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Committed to a cause
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"I have a mission, and the impetus to make it a success comes from within," says S. Rajaram of the Sivananda Orphanage, who was awarded the Padmasri recently.
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FOR ONE who has experienced the vicissitudes of fortune, it is probably true that S. Rajaram of the Sivananda Orphanage would regard the Padmasri as anything but a feather in his cap. Such people who are committed to the service of fellow human beings are inclined to allow their actions to speak for them.
"The award comes as an additional motivation to improve the quality of our work in the ashram, because for any cause to be successful it has first to be recognised as one," says the retired State Bank of Patiala officer, who was orphaned early and knows the value of parental love and guidance.
How then does he have the capacity to give what he himself did not experience? It is the desire to make a child, who has the right to hope, and elderly people, who have the right to smile, happy.
Having been adopted by a childless couple, S. V. Iyer and V. Mangalam, Rajaram watched in amazement at how his parents ran the ashram. He remarks, ``I am one of those who has to count my blessings. Here I was a nobody, and unwanted, till my parents claimed me and gave me hope and love. I was fortunate that they taught me the difference between right and wrong. That happiness and pain exist side by side. Being associated with our ashram, I could see what I might have been without my parents. Hence, I decided that the work they started must go on.''
He continues, ``Maybe I was not an orphan for very long. But I did experience that moment in my life when I had no answers to questions like `where will I go and whom will I go to?' There must be children and elders who are accosted by these questions every day. I am grateful to the country for acknowledging our work, though it would be better if the Padmasri could guarantee another child being adopted or another old person being given a roof over his/her head.''
Call him a social worker and he remonstrates gently. ``That is being typecast. I have a mission and the impetus for making a success of it comes from within.''
Rajaram, 50, deems it fortunate to have found a soul mate in Lakshmi, his source of strength. And as executive secretary of the ashram, Lakshmi oversees the orphanage's activities in her quiet, efficient manner. The couple's two sons understand and respect their parents' commitment to the ashram.
Situated at Kattankolathur, 40 km from Chennai, the 14 acres on which the ashram is situated, house 300 orphaned children and 80 elderly citizens. Going round the premises, the first stop is the Dr. Mangalam Elementary school, where a sea of faces, shy and curious, greets you. Moving on to the home for the aged, one can feel the eagerness with which the senior citizens welcome Rajaram. The orphanage is divided into two wings — boys and girls. Cleanliness is one factor uniform to all sections.
``My concern is that conditioned as they are to being provided for on time, I'm afraid the children are not fully prepared to face the vagaries of life,'' feels Lakshmi, while her husband adds, ``We encourage cultural activities and physical fitness sessions so that the child does not miss out on the fun and games aspect of growing up." The Padmasri winner's current project is to open a polytechnic, which will equip a child to be handy in a trade; be it plumbing, electrical, carpentry or tailoring. ``By this, even if the child is not able to pursue higher studies, it will be possible for him to earn a livelihood." In this regard, he feels that the government should be more participatory. ``It should offer a percentage of reservation for orphans." Kirsten Turner and Emily Symington, 19-year olds from Britain, are at the orphanage on a three-month visit, hoping to get "a feel of the country, its culture and the children that make it''.
n the case of the Sri Lankan-born Rebecca Sharada Rajagopal, it is a childhood dream-come-true to work at an orphanage in India. The 24-year-old Bharatanatyam aficionado loves teaching the children dance, among other things. While Rebecca has a working knowledge of Tamil, the girls from Britain tide over their communication barrier by `cuddling the kids, making funny faces, tickling and fooling around with them'. After all, love has no language.
B. SARAYU
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