Shanti Bhavan

Shanti Bhavan - place of peace....Peace of mind, body, and soul. At least for the children that live there, it is home - where the heart lies...Underpriviledged kids get all they need in terms of support, mainly emotional.

Well, it started out as a bumpy journey, rent with noise of so-called 'aspiring journalists' screaming themselves insane. The bus ploughed its way from jungle to civilisation to jungle....and people started to drop off, beginning with Nikhil - with his mouth open of course!! Sohini had to forget that one needs to pee before beginning a journey, so I pretty much spent the ride listening to the mantra "I need to piss. I need to piss."

After an age, we finally got to the other side of nowhere and queued to the loo...Its quite odd that mostly girls need to use the loo. The assembly was something to be remembered; very inspirational, and well done. The George Foundation really must be applauded for doing a great job with the kids there....Its obvious the children squeeze the juice out of every opportunity and facility. I suspect that is what provides the motivation to the Foundation itself. They spend a fortune on the project of educating these children. Apparently, they've asked big corporate houses for aid and have been sidelined on almost all accounts. This speaks volumes about the priorities of these corporates considering their role in the development of the country. I'm sure they can spare a small percentage of their profits....

The Foundation itself generates income from their banana and grape plantations around, but it still is a lot of money. According to the head there, they spend about 6-7 lakhs a month!!

Seriously speaking, walking down the lanes at Shanti Bhavan reminds me of Devaaya(the ayurvedic resort in Divar, Goa). It made me a teensy bit homesick, seeing the chickoo and coconut trees and relishing mango for dessert......