The joy of sharing

Are you a working professional? Would you work round the clock the whole week and then take a nice wholesome weekend to relax? What’s your weekend plan? Movies, Clubbing, family time … what? Here’s a different option for you.

Many people, take me for an example, don’t believe in PAYING to help someone. More than the fact that I would never know where my hard earned cash went I wish to be able to do something with my own hands and mind. I want to see the results right in front of me. Charity is an over glorified term; it’s just not that simple. I prefer the term ‘sharing’.

Trying to make it work in a big city got to my nerves. I don’t have a family to spend time with nor my friends are available to ‘hang out’ with me all the time. This was the driving force behind my asking a basic question- ‘What makes my existence in Bangalore worth?’ Eating, sleeping and watching TV shouldn’t define me; it just can’t. I tried a lot of things which I have been regularly following -yoga, reading, writing. Nothing really helped. The thought of an approaching weekend made me sick. What am I suppose to divert my energy to? The calling came to me from a small newspaper article. There was this small group of people lead by Dharin and Lingaraj who were teaching the kids at a nearby Government school. They teach English and had plans to teach them computers too. I immediately called at the number given in the article and got in touch with them. I wrote the first ‘application’ for a job I could so well take care of. I knew I won’t be paid but I couldn’t wait to go to the school. I went on to disclose in the mail to Dharin all of my doubts. What if I can’t explain anything to them? They speak only Kanada and I won’t know how to describe everything so well. What if they hate me? Dharin had only one thing to tell me, ‘You teach with the heart’!

The first day at the school was bittersweet! I met Dharin a lean, serious looking guy. He told me Lingaraj was absent that day and asked me if I would cover up for him. I suddenly got tensed. I was finally shown to the classroom and the kids- a forty strong room- standard 6th. They were amazed to see me. Dharin hurried away to take care of other classes leaving me stranded in front of a smiling and giggling lot. I was dumbfounded. I tried saying a ‘hello’ and started off by telling them my name. I wrote few lines on the board. Soon the class settled down. I was sent to the best school in my city. We were dressed up in tidy uniforms and had fancy classrooms and our teachers use to communicate ONLY in English. Here was the actual reality check. Most of the students didn’t have footwear. They didn’t know how to speak in the most over rated language in the world-English. Their ‘uniforms’ were untidy. I was appalled. I had never ever seen a ‘classroom’ like this before.

I regularly visit movie theaters and malls. It’s exciting. You get to dress up, wear the best of clothes, feel good and have fun. Not to mention the spending. Going to MY school on a Saturday morning is a different high. The kids don’t care if you are wearing the best suit or a plain old T’s. They would still shake hands with you at the end of the class. They will jump with joy when you give them a pen or a book or a toffee. The sheer innocence you see in those bright eyes; all they would ask you is for a good inspiration. The willingness to learn, the curiosity they have and their will to break the conventional barriers is evident. The feeling that you get when you realize that they have learnt something new that day is priceless.

Volunteering to teach at the school has been one of the most humbling and rewarding experiences I had in my entire life. Now that I know the kids love me I can’t wait to go and see them every Saturday. I remember times when I had to cancel on my ‘weekend plans’ just for them!