Everyday Lessons

most of these boys sell maps/road maps etc in the 17-sector market and are uneducated. they have become a part of the experiment (mentioned below) and are very eager to learn to read and write. knowing that most of these boys have never attended school for more than 2 or 3 years, they have amazed me with their mathematical skills!!

whenever i came back to chandigarh, i always felt restless and uncomfortable...reason was simple - i was not doing anything where my heart was. so the other day inspired by the street schools run by manav sadhna, i went to sector 17 (biggest market of chandigarh) with an intention to interact with some street children there...i did not plan as to what i will talk to them or what i will do ...i just walked into the market and kept my eyes open for any street children. i met two street smart boys - Anike (about 10yrs) and Sunny (about7 yrs)...they were carrying a bag on their shoulders...the bag had shoe polish and brush. i approached them and tried breaking the ice by requesting them to polish my "chappals"...they were eager to do the job and thus, our interaction started... we had lunch together and chatted a little about their life ...they told me that they often have to beg for food because they are not able to find enough customers for polishing shoes (i later found out th...

being on the road... one of the places amit and i had been really wanted to visit was manav sadhna in ahmedabad...after having read so much about Jayesh Bhai and manav Sadhna on Nipun's website, it was really not possible for us to be in India and not visit them. in February, i decided to head out...amit had some micro-hydel related work in Barot so he decided he would join me whenever he gets a chance. i started with a visit to my sister in Jamnagar for one week...i got to spend extended period of time with my nephew and brother-in-law...it was great to be with them. after that i headed to ahmedabad - i reached there in the evening and ShirishBhai from Manav Sadhna showed me the guest house where i was supposed to be staying....it was a beautiful 2 bedroom old house close to the Gandhi Aashram. the entrance had an old-fashioned swing made of iron, which gave it quite a rustic look. the place had a very serene quality to it…with peacocks freely moving around in the backyard….later...