I haven’t really written about my teaching experience at Khushi a lot, even though there is so much that i experience each day, i somehow rarely feel like writing about it. However, the moment about which i would be writing today is one of the closest to my heart, it is like one of those unforgettable experiences which eventually shape up a man’s life.

It was a normal day at Khushi, the kids had a  parents meeting following which all of them were in quite a jolly mood. I was sitting inside my class at around 6 pm, i had finished my 1st group of Deepalaya kids and my 2nd one of bridge was to begin soon. However, some kids of B’Rai(my 3rd group) entered the class to ask me some Maths doubts. I started explaining them the concepts when the little kids of Khushi entered the class. Now, when i have a class on, they don’t enter for they know i will get angry, however, today they saw me engrossed in teaching just 3 kids and figured out that i wouldn’t really scold them. For some reason, the smaller girls(aged 5-7), all like to enter my teaching area and jump around, i feel its something they do to seek my attention for i usually love playing with them. The moment i enter Khushi, one of these smallies is always amongst the first to run and hug me by my leg and then jump up and hang themselves by my shoulders(i know i am short but still tall enough for them to hang on).

So, while i was teaching my B’rai kids about Maths, these kids started jumping around the class. Since, i wasn’t scolding them, they figured out that they could take it to the next level and Ujala(my favourite) hugged me from behind. The other 2 followed and i had 3 kids trying to hang all over me. Imagine this, i am sitting on the floor, half-bended and trying to teach Maths to 3 kids, while i have 3 other kids climbing up on my back and pulling my cheeks. I scolded them a little, telling them to let me teach, upon which Ujala reacted: Ki humesha to padate rehte ho, hume daatete rehte hai, khelte to hai nai humare saath( You always keep teaching the elder kids and scolding us, you seldom play with us). Needless to say, i melted away at her innocent face and in between concepts, tried to play with them. After playing around for 10 minutes, they discussed something and ran off.

They returned soon with their small hands full. Ujala came and asked me: Bhaiya, chill-gum khaoge(will you eat chewing gum), i said: no. She anyways put a center fruit and a packet of Satmola in my hand and told me to have it. I was both awestruck and bewildered by this action. I asked her from where had she got this to which she told me that her parents had brought this for her. Then she told me that the chill-gum was from Zubeida’s and the 1 rupee packet of Satmola was from her. Tears had started filling up my eyes by now but little did i know that the best part was yet to come. My next question to her was what all did you mom get for you today to which she replied that she had only got this. This dose of totally pure love hit me hard. I then tried my level best to persuade her and Zubeida to take them back and eat it but they just didn’t budge. No matter what i said, their only response was: Aap kha lo(you eat it).

They kept sitting there till I finally ate the chill-gum and kept the satmola in my pocket and then they left, while i continued with my other classes. I cried my heart out on the way back to home and for the first time ever i was so happy to be crying, for just letting my emotions flow out. Ujala’s and Zubeida’s small act of infinite purity and pure love had just cleared away for me all airs of doubt that i had around my impact at Khushi. The love that i got from them was just so pure, so raw, they gave away the only gift that  they had to me, just for the joy of seeing me eat it. They didn’t come and tell me how good i was, nor how much they loved me, neither how much i meant to them, they just displayed it all with this one small action of theirs. 

The smallest kids of Khushi taught their bhaiya the biggest lesson,so far, of his life. A lesson of compassion, of letting actions speak, of renunciation, of the joy of watching the people you love be happy, of simply loving someone in the purest of way, without the burden of any expectation or attachment, of simply doing what one feels in the moment without caring for the past or the future, of how a small moment of purity can win a person over without any effort. A lifetime of lesson all encompassed in such a small moment, its totally onto me now on how much i can learn from it.

🙂