New Year New Pact!

The year 2015 has been an exceptional year. I took up a pact and I'm thrilled to have completed it. It was simple act of doing something that I already did albeit slightly less frequently and yet I could not have imagined what it would lead me to. It turned out to be a milestone year as it introduced me to friends far and wide and we suddenly became part of each other's life. It also led me to think how small challenges we take up for ourselves lead us to something nice and sweet that we may cherish for a long time to come.

So, I've decided to take a new pact for the coming year and though I'm not yet decided on one, I have a few ideas and am inviting more from all friends. #NewYearNewPact

Here are a couple of my ideas and please feel free to add yours:

1. 100 stories of exemplary lives of ordinary women (We can call it ‪#‎100extraordinarywomen‬ - This one is my favourite. Next year, I would like to find out and share stories of 100 ordinary women who did extraordinary things. They could be anyone in India or abroad. This is my favourite because IF more people join me in this pact, imagine the number of stories we would end up knowing and sharing, even if some are repetitions. Gosh! I've even started on a list of probable names in my head.)

2. 12 books in my To-Read list (We can call this ‪#‎12bookstoread‬ - I have been becoming lax in picking up the books and reading them. So, with this pact, I would like to read at least 12 books in a year and review them WITHOUT any spoilers. Now, considering my schedule, 12 is a big number for me (I don't want to count the children's books I read with my daughter) but others who want to join in this pact can read more.)

3. 12 random acts of kindness (We can call this ‪#‎12randomactsofkindness‬ - It's good to do something nice for unsuspecting people unexpectedly. We can try and do such thing at least once a month - howsoever big or small - and share with others. Now, sharing your act of kindness, is it too vain or would it encourage others to follow suit?)

My Top Fifteen Favourite Authors

I was tagged by a friend on Facebook to name 15 authors who have captured my imagination, shaped my intellect and consequently influenced how I live my life.

Well, 15 is such a number that I'm even forced to think whether I qualify to call reading as my hobby. But, here it goes:

1. Enid Blyton: Enid Blyton was my first favourite and Noddy my first love as a child. I used to fish out Noddy books from our junior school library. A little bit grown up, I loved the 'Famous Five' and the 'Secret Seven' series.

2. Jane Austen: She is my most favourite author as an adult. When I was in my teens and early-twenties, she introduced me to romance and I set foot in my thirties, she introduced me to feminism.

3. Erich Segal: I have read a few of his books but nothing has ever moved me the way Love Story did. I still cry even after having read it multiple times before.

4. J.K. Rowling: I am unabashedly and unapologetically a Harry Potter fan and have read each of the seven books multiple times.

5. Khaled Hosseini: I have read two of his books and the rest are in my to-read list. But those two were enough to redefine my reading list - somehow I could never again go back to Danielle Steel style romance.

6. Dan Brown: I loved 'Da Vinci Code' and 'Angels and Demons' and found the 'Deception Point' and 'Digital Fortress' too predictable. I am yet to read the rest and 'The Lost Symbol' is definitely on my list. But, why I include him here is that after having literally grown up in a convent school, my entire connection with the Bible stories I had heard as a child was ripped apart by his books and somehow I can never listen / read any bible story the same way ever again without being reminded of 'Da Vinci Code'.

7. John Grisham: All his books have similar names, similar story lines even and I often find it difficult to recall whether I have read his particular book or not. But, he is such an effortless writer that I can pick any of his book and read it at a stretch and even enjoy the same.

8. Jeffrey Archer: I loved the Kane and Able trilogy, especially 'The Prodigal daughter' thanks to its feminist storyline. The books were not at all connected in terms of the plot but were equally capable of hooking one. I didn't however enjoy his short stories, 'A Quiver full of Arrows'.

9. Carolyn Keene (Nancy Drew series): Another book series I loved as a kid, after outgrowing Noddy, was the Nancy Drew series. They were a part of growing up as well.

