Vibrant Gujaratis...after 7 years

(Pics and Text by Neyaz A. Farooquee)

A happy home, after all...


Residing in a desolate home in the sleepy neighbourhood of Jamia Nagar, they are self-content with what they have got. And they have to. Every necessity of their daily life is being provided by the 'Happy Home Foundation' but the void of being forced away from their own homeland, their very own, can’t be healed easily by any Marham.

Brought in Delhi in 2002, they have consoled themselves of harsh reality of Gujarat. A vibrant Gujarat for some but not for all. And certainly not for these innocents, if one presumes them to be. Youngest one was merely 3 years old and the eldest was of raw 9 years when fortune forced them to Delhi with a Medical delegation which has gone to serve the riot victims.

They have experienced the seven years of ‘estrange-ness’ mutely on the mercy of others. Have food to eat, clothes to wear, thanks to the Zakat given by the cross section of the society, including Hindus and Christians along with Muslims. The task of schooling lay with a school in the vicinity, The God's Grace. They provide books for these children along with school dress.

Jawed is the eldest of them all, he is 18 and most composed. A pretty good student, he was in 7th standard in the Gujarati medium in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat but the language barrier, or perhaps the situation, forced him to be demoted to 2nd standard in English medium God's Grace School. When I met him, he was a bit apprehensive in talking me but steadily he eased. And I learned that he aspire to study mass communications. Mass communications... perhaps he wants to communicate something he strongly feels about.

Abrar, in 8th standard, wishes to be a doctor one day. He remembers that his locality witnessed although just one death in the clashes but there were countless injured. He remembers that there were very few doctors visible in the area and even ambulances were attacked.

Wasim, a 7th standard student, most flamboyant among the elder guys, aspire to be a cricketer but unfortunately Happy Home Foundation doesn’t have any playground so he plays indoor games. Table Tennis is his favorite among indoor games but on holidays he gets a chance to play in nearby playground under the supervision of a caretaker.

These are few brief stories of the fortunates among the unfortunates who are lucky enough to survive to narrate their stories but these boys and girls, at this tender age, are too juvenile to understand the nuisance of life but they have witnessed something that has itched into their mind and they have ‘niched’ a resolve to do, to do something different from ‘them’---the perpetrators of the heinous crime. “What is the difference between me and ‘them’ if I do the same to them”. How true.

And may this truth descend down to everyone irrespective of ‘me’ and ‘they’.

But the story does not end here. If you try to force yourself into the past, a sad drop of water trickles down to the cheek of Fatima (name changed) and suddenly one realise that he is prying far ahead into the tender minds and is contented with whatever little he has got to know from them.

She sobs and others are on the verge of sobbing, “They killed my Ammi and then Abbu”.

Children at Happy Home Foundation, New Delhi in the study room

Studying...

Searching their future...

Their bedroom

Voluntary caretakers of Happy Home Foundation... give 'em a standing ovation