Vatsalya... Small things bring great joy ...

Vatsalya Abhayasrama, is an orphanage in Bangalore for girls. I've been going there on Sundays, along with a group of friends, to teach the girls Spoken English, and to help them develop their personality, and communication abilities.

This Sunday, me, Ranjini and Janani were engaging the girls of Standard I to Standard V. What we realized was that they have immense potential, and all they need is an opportunity to show their creativity. Last weekend, we had given them a task for this Sunday. The girls were divided into 2 groups, and they were asked to come up with a small skit, a group dance, and a group song. Each group had a group leader. We told them that we would be giving prizes to the ones who perform well. And this Sunday when we walked into the premises of Vatsalya, what do we see - The girls are applying make up for the drama!! I saw a few girls running around with mustaches ! What an amazing spirit the girls showed. We had never expected this kind of a response from them ! Not only had they worn nice clothes and applied make up (with whatever little things they had), they also had rehearsed very well for their group activities. Each team was filled with enthusiasm to perform. The girls danced, and sang, and it was never ending I must say...

In then end, we gave away the prizes, and it was really heart touching to see the girls jumping with joy on receiving sketch pens and pencils. Lesson learnt : It is small things that give us the greatest amount of joy in life... We also judged the group leaders on their leadership abilities by asking their team members to come and speak about them... They were so overjoyed that the two group leaders stepped ahead to give a THANK YOU speech to us !! Wow... I like the fact that they participated in many events voluntarily... Its this spirit that makes me want to go back to the same place, and help them improve..