From time to time, angels disguised as human beings would come along to awaken some dormant attributes in each of us, if we allow them to. Some I only heard about (Leonardo Da Vincci), some I read about (Richard Bach, Neale Donald Welsch, Gandhi, Patanjali). But the best is to live with and learn from them in person (Guruji, Mavis Wang). I'm fortunate to count Chawlaji as amongst the latter.
I've met many people who live brilliantly with clear purposes. Many successful entrepreneurs build their businesses based on a strong sense of purpose. It's to be expected that most people would hold self-serving purposes. Few are the ones whose purposes are so noble to be purely service to others. Mother Teresa was one. The fact that Chawlaji had served with Mother Teresa for 7 years might have some bearing.
I reckon Chawlaji's sense of purpose would serve as a light for me over my life time. At 72, he isn't young. At home, he has to care for his wife, Aunt Bimla, and his sister-in-law (Aunt Bimla's sister), both of whom have poor health. Since 1999, he has nursed the Tribal School Project into what it is today - 20 tribal schools scattered over Ghatsila, Dumuria, Ranchi and West Bengal, providing education to 2,800 tribal children. His forward plan of not expanding wide but going deep is a sound one. Hence the ongoing construction of the Teacher Training Institute to improve teacher's competence, and the building of 2 high schools to support the natural progression of his students till Class 12.
Having the opportunity to live in Ghatsila for one month and being in close touch with the tribal school operation, I've no doubt that Chawlaji is Superman dressed in a white kurta. His job is a combination of Chairman, CEO, CFO, COO, CMO, PR, HR and Delivery all-in-one. He sets the strategy, raises the funds, builds the schools, oversees the running of the schools, hires teachers, upkeeps education standards, checks exam results, shops for text books and teaching aids, produces the brochures, transports books/stuff from Kolkata, and gives talks about the project. And we've just added him to play an admin role for the Tribal School Project Page on Facebook! The amazing thing is that he goes about it with a smile and a sense of optimism and shanti (peace) that is so inspiring to me.
Anyone asked to perform his role would likely complain if that person were to see it as a job. Chawlaji must be seeing it as his life purpose or his calling to serve with devotion and love, such that there is just no sensible gap for complaint to exist. His faith in having Guruji's blessing and seeing through all challenges is another anchor that pegs his purpose down unwaveringly.
So when one lives with a crystal clear sense of purpose, as Chawlaji does, one could dance through challenges that seem insurmountable to others, perform multi-tasks that seem needing a mega team effort, and still live a life of bliss and shanti. It's a path that I aspire too.
16 May 2011: Visit to the De-Addiction Centre and Home for Street Kids by Art of Living in Kolkata
Chawlaji brought us to visit this home as well as an AOL drug de-addiction centre, directed by his friend and a fellow AOL sevak like himself.
It was great to learn that the de-addiction centre is self-sustaining. We also learnt that the secret to drug/alcohol de-addiction is to incorporate a spiritual element to awaken self-awareness and will power, using AOL yoga, pranayama and kriya.
The children live here under the care of sevaks who give them love and guidance.
The kids are taught yoga, and they demonstrated energetic and acrobatic yoga asana.
An AOL devotee donated a unit in this block to be made into the home for the street kids. As we walked off to the cars, they waved at us happily. We wish them the very best under the care of Art of Living.
Shopping for Dictionaries for Tribal Schools
Our last stop of this long day was a visit to the showroom of the Oxford University Press India to check out its full array of dictionaries and atlases. It took us a long drive to find it. We found good picks and purchased a small quantity of variety for each tribal school. Thanks to Ms Debashree, the lady at the showroom, who believes in our cause and obtained for us 30% discount. It certainly helped to stretch and maximize our donor's money.
17 May 2011: Shopping for Dictionaries, Atlases, Story Books and World Globes
After breakfast, we left Chawlaji's home for a shopping trip to a busy secondhand book trading area in Kolkata. There are hundreds of stores that sell all kinds of school text books.
We picked up some story books and text books but didn't find better variety or cheaper price for the English-Hindi dictionaries here so we decided to order with the Oxford University Press India that we visited a day earlier.
Robyn and new Kolkata friend, Anika.
Robyn and Chawlaji.
< Mr Brij Chawla, Director of Tribal Welfare
> ASketch portrait of Chawlaji, by iPhone artist Robyn Yong
< Aunt Bimla (Mrs Chawla)
> ASketch portrait of Aunt Bimla, by iPhone artist Robyn Yong
Jin gave a presentation on our seva experience.
19 May 2011: Overnight Train from Kolkata to Delhi
We are grateful to Chawlaji and Swapan for sending us off for the 17-hour overnight express train ride to Delhi. In Delhi, thanks to the help of Mr Gautam Vig and Mr Amit Kapoor of Art of Living centre, we were kindly accommodated by Mr Abhey in his building which served previously as the AOL centre, located at Green Park Extension. We stayed for 2 nights there.
22 May 2011 - Delhi to Shoghi, Himachal Pradesh
At 7.30am on 22 May, we took the Metro to the Kashmere Gate ISBT bus terminal. which we recced the evening before. The bus terminal was crowded, messy and rather confusing, with renovation going on concurrently. The Himachal Pradesh Volvo coach that we boarded for Shimla was comfortable and began our 8-hour journey to Shimla at 9.30am.
We were originally bound for Deepjoyti Homestay in Shoghi but they called to inform me of non-vacancy shortly after the bus journey started. During the lunch stop, we logged on to check the web and managed to contact Ms Smriti of VeerGarh Homestay and confirmed our room instantly. Ironically, Smriti was in Singapore at that time. We alighted at Shoghi, which is half an hour before Shimla, and took a cab there.