10. Ayn Rand: Let me be honest, I have only read her 'The Fountainhead' as of now. It was a painfully difficult novel to read but so representative of our society today even though the novel itself was based in 1920s and 30s in US. 'Atlas shrugged' is waiting to be picked.

11. Sidney Sheldon: He was my first introduction to thrillers and the day I picked up a Sidney Sheldon (I even remember it was 'The Best Laid Plans'), I never again picked up another Danielle Steel. I was totally done away with romance.

12. Danielle Steele: Well, the entries above would make it sound like I detest Danielle Steel but in reality she and her books had introduced the idea of romance in my head in my early twenties. Only, she set the standard too high for real life people to be able to meet the criteria. *wink*

13. Robert Ludlum: This should actually have been much above in the list but I am not in the mood to redo the numbering (wish it worked like MS Word). The Jason Bourne series will always be my favourite (even the Matt Damon movie series which was radically different from the books) and he will remain my eternal Superhero - more human than any superhero stories in the world.

14. Margaret Mitchell: The only book she has ever written in her lifetime is also one of my all-time favourites, 'Gone with the Wind'. This book made the summer of 1996 beautiful for me.

15. Louisa May Alcott and Johanna Spyri: I am including these two for the only books of theirs that I have read till date: 'Little women' by Alcott, my introduction to classics and 'Heidi' by Spyri, my introduction to novels; both of which sowed the seeds to importance of being a good human beings.

Similar post: My Top Ten Favourite Books

The role of media in the intolerance debate and the Aamir controversy

Last couple of days saw Aamir Khan being drawn into an unnecessary controversy where one of his statements surfaced in media stating that his wife doesn't feel very safe in the country and has even talked about leaving the country. While memes started floating abound making us laugh on the issue, what was surprising was how the Hindu rightwing hardliners reacted to the issue. Soon messages were being circulated branding Aamir as a traitor; asking him to leave the country (some even choosing a destination for him - the ever popular neighbouring country Pakistan); encouraging people to uninstall the Snapdeal app because Aamir promotes the online retailer; and asking people not to watch 'Dangal', his upcoming movie.

Now, I'm not a fan of Aamir Khan and have even criticized him off and on on various issues especially for his 'Satyamev Jayate' episode on doctors; but I, for once, have no doubts about his patriotism. Moreover, I find the extreme reactions ridiculous. Snapdeal doesn't subscribe to his personal views just because he is their brand ambassador. 'Dangal' is not just an Aamir Khan film, there are thousands more people associated with it - people who do not hold the same viewpoint and whose bread and butter also depend on the movie. And what to say about the statements of the so called Hindu propagandists, with the latest being Shiv Sena which has announced a Rs. 1 Lac award for anyone who slaps Aamir Khan? Really? How can one stoop down to such a level?

I personally think that he or Shahrukh Khan or anybody for that matter, has a right to say whatever they want. Isn't that what tolerance is all about? By punishing them for what they say, we are actually proving them right. By banning their movies and endorsements etc., we are actually demonstrating that we are indeed intolerant. Let's be big hearted enough to ignore what they say and carry on as usual. Let's really be tolerant in the real sense.

But, more importantly, the issue is much more than just that. It is not just about whether Aamir had the freedom to express his views. It is actually about what role is media playing in this episode. Aamir gave a 30 min. interview and he spoke about a lot of things. In fact, he added right after that very sentence that he doesn't agree with the viewpoint. But our very "free" press snipped out 30 seconds from the 30 minute interview and created a controversy and a furore. It is not any more about Aamir's freedom of speech or the common man's freedom of speech. It is more about a common man's right to know the complete truth and the bigger picture.

All through the intolerance debate and ever since it started, I have a feeling that the media is unnecessarily creating controversies and chaos where there shouldn't be any. They are purposefully highlighting religious tones in any statement, any incident whatsoever, no matter how stray the incident is or how weak the connection is (sometimes even using just snippets for their wilful purpose as in Aamir's case). All this simply because controversy sells.

