Sowing a SEED, this Diwali

It's been a while since the last post. Diwali, the festival of lights, seems like as good a time as any to restart these musings...after six years. Diwali is a celebration of goodness, and considered as the beginning of a new year for some. It's a new beginning for me in many ways; starting off a new career back in India is just one of them. It's been over a decade since I spent Diwali at home, and memory fades. But this is a chance to make new memories. Life is a continuum, but there are discrete points such as these to reset perspectives and redefine aspirations.

I decided to spend Diwali doing something besides my recollection of bursting fire crackers and feasting on sweets. Something more purposeful. I had heard from my family of an organization, SEED, in the outskirts of Chennai that was helping support children of life convicts. I decided to visit them with some of my relatives.

The residential primary school that I visited in Sriperambudur was agog with excitement when we arrived late afternoon on a cloudy day. We had had light rain showers earlier in the morning. About ninety kids, many girls, were impatiently seated in their open courtyard. The enthusiasm was palpable; the reason - they were waiting to be distributed fire crackers, the highlight of their day. An assortment of fire works were divvied out to about six groups and soon the kids fanned out in the quadrangle.

There were squeals of laughter as sparklers lit up. Flower pots started spurting around in different corners as if someone had triggered colorful dominoes. Kids, many decked in shiny kurtas and skirts, unwrapped just for that day, were intent in ensuring the was no pause in the festivities. While the older kids were lighting up ground chakras and even a few loud "bombs", some of the younger ones were being helped by the attentive staff and their brethren in carefully holding hanging sparklers and lighting smokey "snakes". There were some quick reflexes involved as the children deftly avoided running into other fire works after launching their own and backing off. It was a fun melee.

I spoke with an administrator as the supply started running out. He told me how SEED was started as a non profit organization run on the principles of Mahatma Gandhi. Over the years, they have grown to support over 200 students across three facilities in the same neighborhood. These support the residential and educational needs of children from primary to high school, in addition to vocational training. They give priority to admitting children of life convicts who are often abandoned and ostracized by society. Given the poor track record of justice among the under privileged in India, several of these prisoners were themselves collateral victims of village feuds and false testimonies. SEED also considers children whose parents suffer from terminal illness like cancer or diseases like leprosy that also carry a stigma. Lastly, based on available capacity and need, they also admit orphaned kids.

As we were talking in their office, a couple of kids walk in sheepishly and ask for some more crackers. They did not get to burst any, the claim slyly. The genial administrator hands out a couple of sparklers. Some older kids who are helping with the organization drop some books off and bring us some coffee. The office is brimming with papers and some old but functioning computers. Someone helped them setup a web site earlier but then moved on...and forgot to give them instructions or the password to maintain the site. Email is their only digital tether now. Pictures of Gandhi and religious icons from many faiths compete for space with encyclopedias and books from donors. Two baskets of apples are waiting for the kids as a special treat for the night.

SEED depends on donations for their daily operations. A Rotary club and employee organization of several local banks make annual contributions. One has also setup a modest endowment. Asha St Louis, MO give support regularly while AID India has helped in the past. These guarantee good food for the children for most of the year. But they depend on the generosity of individuals to help support full time staff for teaching and mentoring students. There is no sustaining donations, so every year has its own challenges. A polytechnic college has granted five seats each year to students who excel in their high school. Many of these students go on to earn scholarships to support themselves. One of them topped his graduating class, the proud administrator states. These alumni help spread the word on the good work. There are no active advertisements taken out, and no online presence for SEED. It is yet another worthy social cause crying silently for resources on this day of plenty.

As evening falls on this remote hamlet in India, I realize that the only outsiders joining the children and staff are us and a couple from the US. The husband is here for a few months to work at his India office nearby, and the wife spends the day with the children, teaching them English and music lessons. They are thrilled at being with the kids, partaking in the celebrations actively. As families around the country come close together with their loved ones on this joyous day, it is my fervent hope that a few of them are sparing a thought (or more) for those like these kids who are less privileged.

Endnote: If you'd like to help, you can mail a tax deductible check to "SEED", Venkatrangampillai Chatiram, Sriperambudur 602105 Tamilnadu.