Socare Touch...

This is what each one of the kids want, when I enter the temple of angels...

Words can't explain, only the touch speaks....

"Inconvenience is my Convenience" by Neha Jain

After being associated with SOCARE for a while I wanted to start seeing more deeper into the life of people who form the back bone of this organisation, which in turn would provide us motivation to follow the heart beats of these souls that are giving a healing touch to the most needy in the world.

As a part of this, I wanted to chat with the septuagenarian, who is kid at heart, Mani Uncle, as called by all the little warriors at SOCARE, a rare and precious diamond, that mother nature had gifted the humanity with, the founder of SOCARE.

As I walked in that morning into Mr.Mani's house, I was invited by the kids with their cheerful smiles, girls have gone for the bharatanatyam class and the bigger kids have gone to the playground.

I have been recieved by the caretaker of the Rajaji nagar branch and as I walked in, I could feel the positive energy vibing around, filled with little murmurs of the little ones. As I sat down a very energetic man, drops down the stairs with ease and a welcoming and warm smile. He says "My wife told me, that u would be coming at 9:00AM, but I thought, On a sunday morning, you would sure be wanting to relax and come little later." As I eased into the chair, even before asking anything, he goes about talking to this little one Stephen, cuddling and pampering him. Then I realized, this man "Breathes and lives SOCARE".


Q1. Tell us something about yourself. Were you always into social work?.

Childhood:
I was born in a village near kanchipuram in Tamil nadu. Since childhood I was interested in social work. In our village there was this temple where in people use to go and touch their heads in devotion on the dhayjastambha (tall column in front of the Hindu temples that is considered a store of positive energy and also an indication that the construction of a temple is successfully completed). The people from lower classes/castes of society of my village were not allowed even in the vicinity of this temple and were made to stand at least 20 feet away from the pooja(the place where deity of God is placed) place. Not only this when we used to go to school, the people from high castes and other Brahmins asked us not to take the route where SC/ST(lower caste) people lived, though that was a much shorter way and made us walk through a longer way. The caste discrimination was at it’s heights in my village. That was the time I was around 7 when this thought came in my head that I should do something about these people who are being denied the basic humanitarian treatment.

Education and Professional life:

I did my early schooling in my village after which I came to Bangalore for higher school. I did my college from ‘KC Das College’ in Mumbai while working. I ran away from home in search of job and came to Mumbai.
Talking about college, he talks of all the beautiful girls in his college, he says, each one of them looked like a Film star and as destiny decided, right at that time, Mrs. Mani walks in to the Office, She over heard what she said as she was making her way into the office, and even at her age of 63, she did not spare him with the feminine touch and said “Then, you should have married one of those beautiful girls” and bursts into a beautiful smile. The glow on her face, just reminiscent of the joy she derives in becoming part of her husband’s passions and dreams. Soul mates in action.

Then, Mr.Mani continues….
I got a job in a hotel where I was paid 8 bucks per month. After some time I got a job in accountant generals’ office in Mumbai. By this time my SSLC result came and I cleared it. My father said that he will not punish me if I would send 50 bucks home every month. So I kept changing jobs. I worked in some private companies for some time like ‘Doctor and company’ and ‘Dalda’. After this I enrolled in a college and thus finally landed in a job with RBI. There I was made rural development in charge. That made me all the more passionate about social work.



How SOCARE started:
While going to school, there was this central jail that use to fall in the way and we had to cross it everyday. There were peculiar cases where mother is dead and father has got lifetime imprisonment. Each day that I passed from there I saw kids of central jail convicts sitting in that scorching heat, ruthless rain, crying for food. For no fault of theirs they were being punished. I died thousand deaths seeing those kids there and then finally decided that they don’t deserve this at all. Infact they deserve a much more respectable life. That was the time I knew I wanted to do something for such kids who have parents but have not known their love. And I knew this is going to change.

My Married life
After marriage when my wife came to know about my smoking habit she was baffled. I promised her that I will leave this once we get a child. God blessed us with our eldest daughter, I dint quit smoking and said that I will quit with the birth of next child. God again showered his blessings on us in the form of my 2nd daughter but I still could not quit it. Finally I said I will do so once we get a son and the third kid was indeed a son. But I found myself unable to quit smoking. This time it was grandchildren that I said would stop me from smoking. But nothing helped.

And Mr.Mani unhesitatingly grabs the pack of Cigarettes on the table, burning off the tobacco from the pipe, to burn the evil in the society. Who knows, May be the fire on his lips, keep up the fire in his heart even at 68, always in high spirits.

He then continues with the Cigar in his hand, According to me, a quote by Jean Jackunyy, a French philosopher “A thinking man is a deprived animal” is true to today’s world. If we look at human evolution, To start with Man did not think,he was in communion with nature, he cared for only one thing – food. But as and when he started thinking all the negative aspects crept in.

