HARIDWAR, Uttarakhand
“They are the two ends of a rainbow: an orphanage which sees beautiful fledgling lives come to them for
nurturing, and a hospice, which witnesses the poignancy and finality of the last goodbye,“ said Rajiv Bhalla, president of the Sri Ram Ashram as he reflected on the coming together of the beneficiaries of the two organisations.
The association between Ganga Prem Hospice and the Sri Ram Ashram (SRA) orphanage of Shyampur Kangri, Haridwar, goes back more than a decade, when bereaved children of Ganga Prem Hospice patients would visit the ashram in winters and have a fun day of games, play, and good food lovingly offered to them by the SRA kids. It was a healthy, age-appropriate diversion for the GPH children.
A tour of the orphanage, the Sri Ram Vidya Mandir school, and the goshala (cow shelter)
Sunday, November 23, was a day that everybody at GPH eagerly looked forward to, as the GPH team and children who are beneficiaries of the GPH education support programme were to set off for Haridwar to visit SRA.
Thirteen children and seven of their immediate family members (mothers and a grandmother) along with the GPH team, a volunteer and the spiritual advisor were greeted warmly by the SRA team of both adults and 43 children, some of whom were only babies. A tour of the orphanage, the Sri Ram Vidya Mandir school, and the goshala (cow shelter) was given and the origins of the institution explained to those who were visiting for the first time.
Some children chose to ride on the swings, some did the hula-hoop, and some engaged in painting and colouring and making bracelets. Playing cricket and ring-toss were also on the cards.
There was no dearth of good food with a scrumptious lunch of rajma-chawal, aloo-gobhi subji, salad, dahi, roti and papad. No visit to SRA is complete for the GPH team without the signature aloo-tikki chat stall, which is a huge attraction for everybody, year after year.
The visitors, whether it was the children or adults, were struck by how the SRA children opened their home to them with welcoming arms, with no hint of possessiveness. All toys were happily shared and the perceptive SRA children went out of their way to make the GPH children feel comfortable, asking them what games they wanted to play, and being gracious hosts much like adults.
A little voice asks who a grandfather is
The visit was not without its emotional moments. While the GPH children had gone through the trials of seeing a parent die of cancer, they felt for the children who did not have a biological family. Life is not without its blessings for anybody.
The GPH quality control officer Mansi Chauhan who was interacting with one of the SRA children was asked who all were at her home. As Mansi told the little girl she had a mother, a brother, and a dadu (grandfather), the child innocently asked “who is a grandfather”.
It was one of those moments where children put adults at a loss of words and reveal that there are losses that grown-ups haven’t seen, but some little souls, only fresh into this world, have.
The sunny fun day wound up too quickly for anybody’s liking, but the GPH children, their guardians and their chaperones -the GPH staff – all came back tired and very happy, from their special picnic to the very special Sri Ram Ashram.