Author: Ashis K. Biswas
Publication: Outlook
Date: May 17, 2004
Introduction: An IIM graduate who
gave up a corporate career to provide a home for Calcutta's destitute children
Vinayak Lohani, 26, always knew
boardroom brainstorms were not his cup of tea. In fact, long before campus
recruitment began at the Indian Institute of Management, Joka, he had found
his true calling-educating and sheltering abandoned street children. Today,
living in a rural suburb of Behala in southwest Calcutta, barefoot and
dressed in white kurta pyjama, Lohani has at last given flight to his dreams.
Just four months ago, he launched the Parivar Education Society which is
already home to some 55 young boys and girls.
Many of them hail from the red-light
areas of north Calcutta, Sealdah railway station, south Calcutta and Canning.
Some do not know their parents, others have sex workers for mothers who
have no support from their fathers. Parivar plans to take at least 500
such cases under its roof.
Other NGOs like Sankalp and Child
in Need Institute (CINI) help Parivar locate abandoned children. Authorities
at the iim are also doing their best to chip in.
Says a spokesperson, "There are
known red-light pockets in Calcutta like Sonagachi and Kalighat. Securing
the consent of the children's guardians, if any, is not a problem really:
they're quasi-orphans, mostly on their own from an early age." Of course,
getting kids under their umbrella is hardly the end of the problem-setting
a long-term module for rehabilitation is the real issue. Parivar members
face questions on this almost everyday and they themselves are unsure about
the future.
The fledgling organisation has already
faced rough times. Recalls John Das, Lohani's deputy, "The very first week,
with just five children, food nearly ran out. We were worried about procuring
paddy and wheat. There was no way out but to borrow locally. Eventually,
some donations came in and we were afloat again."
The yellow-coated Parivar building
which houses the school is rented at Rs 12,000 per month. Vinayak and his
seven-member staff, including teachers and helps, have their work cut out
to make ends meet. But that has not dampened the spirit inside the building.
A low hum of children seated in classrooms greets the visitor. You can
see the bright smiles of Somnath, Sanjana, Susmita and Feroze. Maths is
being taught. In another room, seven other children are asleep!
As the frail Vinayak and Das relate
their story, you can sense their commitment. You wonder what moved him
to give up a glittering career for social service. The self-effacing Vinayak,
also an alumnus of iit Kharagpur, makes it sound all too natural. "I never
felt at home in the iim ambience. Something was lacking-I could visualise
my career 25-30 years on. I realised it would be a lifetime of counting
how many chocolates, radios, or soaps I have sold, how much business I've
secured, manipulating, compromising and planning strategies. This was not
for me. Doesn't mean I'm running down others," says Vinayak. You can feel
a deep sense of peace within him.