About his Kids:
I have three children, 2 daughters and a son. I was never a good father to my kids. At a very young age I asked them not to be dependent on me for anything and carve out their own paths for their lives. The best part was my kids responded to it in a very positive way and realized that they have to make their own lives. From there on, it was a truth that existed between us. My eldest daughter is the one who responded to it in the most +way. But my younger daughter remains my pet. I share all my ideas, thoughts with her and she reciprocates in similar way.

Q2. What is socare and how did it happen?

Socare Ind is an NGO which takes care of children of life convicts and strives to give them a better life. Currently we have 2 facilities: one in rajajinagar and the other in chamrajpet. We have 65 kids in all. Till now around 125 families have been benefited. Every year around the month of March, is, when we add 10-15 kids in socare. I think it’s a big task for a middle class person like me.
I retired as AGM from RBI in 1998 and knew that the time has come to start something like socare. As I said earlier I knew that my future lied in serving the poor and needy people. Just that I dint know when this will happen. I had told my kids not to depend on me for anything and become independent mentally, morally, physically and charter their lives on their own. The best part is my kids responded to this and never looked at their father for any kind of help.

It took me 30 years to convert my ideas to reality. But all throughout my ideas were loud, very loud and so my wife and children were mentally reconciling themselves for what was about to come. It was not an easy task to share, whatever I had earned in my life, with others, that too with unknowns, strangers. There is a personal stake on these kids. They have absolutely no one to depend on except me.

Q3. How do you come to know about children whose parent(s) are life convict?

My correspondence to jails. I have been talking to the jail officials all these years and over a period of past 6 years I have gained that kind of confidence from the jailers, parents and the police. Now every time I want to adopt more kids they help me talk to the parents and arrange things so that I can get the children to SOCARE.

But it was not all that easy in the beginning. I remember it all started in 1999 when my wife and I went to a small village to pick up 2 kids named Manju and Shashi. The father had killed the mother and so was in jail. But when we reached there the villagers reacted vehemently on the idea of our taking the kids with us. We tried reasoning with them, but in vain. The situation worsened and they literally shooed us out of the village. We were left with no other option but to flee. Had I wanted I could have taken the police’s help, but I was there to gain their confidence more than anything else so that they are assured that we are not going to harm the kids, on the contrary, we are here to support them, give a life of dignity and respect. So after few days we again went there. This time came out successful and so started SOCARE Ind with these 2 kids. From there on there was no looking back in the past 7 years we have grown to be a family of 80 beautiful kids.

The most difficult part was to get information about such kids from the life convicts, the jailers and the state police. The most important factor being their Confidence in us.

Q4. Are you in contact with all the Karnataka jails?
Yes, I am. I am in regular correspondence with Bangalore, Belgaum, Bellary, Raichur, Bijapur etc jails. They have come to know us over the years and trust us.

Mr.Mani reaches the shelf under the table counter, and pulls out a file, with all kind of correspondence with the Jail staff and with parents and reads a few of them out for us.



Q7. Tell us about the eating habits of children in socare. Something about extra-curricular activities, entertainment, medical facilities etc
I believe strictly in vegetarian food. We lay more emphasis on vegetables, curds and ghee because they are most important for growing children. All the girls are learning Bharatnatyam; it’s a big thing for me. In another 3 years I will be ready with these girls to give independent performances. There are 7 teachers who come regularly for their tuitions and we have group insured them. We have a Doctor who visits the kids on a regular basis... we keep a tab on their behavioral patterns. Under nourished kids are taken care of separately.

I want to take all the kids to Chennai once. I am making arrangements for the same but funds come across as an issue always but hopefully I will be able to do it. A lot of my children are taking karate classes.

Q8. Did the children face any emotional, psychological issues when they were brought to socare?

Regulating children’s habits is certainly a problem. When we get kids from rural places, they find it hard to adapt to the new circumstances where everything is much disciplined. There have been cases where children have run away from SOCARE only to be caught by the police and get them back here. We put badges on every child’s clothes so just in case he tries to attempt something like this we can track him. Harshness would not have helped at all. These kids were coming from rural places where in they never faced any restrictions in terms of eating habits or day to day habits. But after coming here things certainly changed. It’s more difficult for children from slum areas to adapt to SOCARE than rural areas coz they have already learnt a lot of things. Now here they have to first unlearn them and then learn new things. This came across as a major challenge. But we overcame all of them and still trying our level best to put each and every child at ease with others and the surroundings. If you look at the kids here, they are extremely friendly and easy going. They welcome any new child comfortably. We are constantly working on their behavioral patters.


Q9. How do you raise funds for socare?
(Mr. Mani was extremely hesitant in talking about money matters to us. According to him one should not discuss money everywhere because people can take it otherwise for instance taking this interview as a channel for raising funds. But then decides to talk candidly with us about all money matters.)

