"Sublime Enlightenment"

Education is important but, just studying and not playing can be a spoil sport. Sometime, during my premature adult days, I realized the dull life that I have lived. Something was missing. There were too many spoiled days with no work done. I am alive but not that alive to give something back to my society. 

In my gap year, I found out that students who get into the top universities are not only bright but also all-rounders. Someone has written and published a book, someone has opened an astrophysics club in his school, someone has learned 7 languages. When I placed myself among them, I felt small, I felt incomplete.

I decided to work for CRY, an organisation that deals in elevating the poor conditions of children in slums and motivating them to recognize their rights. On my first day, I went to a slum, where I had to train kids for a play, in which they showed the poor implementation of the RTE Act in schools. The play was hard but the children were dedicated. Their sincerity to make the play a success left me stunned.

On my second day, I, along with two other volunteers, went to Ramkrishna Mission, Golpark and set up a Cry Action Centre (CAC). CACs are outdoor booths where people not only come with their problems but also are made aware of the RTE ACT, the RTE ACT stands for the “Right to Education”, by virtue of which education has been made the fundamental right to all children between the ages of 6 to 14 years. The Act requires all private schools to reserve 25% of seats to children from poor families and also to give them their means of sustenance like books, mid-day meals etc.

Many people came forward with their problems, Some were related to improper implementation of mid-day meal, some were related to children being given Xerox copies of their text books, some more were cases related to corporal punishment. By the end of the day, our sheets were filled with complaints. We also got names of some schools were the above problems were noticed.

That day, I went home with a dazzling smile on my face. I was happy, after what felt like an eternity. Doing good to other does that to a person! We are all part of this society, which has given us everything, from culture to friends to relationships. It is not hard to Make a Difference, it’s all about the propulsion from within. Once the forward kick is felt, there is only one thing left, to fulfil our duties.