The
New Year goes Dhoom
We started January with a Dhoom as 400 of our kids got
not just their first multiplex experience but got to see a movie in a hall for
the first time in their lives. The experience was made complete by pop corn and
cola. The showing was courtesy Sanjay Bhattacharya, Meenaal Sata’s distributor
friend, with contributions from Yash Raj Films and Singapore Round Table 1. L&
T generously provided buses and food packets for the kids.
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Day
of Grace dedicated to Mumbai’s volunteering spirit
We celebrated two years of our birth as a simple thought
under the cool clear skies on a delightful Saturday evening studded with music,
dance and endless joys.
Thanks
to everyone who made it possible: Bandra Bandstand Residents
Trust’s (BBRT) faith in our vision gave us the early
encouragement to spread our wings. Ever since, the body has been there gently
steering us at every step. For Day of Grace 2014, the trust simply decided to
gift us the grand Bandra Fort, Amphitheatre as the venue. With a picturesque
backdrop, the tone was set for a memorable event.
Thank you, Robin Nath and
Arup Sarbadhikary and their respective large-hearted wives for supporting us at
every step. Benedict Soares Albert, our vigilante and crusader, who even
allowed us that extension of event time despite of possible serious
consequences.
Much appreciation goes to Mr.Akshay
Raheja of the Kamla Raheja Trust and his team especially, Mr. Krishna Bhat- our
Santacruz center is only possible because of the space they continue to offer. For the Juhu center we are grateful to the Rotary club
of Bombay Airport. With magnanimous hearts such as these, our future can
only flourish.
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When
intention, goodness and magic came together – Day of Grace’2014
Wings
on the angels, Help them fly high,
Dear
Angel Xpress, All the way to the sky!!!
These lines crafted by Ayush Man Shreshtha set our
already jubilant spirits soaring to the sky, quite literally at the event. Conceptualized
with a humble idea to celebrate the beginnings of Angel Xpress, the event was a
coming together of kindred hearts that care for a common cause, looking through
the lens of a year worth of joy, hard work and fortitude. Indeed, what was once
a distant vision is now reality!
So on 25th January’2014, we opened our gates
and hearts to 500+ audience amidst resounding claps and cheers. We were
bestowed with love and encouragement in hundreds, and large numbers continue to
come forward to enlist for our cause.
Our talented presenters Sunny Hinduja and Shijini Raval
warmed the audience for brilliant musical performances. Ayush Man Shreshta, the
ebullient artist won our children over with his playful tunes. Geetu Hinduja,
with her spunky spirit and vivacious music revved up the energy. When the fascinating
Sunita Bhuyan played her tunes, the audience was beguiled. Later the artists
jammed and a thrilled uproar went through the audience.
The screening of the documentary on Angel Xpress titled
“Be the Change” by the talented photographer/screenplay writer duo Payal Kumar-
Anand Sivkumaran struck a deep chord with the audience.
You can see it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq7ZP1hgP8M
Just when the mood was somber and time scarce our, our kids
decided to step on the stage and entertain all. Such was their unbridled energy
and sheer talent that volunteers were surprised despite of being present
through practices.
Someone surely gobbled up time that day because the event
ran an hour longer than planned and we yet couldn’t have a closing speech. Thank
You’s couldn’t be made to BBRT or even to Indriyaji Sethi of Tata Sons, thanks
to whom Tata Coffee generously sponsored yummy treats
for children. A day full of grace, it felt ordained and blessed, for how
else do we define the undulated success. View more pictures of Day of Grace on: http://tinyurl.com/op84uhx
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Anubha
Sharma’s heartfelt speech on how Angel Xpress Foundation was designed to happen
in her life:
Anubha says:
“It’s like this, I am a tigress in every aspect of life but you put me on
stage with a mike in my hand and I'm a nervous wreck. On the evening of the 25th of
January, during the Day of Grace Concert that had been
successful beyond my dreams, with the crowd exceeding even
the numbers I had prayed for when in truth I had expected only half; the musicians after
having completely wowed the crowds, put up a tough act for me to follow, and
there, scheduled to give one of the more important talks of my life, I was
left fumbling between the sheet in my hand and the glasses on my face because
with my reading glasses on, either the audience was a blur or the sheet
was.
I finally gave up and just told the story as I remembered
it, hoping that the truth of it would still reach out and my friends tell me it
did. Here is the prepared speech that my sister Anjali Sharma and my best
friend Tejas Datta were wishing they could have worn my body and delivered :-)
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s not every day one gets to
live their dreams; often, it is only after that dream is
materialized, that we even realize that we had dreamt this once… My early influence stems
from reading an article in the Telegraph magazine about a French
national staying in Kolkata who had adopted 5 street children and turned
their lives around.