There are four ways of raising funds for socare. By organizing the Greeting Cards exhibition every year in the month of Nov - Dec. The money generated by this exhibition is very helpful for paying off the admission/tuition fees of children every year. Every year we are selling approximately one Lakh cards. (His wife tells us that every year he falls sick after this exhibition and is admitted in hospital at least for a week)
Then by home participation by people as in individual/ families coming ahead and helping in kind or cash. People celebrate the birthdays, marriage anniversaries, any many other important moments of their lives with kids here in form of Food or Money. They come to know about SOCARE through media. Then we collect old newspapers from different organizations/houses/whoever are willing to help and sell them. Sometimes we get funds from Corporation though that constitutes very little to the overall funds raised.

Q10. Is money a problem?
Money is always a problem with the children growing up at a rapid pace and thus their needs/ demands also increase. Apart from studies there are a lot of things that children are involved in that needs money. The audit that we have every year is extremely stringent. Each and every paisa is accounted for and questions asked on every rupee that is being spent.

As we were talking to him, Mr.Mani interupted us to go for breakfast with him. We walked into the dining area and to our surprise, Mrs.Mani had served us a delicious breakfast, the Button Idli, and Vada, with sambhar, from a local joint. She clarifies that she did not make it. Mr.Mani does not hesitate to indulge in, on a week end. I continued my chat, as we were gulping down those little Idlis, melting their way through my tummy.

Q12. Don’t you feel bored sometimes?
Otherwise also u get bored in life at this age then why not get bored like this. “Inconvenience is my convenience”. Sometimes even I feel I should have fun but at the same moment I realize that if I take rest, SOCARE will come to a rest, a complete rest. But I do take rest sometimes in afternoons for an hour or so. After all, old age is catching up with me. I have cardiac problems and I do take medicines. If I want, even I can have fun, but I don’t want to. No one has stopped me, but I cant.

Q13. Tell us something about your wife

My wife Saroja, is a fine lady. It’s me who is so complicated. She has sailed with me throughout my life. She knows when exactly to fight, when to cooperate and when to show love. Off lately she has started taking interest in SOCARE and she is the one to reach out to people. She is not hesitant at all. She is open in asking questions and ready to give answers. and speaks very nice Madrasi Hindi. (laughs).
Now she is a participant in the whole process. But yes she certainly feels that I deny her my company. We hardly talk for 5-10 mins in a day and she complains about it. We have been like this from past 10 years now but she understands. She feels lonely sometimes.

Q15. What is your vision for socare?
In 2008 we will complete 10 years. I want to have 100 children in all the three centers by then in all the 3 facilities. Currently we are 65 in Bangalore and 18 in mysore. It takes constant thinking/planning and never ending devotion to do something like this. I want to touch each and every family’s life through socare and I know I will.

Q16. What message you want to give to other people who want to contribute to the society

The first thing that I would like to say is that I don’t want any one to start an organization like SOCARE without having a natural zeal and devotion to do something for the society. It’s not a joke. In the society that we live in, if any member of a family is in jail, the society looks down upon the entire family and not on an individual. This is something that we have to change. Starting an orphanage is a matter of lives. It demands undivided devotion. There should be an inseparable attachment between you and the orphanages (kids) only then will that sense of serving the society will come. Its an extremely complex job that outsiders don’t seem to realize and needs a person as complex as me. (Smiles). Without such a complex personality I would not have had the courage of taking the responsibility of so many lives. I am much more complex than people think me to be.

As we all burst into smiles, I decided to take off, it is almost lunch time now, and I would have continued rest of my day listening to these soothening mantras coming from this soul. As I took off from this holy place, these words echoed in my being "Service to Humanity IS Service to God".

A day of Stars - Sumonk

The words are simply not enough to express the joy and fun Kids had and saying a simple "Thanks" will not suffice any amount of gratitude for the event organized by Taj Westend.

The Kids had a wonderful time from beginning till end. The Bus Journey was simply superb. For them it was like going from Jammu to Kanyakumari. Just those few minutes kids enjoyed the travel to the planetarium. The motivation and inspiration, Anu, my good friend and a volunteer from Taj Westend, had provided the kids to play Anthakshari game of Songs is memorable. Along with Jaggu's (another volunteer from Taj) coordination in handling the kids was simply exemplary.

Kids had a warm welcome from all the Taj staff at Planetarium and kids did not feel alien interacting with anyone.



The welcome drinks and the chocolate bonanza was a great treat to begin with. I had to stand in line to get the chocolates too.

The timing was very perfect, and well planned. All the staff of Taj, with their warm hearts full of love have showered the kids with so much care, that they have all become their Favorite Uncles and Aunties.

