A message from Nirjala

 Dear Friends,

Many of you are aware that I alongwith my wife Suchismita used to teach underprivileged children on the footpath next to the condominium where we live in Gurgaon. Four out of about 20 odd children took studies seriously and we put them to good private schools. Some of our friends and relatives regularly donated to a common fund in Maharashtra Bank, Gurgaon. Three girls are now in class X and one boy is in class XI of Tagore Public School, Gurgaon. 

On 14th April I had a pleasant surprise to receive a Loooong message from Nirjala (Neha). She had poured her heart over the msg and sent such a sentimental note that tears came to my eyes. It is one of the most precious gift I ever got in my life. She along with the  other three live in jhuggies with their entire  Banajara community all of them except these four are totally illeterate. My daughter Yaggyaseni used to teach them English right from their childhood.  She must be justifyably proud of their English.

Look at her English which is coming from a girl staying in a jhuggy. Barring very few mistakes here and there it is perfect. I feel so proud for these kids. 

It's a bit long and I would request you to be patient and read to the last. Their life is very hard with their jhuggies being broken and demolished by Police and Govt Authorities repeatedly as these are built on unauthorised lands.  So they have left all faith in GOD. I try to instil the love of GOD in their mind.      

Below is from Nirjala ….. 

“ARUN KUMAR ROY - THE BEST TEACHER

Today, I'm going to talk about an extraordinary person. There are so many adjectives to describe him. He is very humble, cute, handsome, gorgeous, talented, smart, affable, amicable, caring, thoughtful, beautiful, classy, precious, impressive, irreplaceable, trustworthy, understanding, sweet and much more. 😁☺️ I just love him. He is a very, very precious person in my life. 

He changed my whole life. I am inspired by him. He supported me in every field. He does so much hard work for us. He is very lovely. He cares a lot about us. He is an angel to us. Perhaps God sent him to earth for us. 

So, let's go back 7-8 years from today when we were very young. Since then, he used to teach us on the footpath. There were many other children there, but gradually everyone left the school but we four children did not leave the school and Sir motivated us a lot. After that Sir tried to get us admitted to big schools. Sir got some children admitted in Suncity School, who then wanted their elementry studies. But after 1-2 years, they left that school due to some reason. Sir became very sad. But, he didn't give up on them. Still, he wanted them to study and become successful in their life. But, it was not that much easy. Gradually, all the children left the school. Only me, Sangeeta, Vijeta and Sameer were left. After that, Sangeeta and Vijeta got admitted to Amity School and Sir helped Sameer to get admitted to Alpine Convent school. 

I was still studying on the footpath with my friend. Sir started thinking about me. What would happen to me...so Sir offered tuition to me and my friends and then Sir took a place and started teaching us.  It was the best days for me. I wish to live those days again. Best and most memorable days for me. 

On Saturdays, Sangeeta, Vijeta, and Sameer used to come for tuition for studies. They were free only on Saturdays because all other days they used to go to their school. 

I remember one day, all of us kids went for tuition late.  That's why we didn't take lunch, when we reached for tuition at the place which he had arranged for us to save us from the winter cold on the footpath. Sir felt very bad that we had not eaten. He thought, "Didn't these kids bring food?" That's why Sir took us back home in his car. We packed food and came back for tuition. This incident touched my heart. I miss that time. I was so attached to it but Sir stopped the tuition due to ill health of his wife. 

Let me give a brief introduction about her. A tall, beautiful, intelligent and sweet lady like a grandma. I just love her. I remember when I was small, she used to kiss me on my cheek and hug me so tightly she is very sweet even now. I love Saturdays because she used to come every Saturday to teach us poems. She has Alzheimer's. I pray that her life is absolutely safe. Both of them had to face a lot of difficulties because of her Alzheimer's. 

On the other hand, Sangeeta ,Vijeta left Amity School because that school was very far and they had to face a lot of difficulties in commuting. Sir felt very sad about this but Sir had to take care of his wife. But Sangeeta and Vijeta didn't give up studying. They got admitted to The Rise International School, not far away from their home. Sameer was doing great in Alpine Convent School. But, I was not studying in any school. I was still studying on the footpath. Sir was very worried about me. So, one day Sir came to me and Sir took me to The Rise International School and Sir got me admitted in class 5th. So now, Sangeeta, Vijeta and I were studying in The Rise International School and Sameer was studying in Alpine Convent School. 

After studying three years in The Rise International School, Sir thought that these students need better studies.  So, Sir tried to get us admitted to another school. Finally, Sir found a big school named Suraj School. Sir tried to get our admission in that school.  But the fees of the school was too high so Sir took the loan from a bank and he started collecting funds from his friends. He did so much effort for us. He even talked to the Principal of Suraj School and he told her that these students were studying on the footpath and they want to study. He convinced her to decrease the amount of the total price and she did. This is how we got admitted to Suraj School only thanks to him. 

Sameer also had to leave the Alpine Convent School because the school had increased their fees and he was now unable to pay the fees of the School. Sir bought one year's books for Sameer so that his studies did not stop due to lack of money. Finally, all four of us got admitted to Suraj School. 

But, the next year, again the Principal of Suraj school increased their fees which we could not pay. So Sir thought of getting our admission into other school because its fee was very high. He helped us at every turn and gave us the right advice at every turn. He found a new school named Tagore Public School.  It is a very good school. He went there and talked to principal Ma'am and requested Ma'am to reduce the fees till our 12th class. She agreed and due to this, we got admission in Tagore Public School.

He is always ready to help us in some way or the other. He is also finds new scholarships for us so that the money will be useful in our further studies. He is God for us. Without him, we are nothing.

I remember one day when I gifted Sir a ring on Sir's birthday, Sir did not take that ring. Sir said, "If you want to give me a gift, you can give me a gift that when you complete your studies and get a successful in your life, never forget your journey and how you achieved success. Help more poor kids like I have done for you. It is your responsibility to teach them and help them so that they go ahead and become successful. Then, it would make me feel special." 

Thank you so much, Sir for everything.

Written by Nirjala