It's high time we all start using our minds and stop believing everything that media projects.

The intolerance debate!!

After BJP lost in Bihar, a friend of mine summarized on Facebook the situation for BJP as follows: "I hope at least now the BJP realise that they came to power after the 2014 General Elections, not because of their core saffron constituency - but because a large number of Indians who are free minded, fair and desirous of economic growth have given them a chance to implement their development agenda. If they do not rein in the foot-in-mouth ban-at-sight brigade, they will simply not be able to deliver growth, jobs, infrastructure and development, and will end up getting severely chastised by the Indian voter."

This is exactly what was going on in my mind.

I'll be honest. I had lost all interest in politics until Mr. Narendra Modi hopped on to the national scene. My family has been a big-time BJP supporter for years but I personally had not found one leader in BJP - not even in any other party - who could inspire me after Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee retired. My attitude, much like most of the youth around, was that of indifference towards Indian Politics. But then Mr. Modi came forward. He had an impressive track record in Gujarat. I did understand even then that he thrives a lot on publicity but honestly, I did not find anything objectionable in that. I still don't. After all we in corporate world do understand that selling your work is just as important as doing good work. But, this works only if you do have some base of work and results to showcase.

Add to it that his entire agenda for the General Elections was based on "Development". His mission statement looked realistic. Many of the promises had a timeline of 10 years or more unlike the promises of 7 days / 30 days / 100 days as promoted by a certain new emerging popular rival fighting it out on an anti-corruption agenda. Mr. Modi got a clear mandate and since then he has worked on a lot of issues. He has been criticised as well as praised for everything he has done, or done away with. He has taken both in his stride and ignored what got into is way.

I'm neither a political expert, nor an economic analyst. But, as a layman whatever steps he took seemed beneficial in the long run. He was a pro in getting his messages across through various mediums. For instance, he introduced the "Beti bachao, Beti padhao" campaign and ensured that the females were in fore-front in the Republic Day Parade. He has been travelling across the world promoting "Make in India" and ensuring FDI deals for India. But it would be foolish to assume that all that FDI will enter India on the next day at one go. It would be foolish to assume "Achche Din" will come in one year. They both will take their own sweet time and will flow in slowly in their own comfortable speed.

Anyway, the point is that even though I still have all the trust in Mr. Modi's policies and strategy, I'm losing faith again in BJP. At this point, I sincerely believe that BJP might not be in power to see another term and further Mr. Modi's agenda; or reap its fruits just as well. And all this is not new to BJP even. They never make it another term in a row. But they don't learn either. The moment they get power, their tongues start wagging and they start waving their highly irresponsible saffron-coated flags. This time due to a full majority, they've gone full swing into beef-banning, Muslim bashing, RSS orthodox moral policing, etc. So much so that the entire country is debating on intolerance.

More than all this, what irks me is that Mr. Modi, the famed authoritarian, is absolutely quiet on that. Does he not understand that he needs to be on the PM chair at least two terms to fulfil what he has set out to do? Does he not understand from the Delhi and Bihar verdicts that such irresponsible behaviour from his party and their "associates" will not lead him to a second term in office? What exactly is keeping him from reigning in the motor-mouths and the obnoxious orthodoxes? Isn't it high time, he stops being so smug in his position and so confident in his work that he totally ignores the periphery? Isn't it time he salvages his reputation of a pro-development and anti-orthodox leader?

Sisterly fun!