The questions from the kids, as we were touring the hall ways, where there are photographs of greatest discoveries in the space science, about the galaxies far away, the black holes, the star births, explosions happening in different parts of universe, were making me a little nervous too. They think I am a genius of all, for them what matters is answers, for Why, How and What. I have pretty much read whatever notes was available under the photographs. Infact that inspired me to start picking up a book on Space Science and educate myself a little more.
The knowledge they got in terms of attending the show was absolutely outstanding, Now they talk about different aspects of astronomy., Their observation of sky has expanded beyond the horizon. They are looking for deeper answers and this event triggered their thought process into a different dimension. Who knows, This event might inspire some kids to become another Newton, or a Galileo or an Einstein.

After the, event, we all rushed into the park. Kids were anxiously waiting for this moment. The gush of energy would definitely by 3G, to take them off the planet Earth into their own spaces of fun and fantasy. The time every one spent playing in the garden lifted spirits of not only kids, but the viewers passing by.
The little round train was a big hit along with the Swing, See-saw and the Koko game organized by the staff. Girls just loved it and the boys were off the shackles, liberated into the glory of freedom.



The lunch was immaculate, simply superb. On the lawns of planetarium, the way food came to the kids hopping over the hands of every Taj Soul, is a perfect example of symphony, filled with music from everyone's heart. The Soul food, filled with love, joy and smiles from everyone who organized the event filled the hearts.

The food was great and Kids have thoroughly enjoyed every morsel of rice. The ice cream was a real surprise for them and it couldn't have gotten any better, on a sunny afternoon like that.


The best part was after serving the food to the kids. By that time, My heart was full serving the kids along with Taj staff. I was in no mood to really eat. I was contended to see the little ones carefully enjoy every bite. But the calls from the kids "Uncle, come and Join us", kept echoing in the air. Those calls could not stop me, especially the chain of hands that kids formed after their lunch knocked me and other volunteers down.
"Uncle, we will serve u, u please sit down" said Manoj and everyone else joined his voice
They made me sit down for the lunch, one served water, the other lots of food in my plate and by the middle of the meal, I had atleast 5 glasses of water around me and kids lined up around to serve me. The friends from Taj also received the same treatment and their hearts filled up with love from Kids.

After the food, well just spread out in the lawn, I was kind of dozing off, the nice cool breeze and warm Sun, under the trees, perfect time for a nice nap. But I would not be allowed to do that, with the little warriors around always with full of energy, especially charged with the food from Taj, there was no way I could rest. But the kids, did understand me and let me lie down for a few minutes. During this time the little Hansa, did not want my head to lie on the ground, so she offered me her lap to lie on and her tender fingers trying to stop my hair flying off along with the breeze.

The little Prema Jyothi dared to sneak my coolers and in a few moments, the coolers were off flying around and hoping over cute noses of these kids, each of them posing like a Johny Depp or Charlize Therone. They enjoyed wearing my glasses and they knew exactly how to handle them.

Then came the most difficult task for me, the kids wanted me to play Long Jump. Imagine the weight I have to lift after the nice meal, but, NO Exceptions. I had to and they want to. It was lot of fun running a long track and jumping over the sand and not caring to fall, on the cool sand, just kicking my sleep impulses to the maximum. I would not get up from the sand, but these little creatures knew how to get me out, just tickle me.

The smiles of Taj have broadened all our cheeks, to spread happiness a little more. The gifts selectively chosen for the kids are a treasure forever.
Kids will never forget this warm treat from the Stars in the Hoteling industry, as long as the planets and stars exist.

Special Thanks to Anu, for making this happen and coordinating the whole event, and not to forget the planning from Rajani and Naresh, and one and all who came forward to spare their valuable time, for a Divine event.

Also a very special thanks to the HR Manager of Taj, who came down to shower his love and commitment.

God bless every caring soul and looking forward to more philanthropic and generous educational and recreational events to uplift the needy in the society.

The little stars walked slowly from the Abode of Stars and planets into the Bus, Thanking Uncles and Aunties from the Star Hotel.

I am Great - Sumonk

It was a nice and beautiful Sunday. An unusual Sunday, in the sense, that, I had a meeting at work that day for 5 hours. Not a big deal if it is a regular routine of Eat, Sleep and Work. But now am I bestowed with the angels from Heaven, who want to shower all their love on me, who want to dip me in the chocolate of love and make me more delicious creature for all the Lovers in the world. For Love and chocolate are same for Kids.

They love’em both and as we grow up all the Love exchange scenarios include Chocolate in them.
Yes, Yes, again getting lost in my own world. I also had flue that affected my body with aches, and pains added to the slight sore throat, I decided to head back home after the meeting at work. I knew kids would have waited for me to come at 2 PM for playing cricket and later some indoor fun and study hour.
But my aches dragged me back home and put me straight on the bed. After 2 hours, I checked the clock as the phone was ringing, “Oops, It is 7PM”.
My body still tired, my mind forcing me to stay on bed, But my Soul talking to the kids. Soul knows what is good for me.

