....and suddenly everyone in the class stood up, they started enchanting poems in marathi, we felt honored and kept our eyes on those innocent faces, and tried to figure out what's the context of that poem!

Afterwards, the teacher told us that they narrated ten poems in a row, amazing, isn't it!!

Yep, that was one of the scenes happened in our second visit to Santulan's  Mithari mining area visit! No wonder those kids are as smart as ours, the only difference is that they don't have the privileges like our kids! We spend thousands of rupees in our kids education, this fee........that fee..........this function..........that function...and other blah blah activities which add no relief to parents pocket, and little or no value to our kids learning! Apart from that our kids have the most important thing, and that's parental care, guidance and moral support from us, whereas, the kids of mining workers has none of them! Their parents work in mines for the whole day, get back in evening, women prepare food, while most men have drinks, have their dinner and sleep to get back to their work next day!

I don't think that none of them wants that their kid to work in the mines as they do, but because of their ignorance and financial weakness, they found themselves helpless! At the most a mining worker thinks is to make his kid, a Truck Driver, who can drive those trucks full of stones, used in construction of hoses and buildings!

In the name of education they don't have a single penny to spend on their's kids future! and schools are distant dreams in these areas. As most of the mining sites are out of town and there are hardly any civilization nearby!

As they say, "... everything comes with a cost!", the cost of development is paid by the lives of those people who work in mines, construction and other hazardous industries.

....but why I'm describing all this? What's the point here?

....the only point of the above storytelling is that when you see the reality like that, you feel fortunate enough that, you get so much that might be a dream for someone, and even after that we never stop crying foul!!

I'm not a preacher but yes I do feel that people like us who are able, can create a platform for the under-privileged in our society! People like us can help/support/facilitate things for the needy people, who work much harder then us and get much lesser than us! Their work is as important as ours, and above all, they waste no time in those meeting rooms!

.....same day one of the teacher at Santulan's Pashanshala at Mithari told us that everyday they walk eight kilometers from a nearby village to teach these kids and work 9AM to 5 PM, six days a week!! Hats off to their spirits, of teaching these kids by bearing so much of pain!

....though we were spell bound again this time by these scenes and thought, but the only difference I felt this time is a inner happiness that "Yes, I'm doing something for them!", and we really felt proud of it!

Next visit will come with more such experiences! whatever it is but I'm enjoying the wave of transformation within!

Yep, I clicked a few pics of the kids there, and they posed innocently saying ...."meri bhi........meri bhi!"