May I Have Your Attention Please?

What exactly do you see in this picture? A group of kids? They all look like students from a class room? Precisely, a government school?

Wrong!

See carefully…

1. There are only GIRLS in this group


2. The girls are of different age groups


3. They are not the students of a classroom or a school, but they belong to Sharanya, a children’s orphanage.


4. The only similarity you can see among all of them is that they are all smiling and ask why? Because I had just given them lots of chocolates, before I clicked the snap, and the little girl in pink frock, right in the front, was the happiest of them all. It was beautiful to see the children smile and talk and even sing!

I am NOT writing this article for you to read and comment, but I want you to help. Sharanya is a children’s home – that houses orphans, or ‘special children of God’ like what I call them. These children don’t need anybody’s sympathy but they need your attention, time and financial support - to evolve into educated and civilized individuals tomorrow, probably with even better thoughts and opinions than what most of us have today.

The orphanage is in Bangalore, R.T Nagar. Anybody willing to spend some time can go and visit this place. Please think about it and see to what extent you can contribute. I can always help you with ideas, since I have been associated with the group in some time now. But it will be great if you can go and see the place on your own. Please write to me and let me know your thoughts.

Also, I would like to bring to your attention that why only girl children dominate these orphanages? Why is it that only female infanticide is rising so high in our country today? Read this:

The states of Punjab, Haryana and Jharkhand have the worst sex ratios in the country. According to the 2001 census, there are only 874 women with respect to 1000 men in these states. The national average was 933.

Isn’t this a serious concern? Especially among the illiterates and the poor? These people worship Goddesses. But when it comes to giving birth to a girl child, parents step back. Why?

• Because of illiteracy and poverty?
• Because parents don’t have enough money to get her married when she grows up?
• Because parents don’t have enough money for her dowry?
• Because, today, even if parents spend on her, she will not be able to return anything when she grows up or even be there to take care of her parents, since she will be married off?

It could be any or all of the above.

In this post, I am going to share my thoughts on Dowry. To a great extent, I blame our traditions and our society. Most parents believe in proving their potential to the society by flaunting wealth when giving away their daughters during the marriage ceremony. The richer they are, the more they flaunt. Also, the biggest mistake they commit is giving dowry, may it be in the form of gifts / jewels / whatever. This culture has evolved so much and getting a girl married becomes the greatest challenge in a man’s life. So much so that today, in the North India, among Brahmins, if a girl is unmarried till 30 years for whatsoever be the reason, a fixed dowry of 25 lakhs – minimum is what the parents need to be prepared for. This is true, and I am telling you out of what I have seen very closely. Some families feel very disappointed when their sons fall in love and marry a girl, because their rights to demand more from the girls’ parents goes down, although it does not get evaded completely.

I spoke to some women. They feel that it is the only way they can instantly make place in the boy’s family and it is important that they bring wealth from the father’s house. May be in olden days, women were not working and earning for themselves. But today, times have changed. Although not all women are capable of coming out and facing the world alone, women are smart enough to manage to voice their opinions and there are plenty of ways through which they can build upon their skills and make money. It is really a matter of shame that till today we see such serious issues prevailing in our society. We do have our legal system in place. But the only thing is people are not aware of this and they fear to come out and voice their opinion.

Today we need more people to come out and stand up for what is right. We need more women who believe they can make a difference. Thanking God everyday for what we are and who we are is not enough. We need to think that since we are in a better position today, so why not work towards helping for a cause? We need to work against female infanticide and dowry. We need to think of pulling the left behind. When I got married, although my parents were not too happy, I very clearly told them not to encourage any such demands and they kept my word.

So people, please give it a thought and come forward to help. It matters. You will feel the difference within you. When you help others, you will feel that your existence is not just mere existence, but it meant something to someone, somewhere.

Pls: If you want to contribute for Sharanya, write to me or get in touch with them directly.