The next moment, in the hot water shower, and then into the car and straight to SOCARE.
On my way, I had a Rava Idly and a nice cup of coffee from one of these Sagar’s(Shanthi, Sukh, Upahaar, Shakthi….) in the area.
It was 7:30PM and I said bye to my driver.

I rang the bell, but it was unusual, by the first ring, one of the little ones, would have noticed me, the news “Suman Uncle is here” would have spread like fire, not just within the building, but the whole Chamarajpet area and into the surrounding Market.
Three rings, no answer. After a few more moments of silence, Renuka, the care-taker walked down, “They are all having dinner, they waited for you in the afternoon”.
“Sorry Renuka, I was not feeling well and I had to work too”, I made my way in.

I hardly waited for the door to be open, and lunged myself up the stairs, still no sign of life, a right turn off the stairs, “Good evening Uncle”.

“Uncle, Bunny (‘Come’ in Kannada), Uncle, Have dinner with us Uncle”, all echoing in the hall way.

As I walked in, all the kids lined up, already in the middle of their dinner, very excited to see me around.

“Well, u all wanted me to have dinner with u this Sunday, I came now, but u are all busy with your dinner so soon”, I said, in a rather provocative way.

That made a few of them feel bad, that they have not waited, but I immediately reassured them “I am glad that u started dinner, now you eat well and I will watch you all”.

The kids stopped eating and the only thing I could hear at that moment “Uncle, Come Uncle, Please eat with us”.

Truthfully because of the snack I had earlier, I was not very hungry. In fact I was pretty full and not prepared to have dinner and also I expected that, they would have their dinner at 8:30PM, which is their regular dinner time. But they have started to eat by 7:30PM.

Initially, I resisted their call, but looking at those innocent hearts, who wants to share their food with me, I decided to not think for another second. Love comes in different forms, and this Love not only fills Heart but the little Tummy too. And food, Oomph, any time, always can create some extra space for some one in love.

I said “YES”. That’s it; Manju was on his knees and legs, up into the kitchen. He washed his hands off and in one plunge was up on the attic. I was grabbing a plate from the kitchen counter.

“No Uncle, that is a used plate. I am getting a new one for you.”, still searching on the attice,
He knew exactly where there are new plates, but I am sure it is a little dark out there in the attic, but it hardly took him any time.

“No, Manju, I am fine with this, You please come down”, I grabbed the plate there and started washing it.

“I got it uncle” and he tears open the plastic wrapped around. The shine of the plate sparkling around in the kitchen, probably Manju’s shinning heart added to the beauty of the plate.

He rinsed the plate, and down on the floor.

MuniRatna did not give me much time to think of what I need to do next, the very moment; some Pulao was served in my plate with some good Channa Chole curry.

“Uncle next to me please, Uncle please here, Uncle, Uncle, please come next to me uncle”. So many voices pleading around.

I Sat in the middle and did not want to disappoint anyone. I know, they all love me the same way and I do.
The pulao tasted delicious with loads of love from the kids. The Pulao for dinner is a donation from some family who is celebrating their kid’s birthday. What a nice gesture for some one to fill a few more tummies around the world.
I wish there are more people in this world, who try to share some joy and wealth that they all have, to the needy. We see so many people in the streets, starving for food. But we go to restraunts and waste so much food. So many buffets organized, and the plates hardly empty with all kind of delicious food going into the garbage can. I wish people who organize such great feasts, think for a moment, to invite a bunch of needy and poor who are starving and provide them with love and food.

Manoj shouted, with a broad smile on his face, “I am great Uncle”, with his hand on his heart.

It took a second for me to understand, then I reciprocated “I feel great to be part of you all too, to sit with you all is a joy, My stomach is full with every bite, but at the same time my Soul is expanding more and more and it can take all your Love”

“I am great Uncle”, said Muniratna, and then Manju, and then Rakshith, and the room was echoing with “I am Great Uncle”. What can I ask for in my life, Isn’t this enough for the rest of life. Isn’t this joy enough to take off from this world? I looked up and said “God, if you exist, let this be my last moment, I do not want to be greedy to get more love, and this is enough from me”.

As this act of broad smiles, and laughing hearts, and beautiful words danced in the dining room, Renuka, the care taker, brought a glass of water in a brand new glass. I almost finished my pulao and then MuniRatna, jumped towards the plain rice and added some into my plate, not caring about my hesitation.
I am already stomach full, but Yes, my Heart would take it, My Soul was still hungry for their love. Then a cup full of sambar soaked the rice and I mixed it all, as I was engrossed, Aravind a 4 year old, with his little fingers, was mixing the rice and sambar so well, Oh my God, it was more of an Art than a routine.

I have seen many 4 year old kids, at the regular homes, how their parents are at their back to feed them, usually feeding is an hour long battle between parents and kids. The way kids spill around the food and make a fuss and mess of things is unimaginable.

