Visiting SVK Shikshan Sanstha was easily the best experience in Nagpur for me.
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| From left to right - Gayathri, Ramana, Shantanu, Raunaq, Nimesh, Shreyas, Sandeep, Ojhas, Shefali, Ankita, Keshav, Isha Kneeling from left to right - Diya, Sneha and Divesha |
Ramana invited me over for dinner on the first day of my trip and we got talking about the many things that he and Gayathri do. I know that Ramana (Dr Y Venkataramana) who was my classmate at MBA (and my junior at the Engineering College) works in a senior position at the Western Coal Fields, has the habit of donating blood every time he builds back enough to donate (he's done it some 50 times or more already, so that's another 50 not out), the many people he helps (his employees, neighbours, friends), the birds he feeds, was there a cat or cats I forget - but he certainly has a full life giving the best he can to the world and make it a better place. In all these years of knowing Ramana I have not heard a word of cynicism or disappointment from him and he is always thinking of how to help and how to make the world better.
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| Shefali, Shreyas (all set to sing), Gayathri, Ramana and me |
He's obviously not alone in this journey because Gayathri (Gayathri Vatsalya), who is a trained clinical psychologist, an M Phil in Social Work and trained in Special Education, founded SVK Shikshan three decades ago, an NGO working to empower Intellectually Challenged Adults. Ramana often shares news about events that SVK Shikshan conducts on our MBA group but then its a whole new thing to actually see the work they do - and I must say that it did give me a whole new perspective to life.
Gayathri invited me to visit their NGO which had about 17 Intellectually Challenged Adults in the age group of 20-39 years (SVKites they call themselves - I love the word Kites which has this image of freedom, of soaring high in the sky). They all come to the centre at 10 in the morning, go about their activities which includes fun, work and learning (they have a lot of activities which they go about energetically), have lunch at 12, continue with their activities and leave at around 4.
Ramana had me picked up at around 3 from the ground and we went together to SVK Shikshan Sanstha which was inside the Airforce station. We walked in to find 14 SVKites sitting around a large table which they use for their block printing activities. The first thing that struck me was that though they are adults, they have this child-like energy about them, the complete defencelessness of children, a vulnerable, spontaneous energy that draws you in. Ramana met them all with high fives, a joke here and there, and it was obvious that they were very fond of him and he of them. Gayathri handled them with a lot of love and humour and gentle goading, a firm hand when required, and had them all introduce themselves with added bits about what they like doing or what they are good at. And if they forgot anything she goaded them gently - you are a very good singer, or a dancer, or has studied this, or are Salman Khan or whatever. They all did as told and then she asked them if they knew everyone in the room. They initially said they did and then it turned out that I was the elephant in the room. So I introduced myself in a rather clunky manner and Gayathri interpreted what I do. Sandeep said he enjoyed playing cricket told me he liked Dhoni. I told him I liked him too.
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| Raunaq, Sandeep, Nimesh, Mahima, Shefali, Shreyas, Gayathri, Ramana and me |
After some fun and banter they decided to display some of their skills - Shefali came up and sang and so did Shreyas (who specially came for my visit - he was busy otherwise since it was his younger brother's marriage and he invited me over to the wedding as well). They sang 'Tujh se naraaz nahin..' if I remember right. Shantanu came and told me he could dance very well and that they call him Salman Khan (and so he is). After a while we shifted to the next room where they practice dance and fashion show moves and decided to show me a glimpse of both. They all lined up - girls on one side and boys on another and started off with the fashion show first - as the music played, they walked one after another, stopped, posed, walked, and walked back in style. It was wonderful to watch them steal a glance at Gayathri as they turned, to know if she was fully present to them (and she was of course). Then they all performed a group dance to 'Dhadak dhadak' - Ankita or was it Isha, came and asked me and Ramana to dance and I felt all my inhibitions coming up and told her to go ahead. They danced without any inhibitions, fully enjoying themselves and I wondered how much farther ahead of me they were in terms of enjoying the moment, enjoying their life. I felt quite small for a moment. After the dance we all took a group pic and I left, a smile in my heart.