I am feeling nostalgic today. I am wearing a set of glass bangles which remind me of a story. It is the story about how three girls on their own got things done one fine day. When my sister completed her MBBS, she decided that she would like to complete her internship from Gurgaon. I went ahead and checked with the concerned hospital whether it is possible and they said that it is possible and you just need to get a signed letter from the authorities. So far it seemed very simple, but when she actually landed in Gurgaon about three days before she was scheduled to start her internship, we realized that the concerned authorities who were supposed to issue the letter were actually based out of Panchkula and not Gurgaon. Not only that, the hospital would not accept her without the letter presented on the first day itself and even a single day’s delay in starting the internship would mean she would not be eligible to get her degree in the current year and would effectively end up wasting 1 full year. With no time to waste, I put a leave request on mail in the evening and got on a night bus to Chandigarh along with my two sisters. We were at the entrance of the office at 6:30 a.m. and reading the business hours mentioned at the gate which started at 9:30 a.m. My sister was so tensed that she outrightly refused to have any breakfast and so the three of us sat there on the pavement hungry and just sharing silly jokes to keep our spirit alive. By 9:00 a.m. there were 2-3 more people waiting outside the gate who had come for the same reasons.

When we got talking to a man who was our father’s age, he told us that he was a doctor from Ambala and was there to get the same letter for his son. He also smirked when we told him we were there for the same reason and when asked why he said that they do not issue the letter easily and that it was his fourth trip to Panchkula to get that letter. My sister was on the verge of tears after hearing that when the two of us consoled her that we will not leave without the letter. We did not expect then that it would practically come down to exactly that scenario but it did.

We went from one desk to another, one door to another and even one floor to another. We skipped lunch as well and tricked the not-in-office big boss’ PA to pass on his number. We called him and pleaded him to come to office and sign the form (which I must appreciate that he did) and then split with each other to get the other work done. Eventually when just the stamping of the letter was pending, the person concerned simply vanished from his seat. It was already 4:00 p.m. by then and we had waited for half an hour when that doctor from Ambala came to me and asked whether our task was done. I smiled and said that just the stamp is pending and he laughed and told us that it is the stamp only for which he is coming since his last three trips. We had a train back at 6:30 p.m. and my sister was as anxious as she could be. Me and my other sister looked at her and then to her shocking glares, we simply raised hell. We went to his boss’ office and told him that his subordinate is missing from his seat since half an hour and that we need the stamp on the letter. We outrightly told him that we have a train in an hour’s time but we are not leaving without the stamped letter. We said that we have not booked into a hotel and are prepared to sit outside the office and let everyone know what happened if our sister’s whole year is wasted due to a stupid stamp. By now, we had attracted enough attention that his boss almost panicked and sent someone to look for the concerned person. Turned out that he was hiding in the men’s wash-room simply because he did not want us to get the letter in the first attempt. He was called to his seat by his boss and we just banged our file and letter in front of him. He stamped it. Then we took the file from the doctor uncle’s hand and we put it down in front of him and we asked him to stamp that as well, which he did. As we walked out of the office with my sister smiling ear to ear and the letter in her hand, the doctor uncle thanked us.

Half an hour later we were in the Sector 17 Chandigarh market where we filled up our starving bowels and also shopped for a few nitty-gritties including these set of bangles. Oh! What a day it was. And whenever me and my sisters sit down to gossip we remember it for all the fun, bonding and teamwork.

The ongoing Jasleen Kaur and Sarvjeet Singh Debate

For those active on the social media in India, Jasleen Kaur and Sarvjeet Singh debate doesn't need any introduction. For the uninitiated though, the issue is as follows: Jasleen Kaur, a supposed activist of the AAP Youth wing, posted on Facebook the picture of a person – who later turned out to be a normal Delhi citizen Sarvjeet Singh – along with a text calling him a ‘pervert’ and saying that he misbehaved with her and bad-mouthed her at a traffic light. The post went viral and many people – including me and Sonakshi Sinha (without implying that we both stand in the same league) – shared it across. The person was hailed as a ‘molester’ and even a potential rapist. Two days later, the guy was traced and arrested by police on the basis of the Facebook post. Allegedly, he ended up not only spending a couple of nights behind bars but also losing his job. Out on bail, he shared an emotional reply on Jasleen’s post stating that he had not misbehaved with her and on the contrary Jasleen had misbehaved with him and bad-mouthed him. All of a sudden, a couple of witnesses also surfaced supporting Sarvjeet’s claim and suddenly Jasleen’s affiliation to AAP being highlighted by the media turned all of this into a so-called political publicity stunt for her. Meanwhile, AAP supremo and Delhi CM had even announced an award of Rs. 5,000/- for Jasleen for her so called ‘act of bravery’ and for showing the courage to report an incident of molestation and ‘crime against women’.