But here I see a little warrior with full focus and attention, handling food so delicately and with contentment making sure he had every morsel of rice. After which, he cleaned any little bit of dropped food around the area.

Slowly kids started walking out to clean their plates and glasses.
“Thank you Uncle”, as they were heading out.
“Thanks you buddies for making me part of your group”, I responded.

As the dinner came to an end, there was a flock of kids around me, I was wondering what in the heaven, are they doing after their dinner.

As I was about to get up with my empty plate and glass, there were around 30 hands popping out, “Uncle, I will wash your plate, please uncle”.

“No way, I am used to washing my own things, please move away”, I said with a strong voice.

My force did not help in anyway, and inspite the kids started falling on me, then I tried to sneak under them, nothing worked. Every attempt resulted in a failure. Then they started tickling me, I was in full bloom, laughing and rolling on the ground, there was no time for me to think of my plate, I am very sensitive to tickles, I could not stand any more, they knew my weakness, I lost control and I was flat on the ground, trying to push them all away, In that moment of ecstasy, My plate and glass were gone and already in the hands of Manoj cleaning them all the way to glory.

“Oh Boy, You guys are strong, I cannot fight with you.”, I said and I was thinking of this little moral story from childhood, about “Unity”, where all the little ants, thousands of them, how they completely paralyze a huge snake, and the snake could not move an inch.

They are all little warriors; they know, with the spirit they have, they can accomplish anything in this world.

As we finished the dinner, we all walked into the hall, where we all sat down in a circle, chatting and laughing with some good Kannada folk songs sung by the little ones and me playing the dappu/band for them in my own style. They all laid their bed sheets down on the floor, slowly the little ones, dozing off into sleep, and the big ones still swinging
to the music and almost ready to hug the calmness of the night.

As I stepped down the stairs, feeling light at the same time heavy with all the love and food, that had filled every cell in my body, looking at the moon in the darkness that was little jealous of my glow as if asking me with a rounded mouth “How come u are glowing brighter than me, and I said to myself “I am Great too”.

Phone Home - Sumonk

ET, captured in the home of Elliot, takes some time to make friends with the household.

Little ET, after getting into these hands of Human aliens, tries to contact the counterparts, somewhere in the universe. ET tries all possible means, picks up every little object in the house and tries to convey that he wants to send the message home and I am sure for everyone who had watched ET (probably more than once) it rings bells very clearly the ONLY words from ET all through the movie "Phone Home".

It probably was a simple journey of a fantasy in the mind of Spielberg, sitting in his rocking chair and punching the words of ET script, as they formed in his Inner Terestrial space. It is still hard to believe that he created a character around an alien and grafted the human element into the ET, as if he had experienced himself during some part of his eternal journey before born as a human.

But for me, those events came down as Truth. I had been spending time at SOCARE, where there was a little ET : Earth Terestrial, who came out with the similar script line, except for it is not Science Fiction, but the Human Conviction to connect to the roots.

It was one of those casual days, as kids were sharing their daily routine with me, and me just a curious listener, probably one of the very few witnesses, to their lives. The word dictation to the bigger kids was going on and the other little ones who want to grow up fast, also want to be part of the dictation exercise. They want to say, "we can spell the words too" on par with other kids here. We all belong to SOCARE., so how does the age matter, it is the same roof anyways. SO in that tussle of words, something caught my attention.

There is this cute little girl, sitting with her school bag and a slate in front of her. She is lost in her own little inventive world. And as my eyes just panned across the room, they decided to stuck on to this little one. Her name is Shwetha, a 4 year old, her smile so serene and peaceful. She always wants to do, the SOCARE handshake(which I will post it here on of these days). She loves to do that everytime I go there along with other kids.

Her smile is the most gentlest I have ever come across. She hardly spoke to me in my last few visits, but whatever little she spoke it was as soft as butter, I can see she has a great talent to be a singer. The voice comes from very deep, from the guts, as if from her soul, Her lips hardly move, and that is the kind of voice that enticed me. Shwetha for me the representation of "Gandharva Gayani" as it is called in Sanskrit/Telugu, the "Angel Singer" from Heavens.

This time, she is a little far from me, but I see her lips slightly moving, I thought she was singing a song, She never sang anything for me till now, I pleaded her many times for a small nursery rhyme atleast, but she is too humble to display her talent, which we call shyness. Many parents think that their kids do not perform in front of strangers, because of shyness, But I feel, they are the most Humble creatures in this world. They have so many wonderful emotions in them, so much talent deep inside, but they rarely make it public, because they are the descendants of God. They are the Angels from heaven. Angels don't have to prove anything to the world. They come for making the lives of humans beautiful.

