it isn’t easy to look after 80 people (32 elderly and 48 kids) all by herself. it was a busy saturday and many well wishers had come by soaltee mode to bring something to ama ko ghar…we had gone with some food items. some had brought stationary items for the kids…notebooks and ink. a bottle of chelpark ink finishes in a single day…the kids go to school for free, thanks to the schools who are supporting them. a couple of A-level management students from Global College had come to help out. they come twice a month on saturdays. today they were going to do some waste management and separate pits for biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes. two other volunteers were organizing an art competition for the kids on the roof. another gang came to drop by some foam to sit on.
i address dil shova didi as didi but to the 48 boys and to the 30 amas and 2 babas, she’s ‘ma’. here all the family members help around the house. here are some photos of the visit today.
waiting by the roadside for my family to reach kalimati.
we arrived when lunch had just finished. one kid shows another where to wash the dishes. you wash it in the right one first, and then in the center and then finally in the left.
art competition on the roof. the baje in the back is one of the two bajes there. he’s been having a tiff with another bajai. sometimes the elderly here are possessive of their belongings and have little tiffs.
four amas sitting in the sun.
i was wondering how they would recognize which ones their’s but at the ghar the children are taught to share. dil shova di is supported in little ways by many people, but there isn’t enough for everything. some of the children go to school in slippers because she can’t buy them shoes.
the utensils dry in the sun. there are a few amas who are bedridden and can’t do anything…others help them out to eat, wash dishes and everything.
am not sure, if this is a typing error or i don’t understand the meaning of ‘madhav’.
how to get to ama ko ghar: take the bus and get off at soaltee mode. walk upwards and past this party palace on the left. there is a bajaj showroom. right before that a small galli has a sign that says ‘amako ghar’. follow the galli and go till the end…there is a small uphill bato of concrete and there you are!
with love, from ktm 