These are the facts which I have tried my best to state without taking any sides. In fact, I have decided not to take any sides in this matter even though I had first made the mistake of sharing Jasleen’s post initially. But, I have since removed that post from my Facebook; and all such subsequent posts as well after realizing my mistake. Let me be expressly clear on what I mean when I say ‘my mistake’. I refer it to mean me sharing Jasleen’s post without any idea or proof of it being true and without any corroboration. I do not refer it to mean me sharing Jasleen’s post which eventually turned out to be a false claim. I want to be very clear and maintain that I do not know who is saying the truth and who is not and I do not even have the means to find out, so, I remain neutral until the truth comes out.

Now, having clarified my stand, I would like to note down a few questions and concerns that have been going on in my head from the incident.

1. Amidst all the chaos that happened over the issue one thing which got pretty clear was that after the incident, people have started doubting the legitimacy of eve-teasing cases, especially the ones that go viral on social media. Even I can’t help think now in each and every case that this is a one-sided story and I don’t know what the other side has to say. It is not a very positive shift in mentality because as such very few cases of eve-teasing and sexual harassment are filed by girls. Now, even fewer people will come out in support of the girls who have suffered molestation on city streets. Will this not strengthen the already existing social stigma against reporting crime against women?
2. What is it with the Delhi government awarding her with a cash prize of Rs. 5,000/-? No, I’m not commenting on the amount. Any cash prize has relative importance depending on what it was awarded for and how much value the recipient attaches to it. My concern is with respect to the intent of the award. Jasleen had not taken a legal route yet. She had posted the incident details on Facebook alright. But even if we assume for a minute that her claims are right and genuine, I personally do not think that it counts as courage to report the incident. In fact, as per me, it does not even count as reporting the incident as reporting the incident would have been had she lodged an FIR against the alleged molester, which she never did. What courage then?
3. Also, that brings me to the legal system and the police functioning in India. In Delhi (and so I assume that in India althogether), a domestic violence case or a dowry harassment case cannot legally be lodged in the Police Station directly. It has to be routed through the Crime against Women’s Cell where they ‘counsel’ you and the alleged wrong-doers for at least 3 months (of course there’s no upper limit to the timeline). An FIR usually is filed only after the CAWC sends a report to the DCP saying that it is a fit case for an FIR and the DCP approves filing of the FIR. Which mean that it could be months and even years before a domestic violence or a dowry harassment case even reaches a police station. But, it took the police just two days to arrest an alleged eve teaser on the basis of a viral Facebook post and they did not even wait for an official police complaint to be filed. What an irony? Why is it that our police functions only when something gets highlighted in the public either via social media or via print and TV media?
4. When it comes to the common man, everyone is sympathetic as seen in the given case of Jasleen Kaur where everyone supported her initially. However, as soon as the news of her political association with AAP came into knowledge, people’s entire perspective changed. All of a sudden, everyone started claiming that she is doing this to establish her political agenda, especially in the light of upcoming DUSU elections. People even said that this is a ploy by AAP to establish her as a face on women empowerment within their student followers. Does this not show how much do we trust the system and how gullible people are? 
5. One interesting thing that happened was the rise of eye-witnesses immediately after Sarvjeet’s arrest. They all supported and supposedly corroborated Sarvjeet’s version of the story. Also suddenly CCTV footage also surfaced trying to prove Jasleen a liar by showing her monitoring traffic. How long was the footage? A few seconds and it did not even show the war of words between Jasleen and Sarvjeet. They all were simply trying to prove that Jasleen was lying. Maybe she was and maybe she wasn’t, I don’t know. But, I often wonder why do we never have such eye-witnesses and CCTV footages in real genuine cases. Why did none of the people who saw Nirbhaya and her friend lying stripped and wounded on the road for 45 minutes ever show up to give witness? Why did nobody spoke for the girl who was stripped naked by a bunch of boys in full public view in Kolkata and her video was shot and uploaded on the internet? Why did nobody in the crowd come out when a mob simply went crazy on a new year’s night and stripped naked a girl simply out of new year frenzy in Mumbai? Why is it that when it is time to support a girl against a wrong nobody speaks up and people come forward to support a guy when he is allegedly the wronged party?