As her lips were moving gently, my focus got drawn to her hands. The right hand was pressing against her right ear. I thought for a second that she was lost in thoughts, that great philosopher pose we all try to give, when we sit in a group. But then there was something more I noticed in her hands, a green napkin folded very nicely, between her soft little palm and the ear. She seemed very happy and she was actually not singing. I could see the expressions on her face changing constantly, as if she is in a dialogue with some one, some one above all of us, some one whom we all can easily connect.

I was spell bound for a second, I stopped the dictation, the kids around me were trying to intrude my connection with Shwetha, "Uncle, please give us more words". I ignored, rather, my senses were completely involved with this little girl. I could no take my eyes off, she continued her talk, over this little napkin, she was nodding her head, she was telling something, to the person on the other side. She was happy to hear the other person, She seemed delighted with the conversation. For me, the whole world came to a stop, so I asked the kid next to me.
"Manohar, what is she doing?"

"Uncle, she is talking on phone"

"With whom, raa"?
"With her Mom, uncle...She talks to her Mom like this sometimes"

"Oh My God!", I said to myself.

It is a "Phone Home".

The tears came down from the lacrimnal glands, but stopped right there at the brim of the lower eye lid, it could have been a sad moment, but there was some kind of Joy in that pain, there was a victory in that loss, there was a sense of relief in that prick deep within. Instead of seeing the thorn, I started seeing the rose.


The rose smelt better than ever, it sent a fragrance of love from Shwetha, it taught me the "Art of Coping". If nor for Shwetha, I would have been going through all the pains that I have accumulated in my life, That moment everything dropped, all the burdens in me and her became one and have fallen apart. In that moment, it was all about the soul talk, not human talk. Shwetha was communicating with her mother whom she thinks is around somewhere, but the truth is she had connected with the Universal Spirit that connects all of us, the energy that brought us all to this world.

I have seen wireless in my life, and now experienced a phoneless conversation. We humans as we grow up, forget the innate power in us, the angelic energy we all carry within to soother ourselves and a few more.

I left my parents when I was 14 for my higher studies, I remember the agony my parents used to go through to call me from some local telephone exchange. Vikarabad did not have STD lines yet, It is a small town, even now. But parents used to always run to this Exchange to call me in Hyderabad, to a phone number in Karthik's house, opposite to where I used to live, to speak to me for a few moments. Preethi, Karthik's cousin used to run from their house to tell me "Suman, there is a call for you". I used to hug the phone and cry for a few moments. My parents used to convince me that they will see me soon, and that weekend my Dad used to walk in with his little leather airbag with loads of love and dosas made by my Mom.....Yes I was lucky, that I had a Mom who could make Dosas and a Dad who would take the first train and get them to at the same temperature...

At that moment she realized that I was watching her, It was painful for me to realize that I distracted her Conversation With God, but the moment she saw, that tender and beautiful smile in her face was glowing and she threw the napkin towards me, She enjoyed the little chat with her mom and back to the world of fellow humans.

I asked her, "Did u talk to your Mom?", she just gave me a silent smile, and her staring into me continued as she started putting back her books in to her school bag.

I am lost in Shwetha's world, as I was giving dictation, but this time, the right or wrong spelling did not matter to me.

Yes I was spellbound.....

Dance of Light and Dark - Sumonk

Well, it was the best Diwali of my life. Infact, most unforgettable. The happiness and joy I derived from being with the kids is inexplicable in words. It is one that needs to be felt and experienced.

SOCARE has 2 locations in Bangalore. Each location approximately has 35 kids. So we gathered all the kids at one location, i.e. the main location, in Rajaji Nagar. That morning I visited the kids and from my side, I have given them a complete Cricket set. I knew what it meant to own a cricket set and walk into the ground and show it off to other kids, fully armed. I wanted these kids to enjoy every bit of that feel, on the day of Diwali. It was a long pending gift, that I owe them. So I thought there was no other better day than Diwali to bring that glittering light in their beautiful faces, and it sure did.

We all went to the ground close by and had a wonderful game. Infact it had been a while I played. It was cool, we formed teams and had played the game. Hey I was clean Bowled by a 8 year old. Infact there is lot of talent, There 2 or 3 that could possibly be next Sachin or Dhoni :-) Later we came back, they had a feast and I had to leave, to meet some other commitments. By 4 PM we all assembled back at the main branch and by the time I stepped in, the kids have already lined up, to receive not just the boxes of crackers from Mr.Mani, but load and loads of serene and complete smiles from a divine human.

It was a treat to watch Mr.Mani pamper each kid, at the same time give them their dose of morals very specific to each kid. Mr.Mani says "I know each of them like my Palm". Yes, only that palm that carressed these kids for all these years knows and feels the snsations, of these great souls encompassed deep within these little bodies.
The kids responded very well to his love, Initially he wanted me to distribute them to a few kids, but I thought it would be nice to have his little session with the old man, before the bursting of crackers, that way, they would also get their little lesson on "Crackers 101 or Hello Cracker World".