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| Walk A Thon (pics courtesy SVK) |
So there's Shantanu, 34, who dances very well and who invited me over for a cup of tea at 4 in the evening which he said he would make himself, if I came on Monday and on any other time his mother would make it, he loves dancing and doing Salman Khan moves and has a fabulous memory, he reeled off the names of capitals, remembers birthdays, manages the SVK stall in exhibitions and gives no discount since theirs is an NGO! Raunak, 22, naughtiest of the lot apparently, studied till his 12th, great music sense, active in the band and plays the drums.
Nimesh, 32, quiet, likes to arrange things and keep things in order, plays drums in their band 'Geet Jhankar'. Shreyas, 35, sings very well, incredible memory, can assemble a 350 piece jigsaw in 15 minutes or less, remember lyrics of over 3000 songs and can sing a song with any word you give him. Ojhas, 21, is very enthusiastic and participates with gusto in every activity.
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| Fashion Show |
Diya, 20, the youngest of the lot, dances, loves drawing, is learning the keyboard. Shefali, 32, loves singing, always ready to sing, sings a wide range of songs. Ankita, 34, a trained physiotherapist, treats cerebral palsy patients, and is a great dancer. Keshav, 30, very good photographer, uses his SLR and the phone to take pics, has good sense of angles and light etc. Sneha, 28, very gentle, an ethereal smile about her, she is a mehendi artist, creates beautiful designs on her own. Divesha, 22, appearing for her 12th exam, takes the initiative, loves dancing. Sandeep, 35, who is great at mental calculations, loves cricket, is a huge Dhoni fan, changes two buses to come to the centre, can read and write, never misses a cricket match. Isha, 35, loves compering, anchoring, is a graduate in Computer Science, worked for a while in Bachpan Play School.
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| With Millet Man Dr Khadar Vali himself at a seminar they organised on Millets |
The ones who were absent were Sumit, 26, who takes on the role of the admn guy and who operates the music system and such. Mohit, 36, enjoys fashion shows and currently looking for modelling assignments. Nupur, 37, who uses a wheelchair, is very active on social media and who now manages her own daily needs shop called Nupur Daily Needs which she opens at 6 am every day. Then there's Devyani (25) who is a great dancer and enjoys performing not just Bollywood but also semi classical dances like Ganesh vandana (and always ends each performance by giving Gayathri a huge hug).
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| Nupur's Daily Needs Shop |
Gayathri is constantly finding ways to keep them gainfully employed through the block printing, packing and diya selling work at the unit throughout the year, raising funds for Nupur's shop, pitching for Mohit's modelling assignments or getting Sneha and Sumit jobs at the unit run bakery near the institution. Both Sneha and Sumit stay back after hours from 4-830 and work in the bakery and get paid 3k! In all this work Gayathri is assisted by Mahima, who is the special educator with a degree in Psychology and Sushmita who performs the caretaker role.
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| SVKites were Chief Guests along with Shri Venkaiah Naidu during inauguration of Federation of Special Care Dentistry in Hyderabad |
The SVKites were all so eager to laugh, so happy to show what they had. Now, as with the dance I also wondered why I did not find it so easy to laugh as they did - they seemed to be waiting for an opportunity to laugh. And when they laughed, they laughed with all their heart. Now if I picked up these two things - dropping my inhibitions and laugh at everything - my life would be next level. I seriously believe that if one wanted to de-stress one should just spend a few hours with them and you will end up feeling the stress leak out of you. One hour with them is absolutely heaven.
Always Well-behaved, Polite, Gentle
I asked Gayathri if she ever had any major issues with any of them - any difficult behaviour?
'Never,' she said. 'They are all very well behaved and are always gentle and polite. Not just with people they know, but also with strangers and new people.'
And that's how beautifully they lead their lives.
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Gayathri's journey started when she began work as a counselor in Nagpur three decades ago. In that phase she was instrumental in making Inclusive Education part of the curriculum in regular schools. But then she realised that the children had no avenues to learn and grow after they finished school - which meant that at 16 they just had to sit at home. After meeting a few parents she started a place where she offered week or month long personality development courses with an aim to make them independent and employable. When there was not much response from the general public in employing them, Gayathri and Ramana decided to be the change and take it up as a model. And that was how SVK Shikshan Sanstha took off.