6. I was actually surprised how quickly the tides turned in favour of Sarvjeet what with everyone suddenly becoming concerned that the girls are using social media to malign just about any innocent guy. He was immediately declared innocent without even the matter going to the court. I admit Jasleen’s modus operandi was wrong even if she does genuinely believe herself to be a wronged party. But, are we the people not doing the same mistake again by openly now supporting Sarvjeet against Jasleen? If we did not corroborate Jasleen’s claims, have we corroborated Sarvjeet’s claims before openly supporting him? Also, if Sarvjeet’s claims are true and he has all those witnesses and CCTV footages, why is he asking for sympathy and support from the social media? Why doesn’t he simply file a defamation case against Jasleen? Why are the people not questioning him on that? For all I know, unless the court decides who was right and who actually misbehaved basis all evidences, we cannot ourselves pass any judgements basis rudimentary evidences available on the internet. Are we even qualified to form conclusions from that?
7. And, finally, the one thing that pinched me the most in this episode was how people not only bullied Jasleen after the tide turned but also all the people, mostly ladies, who had supported Jasleen and shared her post. Sonakshi Sinha came out with a public apology after being booed on Facebook and Twitter, mostly just to put an end to the tirade. And I can understand that since I went through the same. A few ‘friends’ of mine on Facebook started tagging me to every story supporting Sarvjeet and condemning Jasleen. I usually do not entertain tags, even on photos where I am actually there. But I still accommodated and accepted the tags and let them show on my timeline just so that the friend who tagged me appreciates that I have accepted my mistake and am open to his views. But these were then also accompanied with comments directly aimed at me ‘always’ supporting women and never speaking in favour of men. Personally, I always try to be fair though I do often tend to speak for the women but I have always maintained that I am not against all men but only those who do consider women as second-grade human beings and which are maybe quite a few in number. But how many times do you explain this to someone who is just not ready to understand? So, just as the comments continued, so did the tagging. After the first, and then the second and then the third, it actually started getting on my nerves. And I started rejecting tags and even deleted all articles I had previously allowed on my timeline along with the comments. Good that the taggers took the hint but seriously, for had this continued for a day more, I had already made up my mind to ‘unfriend’ and even ‘block’ the people who consider it their right to bully others on social media just because they have a different opinion and point of view than theirs.

Giving the gift of knowledge!

There are some issues I feel very strongly about. My friends know that I talk about women’s issues and child abuse. But, only my very close friends and family know how strongly I feel about education. I have been extremely privileged to get a very good education thanks to my parents’ efforts. I went to a top convent school in Delhi; I went to the top most commerce college in Asia; I was blessed by God to sail through Chartered Accountancy at the young age of 22 and then I also topped a private university in Germany during my Masters. At the risk of sounding immodest, that’s an academic record I’m really proud of. But, the importance of it all actually dawned on me when after a failed marriage including a sabbatical from a happening career, I was struggling to get back on my feet. If there was a single most important factor that got me back on my career path (apart from my family’s undaunting support), it had to be my education. Moreover, I also see my education as much more than just academic records for me. My schooling had shaped my personality, developed my character and taught me the skills required to be a proud self-reliant girl. This education goes far beyond curriculum books. It is shaped through immersing yourself in experiences of others that you only get to know through their written words, namely, books (primarily other than course books) and through your own mind which knows how to think. They both coupled together take you to a world which is far beyond your limited four walls – a world where imagination soars and the learning is limitless. This is all-round development and certainly the kind of all-round development that I wish all children in our country and in our world are able to get.