Every kid took the boxes with pride and the boxes would go into a big sack, there is nothing like mine or yours, It is "Everyone's". That is the beauty of these kids, They do not have ownership of anything, they have dropped everything in their life. I mean, they were dropped, but after that, they have learnt to drop everything, live in the moment, No past, No future, Just enjoy that moment. Each of them like a little Angel, who would bring joy into lives of people around, their smiles were enough, no need of DHiyas, No need of candles, No need of flower pots. Each of them had million watts of light coming from their cheerful ever blossoming faces. Many people told me as I was heading to the kids "Suman, you are gonna bring light into so many lives, you are doing something wonderful today", But unfortunate are all those. who could not be with these lamps of love. It was infact, these little ones, who brought light into my life. I owe them big time.

Then they were all given the little Gun reel tapakis. They started their bursting, with a nice appetizing rolls of these red gun powder, rolled paper boxes. Well, these rolls now come in nice plastic boxes. I remember as a kid, they uses to come as small paper boxes and next day you collect those and show it off to friends as a sign of how many rolls you have shot. But these kids, used stones, used sticks and their own little fingers. They took pride in whatever they have used. The girls took pride by doing it with their little fingers and bursting them.

Then came the time for the main course. It started with the sur sur batthis. It was a treat to watch their teacher and care taker, Mr.Mohan very diligently and sensibly taking charge of the whole situation. There was no tug of war, no possession, no words from kids like "My crackers, My flower pot". It was a great lesson of sharing, every one could learn from them. Every kid would yield to the other one, every kid wants the other one to have fun, every one lets the other one to light a lamp, a cracker, a flower pot, a fire cracker, a ground chakra, a rocket, a pencil, an atom bomb. No confusion, no chaos, no clutter, no burning hands, no burning clothes.

It is the same old simple house, with a small gate, we all lived in, when we grew up, those gates accommodated one family, at the most a guest or two.
But these gates of this heaven, had very big hearts, very broad smiles, that only made the space in front of the house grow big and big. Initial plan was to go to the ground to burst the crackers, but though last minute change disappointed a few older kids, they were happy to continue with the same spirit and made the street itself looks like a huge stadium, and the little kids who are too small to handle the crackers decorated the first floor balcony, the privileged spectators from the Box, cheering the older ones to make it big. Team spirit, Wish we adults carry this spirit all the life, just by being part of the big show, by being spectators.

No Egos, No Losses. The constraints are all in hearts, not in space, not in time, It is all deep in the souls, it depends on how much you can stretch the soul and Mr.Mani is a perfect example of this gesture, If not for him, this home would have had 2 of his kids, at most, a few grand kids of Mrs and Mr.Mani.
But today he has 70 of his grand kids celebrating it with so much joy. My eyes were moist as the galore of these smiles, screams and bursting filled the air.

The dessert was served finally in the form of "Snake charmers", The black tablets/pellets, you light them and the snake comes out of it. As a kid, I remember, I used to think that a smart charmer had some how managed to coil the whole serpent in to this small box and the moment you light it, the snake coils out to to bite you, it does not know any direction, no set path and you wait for it to keep going, It would go forever, what a magic charm. It is a perfect climax, full of twists and turns that a snake would have. Adding to that, bidding a good bye to the Lights with the black smoke they generate. Wow! Darker side of a Light, Light and Dark dancing together. Isn't Diwali all about that, Dance of Light and Dark. The glitter of Light hand in hand with the silence of Darkness.

All this watching through the lenses of my camera and also through my native eyes. I did not have to touch a cracker, a lamp, a fire, but they have become part of my soul that evening. And all this to end, with a wonderful group photograph of all the kids.

As I drove back home, I carried the best ever moments of life enriching my soul to meet the origin, the Universal spirit, that connects all of us. It does not have to be just on a day of Diwali, we could be part of this journey every day, every moment. We have one life time to live, Live it with others, for others who are in need of a warm soul. Who are they, Who am I, Who is Mr.Mani, Just reminds me that we all come from same place and go back to the same place..............

SOCARE - a primer

Mr. Mani, a retired bank employee, who hails from a ordinary lower mid-income background, grew up with good morals and values building a strong foundation in life. While cycling to work everyday he used to pass by the Bangalore Central Jail.

He has observed children crying outside the jail with the breadwinner of the family in the prison - the kids of life-convicts who had no support from the society. These kids were a burden to the society. Before retirement he decided to contribute towards making life better for these children in our society.

With the help and encouragement of his supportive wife, Mrs. Saroji Mani, Socare Ind was born in June 1999. They decided to give his retirement money and all their life earnings for this valuable cause. His dream has come to reality and we have the opportunity to be a part of this noble cause. please visit http://www.socare.org/

This is my small attempt to share my thoughts, experiences and emotions as I share my life with these kids day in and day out.