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| Sandeep won 1st prizes in two sports events |
Gayathri's vision for SVK Shiskshan Sanstha is to empower Intellectually Challenged Adults with Life Skills, Social Skills and Vocational Skills and help them lead a dignified life by creating an enabling environment and an inclusive society. And as the literature she shared with me says, SVK would like to achieve it in three ways - 1) by providing life, social and vocational skills designed as per the capacities and interests of the Intellectually Challenged People 2) provide employment or entrepreneurial opportunities to Intellectually Challenged People 3) sensitising the public through various inclusive events and programs to ensure that both the Intellectually Challenged People and the general public come together, celebrate differences and take a stand for acceptance and inclusivity.
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| They love outings! |
SVK has its hands full of events and activities. The SVKites are continuously pushed to improve their personality through SVK's Personality Development Studio where sessions are held to improve eye contact, communication, social skills, public and work place behaviors etc. Further SVK uses music and dance therapy to create a positive effect, conducts Fashion Shows and Ramp Walks to boost their self-confidence. They conduct a Walk-a-thon 'WE CARE' every year on December 3 which is the International Day for Persons with Disability, an event that is growing in popularity as huge numbers gather to walk together with the the physically challenged, intellectually challenged, deaf and mute and visually challenged people. They also have a musical band called Geet Jhankar which is India's first musical band of Intellectually Challenged People. They are trained by music teacher Anup Tajade (one can book them professionally - 9422147380).
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| Gifting eco friendly Ganeshas they made to Shri Nitin Gadkari |
SVKites attend skill training programs and create hand crafted products which are sold so they can earn for themselves. Products include block printed products such as bags, trays, coasters, sarees, suits etc (Gayathri gifted us one of their products), Millets, Macrame products, hand made organic soap, terracotta diyas, hand made rakhis and stationary items.
Among other things SVK conducted a self defence training workshop for specially abled kids and their mothers, organised Guldasta a cultural extravaganza dedicated to celebrate the talent and spirit of specially abled individuals.
Most SVKites have learned independent living skills - "They have basic cooking skills and can cook daal, rice, make tea, cut and chop vegetables, clean up, arrange utensils, make beds and generally help out of home,' said Gayathri. "And, they do it with a lot of energy and enthusiasm." Which is a rare thing in the world I know.
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| All dolled up |
No charity, no donation, just treat them equally - is their motto. Another message - there is ability is every disability. Its one thing to know you have a disability and its another to think you have none. We belong to the latter, and that itself seems to be a disability to me.
To me Gayathri seems to have gone about her life with single minded focus, working on exactly what she wants unlike the rest of us who have degrees in something else and work in some unrelated areas. She writes very well and has written a small book about Millets and their benefits with many wonderful recipes. She wrote another wonderful booklet titled 'Beyond Barriers' which is about understanding disability etiquette - simple things like treating them like how you want to be treated, behaving normally with them, speaking directly to them and not the caregiver, focusing on their skills, talents and abilities, making eye contact, asking if they need assistance before providing it, being cautious with the words we use, avoiding pity, not calling them KIDS (at SVK they are either SVKites or beneficiaries), using simple language etc. I read a few of her blogs where she wrote on travel and food and Millets which transported me to another world. She writes very well indeed.
Gayathri is the recipient of many awards such as Young Achiever Award. Bharat Shiksha Ratan Award, Mother Teresa Excellence award, The Real Super Woman Award, Woman of the Year award, Real Jewel of Nagpur Award etc. She has also set two records for Asia Book of Records in 2018 and 2023 for Inclusive Millet Cooking Contests (with 1008 and 540 participants).
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| This one with everyone - Praful (rightmost), Sushmita and Mahima to his left |
Visiting SVK Shikshan Sanstha has easily been the most beautiful experience I have had in a long time. Thank you so much for the experience Ramana and Gayathri. It has certainly impacted my life deeply, right now in ways I cannot articulate.
I will see you all soon!
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