Painting Baalkalakar MAD

Getting up at 5am doesnt qualify as a good idea in my books, and seldom am I able to instruct my brain to actually wake itself up at that hour. The numerous alarm clocks that line my shelves, each larger than the one before it stand testimony to the futility of even making an attempt. So you can imagine how surprised I was when I woke up at the appointed hour all by myself ( with a little help from my mother , just a little , I swear!!). Definitely a good omen !!

Anyways two hours and a couple of phone calls later I was at FSC , one of our centers and the designated pick up point for our bus. What followed was a whirlwind of a day !! A lot of the volunteers were already there and the kids were all ready to showcase their drawing abilities. However in keeping with Hyderabadi Standard Time our bus was late. So we spent our time talking to our kids and what followed was a MAD learn English session. The kids looked around and tried to find the English words to everyday objects. The cutest part was where they knew the words but did not know they were English. So we had a lot of questions like “ What do you call Railway Tracks in English?” or “ What is a building called in English?” , LOL !! Those kids were the sweetest !!




Our bus did finally make it at around 9.30 and all the kids filed in ready to go make some noise for MAD. Half an hour later we arrived at the venue. AIESEC had done a good job with the arrangements because there were over 5000 kids there and they all seemed well situated. So I must congratulate AIESEC and its coordinators on a job well done. Hopefully we will be able to recruit some of them over to MAD.



We got seated and our kids started drawing. And boy oh boy , some of them are talented. If the saying “ A picture is worth a thousand words” rings true , then our boys wrote volumes at Baalkalakar!! And im very proud to say that MAD figured prominently in their scheme of things, vindication perhaps, of the place MAD holds in their hearts.






After the drawing competition , it was time for the dance competition and I can honestly state that in this, our kids simply blew the competition away. Uday and Suresh were simply amazing and I am going to try and see if they can teach me a move or two !! Might come in handy sometime ;) !!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrEJgH2qPk8

After our heroes left the stage , the event had almost come to a close!! Our kids had nothing else to do and spent their almost limitless energy driving us hungry volunteers crazy !! Thats when our saviour Fatema walked in armed with two boxes full of samosas and soft drinks !! Who knew samosas were a potent weapon in crowd control ?? Maybe our riot police should start shooting samosas at mobs instead of any of the other stuff they use today?? Another positive contribution MAD makes to the nation !!

Anyways I'd like to sign off by thanking all the volunteers who participated and were key to making this a fun day for our kids and for also spreading MAD's message among their peers in AIESEC. You guys make MAD rock !!

May our tribe grow and may MAD reach each nook and cranny of the nation, nay of the world !!

A Corner

A Corner for me,
a corner all my own,
a corner no one shall ever see,
a corner for my eyes alone.

A Corner full of peace,
a piece of my soul,
a corner not diseased,
by the many miseries that I see unfold.

A corner for me with abundance and more,
where never shall I have to fear hunger and cold

Such a corner I wish, but alas I do not wish it alone,
wishing the same is the world whole.

I see the many that eye my corner,
I see them gather, wait and conspire.
I can feel their jealousy, their want, their desire,
I shout out to them " Hey this is MY corner".

They disappear into the shadows,
but I know they are there,
watching my every move,
while they plan their own.

Now I'm afraid,
but  I know what I must do,
I need walls to protect me,
and a bigger better corner too.

For such a corner I may need to fight and kill.
I'm prepared to do it, strong is my will.

A small voice inside me tells me,
"your corner you must share."
I tell that voice,
"you're naive, don't despair".

It's just a little fight,
I know I will win,
and once it's done,
I'm relatively sure I will be at peace within.

Too bad someone has to die,
it's the way of the world,
I can have his energy, his food,
perhaps also his girl.

I've won, it's mine,
tonight I shall sleep fine.
I just love these walls,
now I'll make them stronger.

But they still look at me and my corner within these walls,
I can read their minds,
they want what's mine,
"oh, the bloody bastards"!!

I shall acquire corners around my corner,
build more walls and if required kill some more and slaughter.
Never shall they come near me again,
this is my promise to me and it shall be honored.

This is how big corners are built,
I'm only protecting myself,
greed isn't my thing.

I tell my soul,
" I'm doing this, all for you",
peace shall have to wait,
my magnum opus is due!!

My corners pretty big now,
but I'm still afraid,
the walls reach the sky,
but I despair, it's dark inside.

He crept up on me one day,
hiding he was in the shadows,
A knife he put through my heart,
my soul was already in tatters.

He said, all he wanted was a corner,
a corner all his,
with lots of food and water.
A corner where he could find some peace,
and perhaps also find a piece of his soul.

I was dying and I knew I'd made a mistake,
I told him to listen to his soul,
to open up his corner and share.

He looked down at me,
soaked in my own blood,
he knifed me again,
and said it was the way of the world.