The night when I could not enter my own house
The night when I could not enter my own house
Something very mysterious yet hilarious happened to me a on a night, a few days back. I was staring at the key hole of the familiar door, door of my own house and it would not simply open. I kept on trying the keys over & over again but the door would not simply budge ! I was just too flabbergasted to go through that experience. Like any other difficult time, I was simultaneously praying to Guruji to sort out the matter and scolding Him to allow it to happen in the first place ! I mean how come the Guru just sit & watch when one of his loving and doting disciples could not open the door of her house ! But strangely I was not scared, a little frustrated and tired but mostly I was simply laughing at the whole situation in my mind, unable to believe such a thing can happen!
After sometime I called in my Guru bhai Prasenjit who happens to be living in the next lane. We both tried for the next half an hour each pleading to Guruji in our own way, but no, the door still would not budge. Prasenjit asked me to forget about it and told me to come & stay over at his place for the night.
I actually was more in a state of shock & non-acceptance than anything else ! I have spent so much time either worrying or caring about things that I consider “mine” and here I was, due to some very flimsy reasons my own house was sort of rejecting me. My heartfelt thanks to the generosity and kindness of Prasenjit and his wife Kajal, who made every attempt to make my stay comfortable at their house. Kajal cooked for me and took care that basic necessities of a person who is ill-prepared for night stay are satisfied. Prasenjit himself slept on the floor so that I could be comfortable on the bed. What more could I ask for ! Still while I was trying to fall asleep that day on some-body else’s bed wearing somebody else’s clothes, the thought kept coming back, How much can I hold on to something that is seemingly mine & for how long? I am feeling so much discomfort suddenly robbed off “my own” stuff , what it would be like for the refugees who are suddenly driven off their own homes? What would it be like for someone who simply watches his or her house getting blown off or razed to the ground by storm or rains. I felt I have done very little for all those who have lost so much in the Aila cylone in my own state. It is not even a drop in a huge ocean ! The Art of Living volunteers who are working in the area had told us some of the painful stories of the villagers of Sundebans. In less than 2 hours, all of them were on the roads, even the most affluent of them. Natural calamity of such scale are ironically great levelers. The roof tops vanished, the walls collapsed, and the sea water surged in and took everything, utensils, clothes, furniture and every other belonging in the house… The young & the old, the rich & the poor , the male & the female were all united in pain & agony. What touched me most & made me proud simultaneously ,in what the Kolkata team was telling us, was the Village Panchayat Pradhan came rushing to the team of AOL Yuvacharyas (the people who graduate in the Youth Leadership Training Program – YLTP are called Yuvacharyas, they are the grass root level community leaders) when they were leaving and told them “I know you are trust-worthy, NGOs come & go, but you are not just an NGO but also a spiritual organization… you will take us out of this. We are keen on meeting Guruji …” Keeping with their trust, AOL has not just drawn up short term plans for providing relief , but also has longer term plans of helping the people rehabilitate by giving not just material support but also help them get back their lost confidence. Some of the activities planned (both short term & long term) are:
Formation of self help groups for vocational training & employment with the help of the Yuvacharyas.
All of you who are reading this are most welcome to be part of this initiative in whatever way you can…. The contact details in Kolkata for reaching out are : Anup Agarwal : 98309-71790, Sunil Madhogaria : 98301-62616. The presentation on the Aila relief work is uploaded into the YouTube at the following location - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnr3XkxvScA
Something very mysterious yet hilarious happened to me a on a night, a few days back. I was staring at the key hole of the familiar door, door of my own house and it would not simply open. I kept on trying the keys over & over again but the door would not simply budge ! I was just too flabbergasted to go through that experience. Like any other difficult time, I was simultaneously praying to Guruji to sort out the matter and scolding Him to allow it to happen in the first place ! I mean how come the Guru just sit & watch when one of his loving and doting disciples could not open the door of her house ! But strangely I was not scared, a little frustrated and tired but mostly I was simply laughing at the whole situation in my mind, unable to believe such a thing can happen!
After sometime I called in my Guru bhai Prasenjit who happens to be living in the next lane. We both tried for the next half an hour each pleading to Guruji in our own way, but no, the door still would not budge. Prasenjit asked me to forget about it and told me to come & stay over at his place for the night.
I actually was more in a state of shock & non-acceptance than anything else ! I have spent so much time either worrying or caring about things that I consider “mine” and here I was, due to some very flimsy reasons my own house was sort of rejecting me. My heartfelt thanks to the generosity and kindness of Prasenjit and his wife Kajal, who made every attempt to make my stay comfortable at their house. Kajal cooked for me and took care that basic necessities of a person who is ill-prepared for night stay are satisfied. Prasenjit himself slept on the floor so that I could be comfortable on the bed. What more could I ask for ! Still while I was trying to fall asleep that day on some-body else’s bed wearing somebody else’s clothes, the thought kept coming back, How much can I hold on to something that is seemingly mine & for how long? I am feeling so much discomfort suddenly robbed off “my own” stuff , what it would be like for the refugees who are suddenly driven off their own homes? What would it be like for someone who simply watches his or her house getting blown off or razed to the ground by storm or rains. I felt I have done very little for all those who have lost so much in the Aila cylone in my own state. It is not even a drop in a huge ocean ! The Art of Living volunteers who are working in the area had told us some of the painful stories of the villagers of Sundebans. In less than 2 hours, all of them were on the roads, even the most affluent of them. Natural calamity of such scale are ironically great levelers. The roof tops vanished, the walls collapsed, and the sea water surged in and took everything, utensils, clothes, furniture and every other belonging in the house… The young & the old, the rich & the poor , the male & the female were all united in pain & agony. What touched me most & made me proud simultaneously ,in what the Kolkata team was telling us, was the Village Panchayat Pradhan came rushing to the team of AOL Yuvacharyas (the people who graduate in the Youth Leadership Training Program – YLTP are called Yuvacharyas, they are the grass root level community leaders) when they were leaving and told them “I know you are trust-worthy, NGOs come & go, but you are not just an NGO but also a spiritual organization… you will take us out of this. We are keen on meeting Guruji …” Keeping with their trust, AOL has not just drawn up short term plans for providing relief , but also has longer term plans of helping the people rehabilitate by giving not just material support but also help them get back their lost confidence. Some of the activities planned (both short term & long term) are:
- Water purification of ponds
- Donation of begali medium books (class 9 & 10)
- Reconstructing places of community gathering
- Clothes, Mosquito Net, Utensils (glass , plate & bowl), Baby food & dry food
- Drinking water
- Navchetana Shibirs
- Trauma Relief camps
- TREE PLANTATION (target 10,000 trees) to compensate for the loss of trees during the cyclone.
Formation of self help groups for vocational training & employment with the help of the Yuvacharyas.
All of you who are reading this are most welcome to be part of this initiative in whatever way you can…. The contact details in Kolkata for reaching out are : Anup Agarwal : 98309-71790, Sunil Madhogaria : 98301-62616. The presentation on the Aila relief work is uploaded into the YouTube at the following location - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnr3XkxvScA
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