Juvenile Home ... caged birds don’t know where to fly...

There was a huge gate and a small peep hole window that got opened after the knocking, we were escorted to meet the in charge and we were given a brief about the kids there, they were all boys caught in crimes that they are serving term for. Kids looked so normal and they looked at us as if desperate to see a new face, there were like birds in the cage. They had a small place about 30 of them in bunk bed and a small TV. Facility in-charge was a very friendly person and a new recruit very unlike other government officials I have come across, she was very caring with the kids and was willing to work around our schedule to get the kids started on the class.

Our next visit was within a few days and we somehow managed to be in a small open space. As they sat in front of us they seemed no different than any other kids, an innocence that can’t be denied. I had no idea the world I was about to enter, we were invited to make an impact in their life, they had no idea the impact they were making in my life in just sharing their life with me...

I had a tear in my eye as I saw kids as young as 8yr and I asked why?  I was told those kids parents are thieves and they take the kids along to aid them and a whole family was caught in a theft of huge amount. As others told me the story those boys looked on at me with a smiling face having no idea what path their parents have set them on , having no sense of right & wrong , having no one to guide them ..

Kids got so excited to tell their stories as if it was the first time someone was keen to listen to them without judging them, another 17yr boy was for murder I asked the same why, very casually he said kya karo madam gussa aagaya (what can I do I got angry ...) yes we all get angry and give in to anger and do hurt others and yet there are some whose anger is perhaps so much more that they have no idea what they do when it does take them over ... after the connecting and talking we did some exercise, breathing techniques and meditation of the Art of Living Program. Right after it, we left them in that quietness....

It was day 2 they were looking forward to meeting us. That evening some kids got bail, they were leaving and I could see the pain in those left behind and the restlessness when will it be their turn and also they become friends spending time together so there is the emotion of parting too, it was hard to get them to focus. I let them deal with all these and when all those who had to leave left, got them to start the class. Some of them shared that since they had come to the facility they have never been able to sleep and only after the previous evenings meditation they could sleep peacefully. One kid said madam dil may hamesha darr rehta tha, ab aise lag raha ha kabhi itna sukoon mumkin bhi hai kya .. (There was always been fear in my heart never knew one could experience such a peace in life)

I was more than glad that they could realize & experience the value of it; each day was unfolding for me also as a new experience, this day I asked them what you want to become in life. They all gave me blank faces as I asked again they answered never thought about it and one kid said loudly how will we know madam no one has ever asked this question before ....

I felt sad here in society there are so many kids who are being choked by their parents what they want them to become in life and here there are kids who are growing up clueless about life , about their actions & consequences.

No matter how much I was trying to get them to have a vision it just seemed beyond their comprehension, I prayed for an idea and it came, I asked them when they grow up have kids and their kids have to introduce them will they have to be addressed as mere papa chor hai .. (My dad is a thief…). There was a saddening silence in the hall and the heads bent low as if something touched them, I could catch a tear in some eyes and as if breaking this deafening silence one voice came loud that is why madam I am not going to marry have kids have no relations at all then nothing matters I don’t want to think of any future what is the point anyway ... this was the voice of this one rebellious I don’t care attitude of this boy and the only one like that in the group, he tried to be aloof build big thick walls around him dared no one to enter it ... I told him I will talk to you later and carried on with the rest of them , I left them to ponder on that question how they would like to be known by their kids & family .. That one rebellious one had to stay back & sit with me, I asked him his story, he is just 13yr old, about an year or 2 back he was arrested in context of some theft, he served for it but later in that area whenever there was any small thefts police always came and troubled him and caught him even if he had nothing to do because he got labeled once ... this label I wonder how they will ever get off ... he was so frustrated about life at such a young age, it was a age to dream to aim and here he was aimlessly giving up on life that he had not even started, a life that he didn’t want to know where it would lead to, that frustration and pain came from a helplessness , many times we don’t even know what to tell others when they share their pain perhaps just listening is what they need and I did just that , was there to feel his pain ..

The next day kids were ready & waiting, they asked why I couldn’t come earlier and take their class for longer, and they looked happier and brighter too. They started sharing one by one how they want to be different... I asked them about the label society has put on them as thief what amount of money, influence, force will make that label go away in their life ... It struck them that it is a heavy price to pay in life but what to do life is tough and many times you succumb, yes it takes great strength of character to not loose it when you are in such dire need for even basic necessities.. many of the kids are introduced to some drugs, once they are hooked onto it and in order to get them they have to steal things and sell to the dealer to get the drug... it is like you are caught in a wheel of hell not knowing how to exit and it keeps spinning your life away ... For some kids it is their families and the influence of friends that they tread on such path.. It makes me wonder in life is it destiny or the choices we make or is it that what we choose is destiny and yet we are given opportunities to learn through the pain sometimes it sinks through and at times we defy it knowingly ...

I have seen victims of circumstances in these kids and there was not a day that I would leave the place without a tear in my eye, each one of them seemed like a bud that was being crumpled even before it knew how to bloom ... The only solace I left with was that their faith was rekindled, they felt stronger to brave the circumstances at least decided what is good for them & what not and with a heart full of prayer and wishes for them I told them If ever I would see them again it shouldn’t be this place ...

I am incredibly grateful to my guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar that being an instrument of his grace, vision & service that I get to share life with so many and them with me ....

Special thanks to the dynamic Sravan who is a young engineer with a lofty vision for service, he is the one that introduced me to the place and he is an awesome story of inspiration by himself ...