My previous company was very active in terms of corporate social responsibility. Apart from volunteering activities, there was an initiative called “Give as you earn” (GAYE) in which we committed to part with a portion of our salary every month – could be as little as Rs. 100 without any upper limit – for transfer to our chosen charities (out of a long list of charities). Apart from the occasional guilt of it being ‘too easy’ and not needing any effort from your side, it was a convenient way to give back to the society. When I changed jobs, my current company did not and still does not have too much of corporate social responsibility initiatives on its platter. To be fair to the company, it is a new set-up and a growing one right now. But, despite off and on monetary contributions to some charities, I had this on my mind as to figure out a way to give back to the society, preferably to help in spread of knowledge to the next generation.


Then as part of casual conversation, a friend suggested that lets open an NGO and do something for the society. I liked the idea but was a little sceptical. An NGO is a huge responsibility. So, I suggested that why don’t we start with baby steps and if we are able to sustain and grow, we can think of forming an NGO as well. And just impulsively I had an idea: there are many charitable schools running for the underprivileged but they are only able to fulfil their basic needs. Why not provide them with something extra? Why not start contributing books per month – even if just two books per month – to the school other than the course books? With six people (that was the strength of our core group of friends), with two books per month, we can have a total of 144 books in a year and actually they will have a kind of library. Eventually it isn’t even about money because you get to choose the books that fit into your budget.


I even remembered a school for underprivileged students in my neighbourhood called Vishwas Vidyalaya and made it a point to check it out. A basic Google search, a phone call and a short visit later, the initiative which we now call “Mission Vishwas” was born. Apart from the six of us, I managed to get two more people on board and we not only donated books but we even donated sports equipment to the school (cricket set, pairs of badminton rackets, footballs, Frisbee). Today I’m visiting the school for yet another monthly contribution of books. Actually, these small visits have slowly become the highlight of my month as I always make it a point to come myself (often with my daughter and sometimes with a friend and a fellow contributor).

But I’ll be honest. I’m slightly concerned about the direction this little initiative is going into. The contributions have been dwindling slightly even though its just the start. And though that troubles me, I feel that one cannot force charity. So, I have ended up increasing my own contributions to at least keep up the pace. I’ve gone from 3 books to 6 books and now to 18 books this month. I’m extremely proud that we have – in a short span of barely four months – been able to add 99 books to the empty room they called a Library and added quite a few sports equipment to the other empty room they called Sports centre. Actually, this whole initiative is so close to my heart now that I just know I will continue as long as I can even if I’m the only one contributing to the school. But now me and a friend of mine are taking it upon ourselves to mobilize more people to contribute.


P.S. Like I said, we have decided to mobilize more people to join in. I personally would like to reach out to my fellow pacters and use the pact to mobilize generous people with similar thought process who would like to join in the cause. In case anyone is interested to know more about it and help this little school, please feel free to get in touch with me directly or join my Facebook Group created for this initiative by the name of “Mission Vishwas” (https://www.facebook.com/groups/783414818407522/?ref=bookmarks). We DO NOT take any monetary contributions and / or fix any min. limit or value of your contributions. It is only books – and any books other than curriculum books – appropriate for students of a Hindi Medium school from class Nursery to Eighth. Moreover, if anyone in Gurgaon / NCR can devote time and volunteer to help slow / new students come up the curve with existing class, it would be very helpful. Even if you choose to contribute directly, it is equally welcome and appreciable. Please feel free to check out the website: http://www.vishwasindia.org/index.html.