
boredom. Whatever said and done about how hectic June was, I was happy about
one thing. I always had something to do to keep myself occupied.
Post July, I was on one long
vacation lasting till November. There were times in this vacation where I
couldn’t remember the last time I had a lecture. There’s a limit on the amount
of time one can be on Facebook and watch movies. What’s the point of going to
college when you’ve got nothing to do there? You can talk to the same people on
the phone/online that you meet in college so that was one problem solved. I can
get bored very easily and I needed something to do. Badly.
During the course of this
‘vacation’, I thought about the ‘important’ things in my life. To be more
direct, I over thought about these important things. I was so engrossed about
what I thought was important that I’d forgotten about what really happens in
the outside world. Stuff that should really matter to me.
A lot of time was spent and wasted
in my over thinking. I couldn't go back in time and recover those hours I
wasted. But what I could do and did was utilize the time that I had at my
disposal by doing something worthwhile. Something that I should have done a long
time ago.
I finally woke up and realized that
there are much better things in life to look forward to. After a long time, and
I’m glad this time arrived, the blinkers around me finally came off.
Such is man's nature that he is
never satisfied with what he has. He always feels the need to want more. Some want
new shoes, a new car, new clothes, etc. Over the past few weeks I've realized
what it is to have everything and have nothing.
What is the point of desiring new
shoes when people don't have feet to walk? What is the point of finding out how
much those glares cost when many haven't seen the light of day? I want those
headphones so badly but I forgot that people are deaf.
One thing was common on both sides -
we both needed love, and we knew we would find love in one another. Knowing
where I would find this, I set out on my journey.
I now am teaching English in 2
NGO’s. One is with 11 orphaned boys in 4th standard and the other is a group of
20-30 kids in a municipal school in Santacruz. I was so hell bent on finding something
that I forgot there are many who don't even have the parental love that I am
blessed with. The most basic form of love is something that these kids don't
have. There is absolutely no one to show them the way.
My first class was on the 7th
of October 2012. I don't know why I didn't cry when I saw those 11 boys , the
age of 10 sitting on the table waiting for ' Bhaiya ' to come and teach them
the English Alphabet . Why didn't I do this before? Where was I lost that I
forgot that these kids need someone to show them the way? Why was I so eager to
find something when there were these ' children of heaven ' who were looking
for the same?
I felt like shit for the first few
minutes. But at the same time, I felt reborn, that this is my second chance, a
chance to do what's right and what I should really be doing. The time had come
to put others before myself. For the people who really needed and deserved it.
I might not have done anything worthwhile in
my life thus far. But if even one of these kids goes into the outside world and
makes a name for himself, I will feel that my efforts didn't go waste. I teach
at these two NGO's thrice times a week. I wish I could see the smiles on their
faces every single day. I don't feel like saying Goodbye to them when it's time
to leave. Their faces are now etched in my memory. They are the students, but I
feel that I am learning something from them, something that cannot be expressed
in words. I am gaining something that cannot be measured or described. That
feeling stays and belongs to you and you alone.
And I say to my self. What a
wonderful world.
