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| With William, Hannah and Ada |
I felt a little out of place. I was neither a volunteer nor
a Caucasian and I wore an orange necklace.
One of the first things the Guria children exclaimed on seeing me
with the visiting group was, “You are Indian!” I may have imagined the tiniest
drawing back, just a slight dip, a nanosecond of uncertainty but it was gone
before I had the time to permit defensiveness into my smiling reply, “Yes, I am
Indian and my name is Neerja.”
My association with Guria was through Hannah
Ada ( https://www.princeton.edu/bridgeyear/meet-the-volunteers/ada/
) both of whom are currently doing the service program that my daughter Asawari
pursued at Serbia during the year 2010-2011 http://www.princeton.edu/bridgeyear/updates/archives/?id=5417)
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| (L to R) Nick, William, Allen, Mackenzie, Tyler |
My trip to Varanasi was about the Bridge Year Program (BYP) community spirit. I felt a sense of connection with the students who were doing
in India what my daughter had done for nine months in Novi Sad and Nis. Hannah
and Ada had made me the generous offer of showing their service location and I
was honoured to be at Guria on the afternoon of 6th April 2013.
I was impressed. From the start! I watched Ada deftly hail
an autorickshaw, negotiate a price and effortlessly slip into the extension
next to the driver’s seat on the ride up. We trundled past Hannah on the way, a
determined and purposeful rider on her bicycle, negotiating the unforgiving
city traffic with panache.
Tom Davis, currently volunteer at this “grassroots
anti-trafficking NGO” had insights to share. We stood talking on the periphery
of some high decibel excitement involving Kho-Kho and Kabbadi. Even on this
flash visit, it was clear that there were huge challenges to be faced for any
effective change to take place.
I wondered if Tom or the Guria team ever felt paralyzed at
the enormity of the task. I mulled over any disillusion the apparent difficulties
might have caused their young American volunteers. I felt concerned about the
potential of false hopes being given the Guria children. Tom was reassuring in
his even, thought through and open responses.
Guria’s positive role was evident in the orderly manner in
which they conducted the meditation session I attended, far more disciplined
than my own class in Delhi. The children were expressive, forthcoming and expectant
of participation and friendship. Two little ones whispered amongst themselves, standing next to me, hazarding a guess at what my orange necklace might have been worth. Their
estimate? Rs 100!
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| BYP India on the Vindhyachal |
There was hope there in a young voice that said, “My
ambition is to become a reporter so that I can tell everyone of the injustices
I see around me.” There was a sense of pride there when a small boy thumped his
tiny chest and claimed, “I taught Tom to speak Hindi.” There was a sense of
security there in the little ones who toppled over during meditation to fall
asleep. There was resolve there in the gravity underlining the cheerful faces
of the adults in charge.
I sat there trying to guess what lay behind the closed eyes
of the older girls. Did I imagine a shade of sadness? Was there a fear of what
the future might bring? The tall gates that were hastily closed every time
struck me. This was difficult work Guria was doing. There were too many invested
agencies crusading for the status quo outside of these four walls.
Of these, the most ludicrous and foolish was us, the Indians
who have the luxury of being ordinary and middle class. Unaware of our power to
effect massive changes around us, we bumble through our work schedules and
weekends at the malls. We have no clue how badly help is needed outside of our
self-constructed walls of order and security. We cannot begin to imagine why there has to be a pretense, at the least, to an inclusive world.
A sliver is all that is needed. A shift of our glance, a
speck of our time, a fragment of our thought. A thousand more Gurias would be too little!
Guria and the people behind this NGO are to be highly commended.
Guria and the people behind this NGO are to be highly commended.
Visit: www.facebook.com/guriafreedomnow
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