Dad's 65th b'day celebrations at Balwadi! :)

The Trustees  

Seated (L to R).. Brigadier Dharamprakash,Radhakrishnan Ramaswami, Lalitha Radhakrishnan
Standing (L to R)..Krishnadutt Grover, Raghavan Srinivas, Dr. Rahul Patoria, Abid Nagaria, Ganesh Ramaswamy and Anil Kartha.
                                              

One of the objectives of SHREERAM RADHAKRISHNAN MEMORIAL TRUST is to set up Balwadi's. In a Balwadi additional coaching is provided to under privileged children from various sections of society.The Balwadi at Bhim Nagar , Thane was started last year wherein 28 children are enrolled and are being assisted in their studies by a teacher employed by the trust. We interact with these children on different occasions to encourage them and share our happiness . 

  

      Today was one such joyous occasion for us, the reason being my father's ( a fellow trustee ) 65th birthday!!! We decided to share this milestone in his life with the Balwadi children and planned for a small celebration with them.Eagerly we left for the Balwadi waiting to surprise the children there. However we were in for a pleasant surprise! No sooner did we step into the garage, than the kids began singing "Happy birthday to you" in perfect harmony .The blackboard was decorated and the walls were adorned by beautiful posters made by the kids wishing my dad. My dad was so taken aback by this beautiful gesture that he did not even realise that there was a balloon filled with confetti waiting to be broken just above his head ! He was presented with a bunch of roses and a lovely handmade greeting card along with a few candy bars, following which the children were given eatables ,candies and cold drinks .

The beautiful birthday banner 

A token of appreciation gifted to dad.

A small gift for the dedicated teacher 

Ever since I was a tiny tot the reading habit was inculcated in me by my parents .My dad wished the same for the children and hence we purchased story books for them with morals.We wanted the children to read the story , think over it  and understand the moral and implement the same in their day to day life. Colouring books were provided to bring out the hidden artistic talent in them . Various charts depicting do's and don'ts , giving information on history, geography, our national culture and heritage, mannerisms etc were gifted to imbibe virtues in them ..

We then had a small talk on the importance of education and virtues ,followed by a dhamaal photo session with the kids! I have never seen happier faces in my life !!!!! This includes my father as well! 

Students listening to Vinod Sir very keenly on the importance of education and virtues . ( Seated on extreme right : MRS RAJESHWARY , sponsorer of Balwadi)

Pet Pooja time !

Masti ki paatshala !

Say cheese ! :) ( Dad holding up his greeting card ;) )

            As we cleaned up post the event , I and my dad deliberated. Were we able to bring happiness to these children or was it the other way around ? Never ever had my dad celebrated his birthday in such a manner till date ... Never ever had he broken a confetti filled balloon or had complete strangers singing BAAR BAAR YEH DIN AAYEIN with love exclusively for him or banners being drawn for him .... 

All I can say is that , I learnt two important lessons today .

 1) To share happiness we needn't know the other person personally ..ALL WE NEED IS THE HEART TO CARE AND SHARE.  Happiness is something so beautiful that it multiplies exponentially when shared with anyone . So often in life we have good intentions for others , yet rarely do we do something about it. Rarely do we execute our intentions into actions ..

2)  Children are pure.Yes ,there were spelling mistakes.Yes, their voice quivered whilst singing.But who cares!!!!  Their hearts are untainted and they love all. It is us adults who teach them to differentiate and bias their love. After all they learn most by observing us adults.  I VOW TO HELP OTHERS MORE OFTEN AND LEARN MORE FROM CHILDREN .