This had given rise to a desire to do something
similar but life moved on and that dream got buried under the cuts
and thrusts of the corporate world. 4 years ago, while
writing my life-story for a workshop, a lot of you in the audience know
what I’m talking about. I wrote about building a home for street children;
only that was planned for 10 years hence. But here I am today,
and I am not going to apologize for being early.
Angel Xpress for
me has been a magical journey; where life took over plans. For
what was in store for me, was far more blissful than anything
I could have asked for. A year ago, I was up against a wall, seriously
questioning the sense in continuing with Angel Xpress, given the ups and
downs in the support I received. I even appeared for a job interview and came
out feeling miserable and guilty; even at that point I couldn’t imagine
doing anything else. I can tell you from my experience that you
know you’re on the right path when every other path fades away.
20 years of a corporate life
was exacting, but I enjoyed what I was doing and of course the benefits
that come with success. I can also tell you that not all earthquakes
are bad. Sometimes, the ground beneath our feet shakes to land us
in the right spot. In 2011, I had decided to take a sabbatical and experience
things I had been missing out on. One of the activities I took up
during this time was volunteering and eventually I landed in a street
school where some industrious morning walkers taught slum kids
from around the locality for an hour every day.
My first class here brought me face to face with
the sad reality of school going children struggling to be able to read or
write. Here I was, someone who adored reading, teaching kids for whom
every word was a war. To imagine someone going to school not
being able to read simple words was painful. I was concerned “how
would a child with no knowledge of English, the most basic math or the
ability to apply logic, fare in the job market in a city like Mumbai? I
was determined to try and fill this gap while I could and was at this
school every day to spend an hour with these kids.
In January 2012, a facebook message I posted
requesting clothes for these kids who came wearing t-shirts and shorts on chilly
mornings, resulted in 3000 calls in a week. I was stunned to learn that so many people out
there actually wanted to help. Soon after that a party for kids that I
had organized on the 26th of January had a surprise guest, the
actor Mr.Jackie Shroff, who incidentally was among my first 10 callers.
His presence of course was fodder for
conversation, if you are my age (and of course female), you had to have had
a crush on him, sometime in your growing up years..so the topic
came up in my next conversation with my teacher and guide
Prasad Karmarkar, this handsome looking dude back there. The story of the 3000
calls came up and suddenly he turns to me and says “Anubha this is
your calling, this is what u have to do now”. And when I protested
he said - Try leaving Bombay or doing anything else…
According to him, it seemed I
must abandon a 20 year old career; where I had reached a certain position
and market value, to pursue something I knew nothing
about, and which would have no monitory return. It might have seemed
illogical but I had seen him being uncannily right on too many
occasions, so I took my leap of faith.
It had become obvious that in a city like Mumbai
where millions of kids go without guidance of an educated
adult, there were thousands willing to contribute with their time
and resources; slums, high rises and parks exist side by side across Mumbai. I started out, partnering with Beenaa Advani, one
of the early callers who had stayed in touch and our first center came
up on Bandra Bandstand with blessing of the bandstand trustees with 18
kids and a few volunteers who were mostly wives of the trustees.
Due to lack of consistent support in the earlier
days (which was less than a year ago) there were times when Beena
and I were found teaching 100+ kids all by ourselves in Santacruz, but this
year has turned things around, the number of people present
here is a testimony to that fact. Today with your help ladies and
gentlemen, we now support 1700 children with English lessons through
appointed teachers inside BMC schools and another 500 with FREE Math and
English lessons at our centers with help from 75 + regular volunteers..
Shall we give the people sitting next to you who have made
this possible a big round of applause?
I am proud to be associated with all of you who are
willing to do something to make things right. I dream every day. I
dream that that there is an Angel Xpress center in every park across
Mumbai. I dream that by 2020, we will fill a stadium with our
volunteers; and I believe in my dream.”
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When
we travelled across the world thanks to Kumar Bhaya’s gumption
Inspired
by his daughter Trisha’s innocent questions, "Papa,
what do we do with all our paintings? Can we sell them and raise some money for
a charity?" Kumar Bhaya set series of event in action which led to
creation of Angel Xpress calendars. When he initially ran a print of 200
calendars, he didn’t expect the numbers to quickly rise up to 800 copies.
Willing hearts came forward from several continents. The simple art calendar
project is now cheering homes and offices across Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, San Francisco, Yangon,
Mumbai, Bangalore, New Delhi, Jaipur and Kolkata
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