Road to Exhilaration -- The Drive of Five.

Thank you Ambi Pur for giving me an opportunity to share an eternal road trip of my life.

Teach India campaign by Times of India Group gave a blissful opportunity to many middle class educated people to realise their dream of teaching the underprivileged. We are born and then brought up by parents with elaborated educational degrees to grab the best jobs of the world. Eventually when we start earning handsome salaries we realise the importance of education and also the hidden reason why our parents sacrificed their happiness and murdered many of our own happiness in dictating and stressing upon the importance of Education. Not even a year at job and you come to a position where you can apply for a car loan with an EMI that is more than twice the monthly salary of a labourer. Then surely education proves it mettle.

As I was working with a firm that was located at a remote corner of Rajasthan State I could not get connected with the campaign through the designated NGOs. But Teach India impelled me to think in this direction of sharing knowledge with the underprivileged children and adults. So though I was not a part of this campaign but i was very much a part of this noble thought of sharing. When I proposed this idea to some of my peers at work place they too got interested. So with the grace of God and support of all like-minded people, we decided to teach a group of four children who were studying in a nearby government school. Nathu, Jagan, Irshaad and Shyam were the four boys who decided to come to our residence on weekend mornings to learn school subjects but English in particular. My office friends too were very keen on teaching the boys.  The boys were also very touched by this gesture and showed a remarkable improvement in their studies. We teach them spoken English and demonstrate physics laws through simple examples and experiments.

                                       

We eagerly looked forward to those Weekends when the boys would come to our place for studying. We used to plan in advance for the content to be taught based on the assessment of their capabilities. The hard work started being reciprocated by the students. It gave us a lot of self  satisfaction and made our stay worth at a place where life was tough and banal.

        Months passed and we developed a strong bonding. A bonding of love, knowledge and sharing. These four kids made my stay at the place meaningful and worth. Staying at a place so  secluded and out of civilisation irritated me to the core. But now things were different and those four kids were the lone reason for that. Elated and excited I asked them one Sunday morning if i could fulfil any of their wishes. Irshaad was pensive so he said they would tell me after the class was over for the day. After a small discussion the boys said they wanted to see Independence Day Parade. I happily asked them to come home on 15 Aug to watch the parade on my TV set. The boys laughed and said, "We want to see it live and being there in Delhi." 

You want to see the parade in Delhi ? I was shocked. 
"Ok i need to work out with my  Boss before I say a final yes to you guys".... was my reply.

I got the permission from my Boss. Rather he was so delighted to know my plan that he offered me his TATA Safari. Now that is magic. If i think good in my mind the world too will conspire to do good to me. It is so reflective. If you seek happiness for others, Universe too will seek happiness for you and my boss was a part of that Universe. 

The day after was 15 Aug and we were at a remote village Kankaria near Alwar. It was roughly a four hours drive. So i picked up the boys from their home and assured their parents that we would be back by 16 Aug morning. The boys got hot dinner packed from home for the journey.                
                                                                                   

                         In short, we were a group of Super Five (including me) having a TATA Safari and home cooked countryside dinner. As it was August, the evening was a fine invitation to drive our way to Delhi to see one of the most spectacular events of our country "The Independence Day Celebration".  The breeze was refreshing and was in tandem with the energy of theses Kids.  Driving on SH- 25 highway i had many more reasons to be happy. I had never seen these kids so happy before, I saw the happiness in the eyes of their poor parents and last but not the least that if not for these kids I would have never seen Independence Day Parade live right in front of my eyes.  We travelled a couple of hours playing Antakshari (popular bollywood song game) and telling jokes. The time passed like a song in itself. We stopped at a beautiful place that showed  the setting down of crimson sun on the horizon. It felt as if everything was washed in the colour of saffron. We clicked photographs as it was an amazing place to click some memorable shots. Something that I could share with my own kids in future. We decided to do our dinner at this same place. I have a great love for homemade food. The dinner was awesome. Irshaad s Ammi Biryani took me to paradise with in seconds. 
                   
At about 7: 30 pm we started again for the remaining part of the journey and by 8: 30 pm we were sitting in the coziness of our company s guest house. Morning was going to be a history in the lives  for these kids. For them it was more than a dream. And for me it was the truest dream i was living.   

                                        

15 Aug 11: The Independence Day Parade presentation filled our lungs with air of patriotism. We were breathing India and living India. An India that is free, independent and potential. The fly past by the Mighty Indian Air Force aircraft left the kids with mouths wide open. The thrill was visible. The parade came to an end. It was time to enjoy the capital city. I took them to Saket DLF Select City Walk to show them the Mall culture. We hopped in into  Pizza hut and had a sumptuous lunch. To avoid traffic we parked our car at the guest house and used Delhi metro instead. The day came to an end and we were tired to death. Morning we had to start on our way back home. Delhi, the Pizza, the Metro Train and the Mall were all the first time things in the lifes of these kids. I was happy because God chose me to add that colour into their life. I was grateful to Him.

The dream day came to an end but the memories of the day is ever lasting and eternal. That was by far the Best Road Trip  of my life.   

This post is exclusively written for the "Perfect Road Trip" contest by Ambi Pur at Indiblogger.

Note: During these times i realised that the method of teaching in an expensive urban school is very different from that of a rural school. The infrastructure and lack of well trained teachers is a serious matter of concern. Its simple - How many of our topper colleagues would have applied for a post as a teacher in a Govt. School ? Answer is None. And that is quite natural too. We cannot expect this to happen in the next two decades too. We were educated so that we lead a life of luxury and comfort and being a Govt teacher doesn't fits that bill.

Pragmatically, we cannot expect such acts of benevolence in common. But we all can aim   atleast dedicating 2 to 3 hrs a week for teaching the underprivileged children. Our 2 hrs a week can add colours to someone's life. Knowledge is the greatest gift one can share. Lets do our part in teaching and educating the needful. An Educated India is a prosperous India.

Image Source: Google Images.