Moments I cherish….
Well, when I first arrived I could see around say 40 kids-which was basically how much I expected after the orientation programme. But after we made the circle I realized there were a lot more kids and thats when I had this adrenaline rush within me. Once we started off with our stalls, seeing the excitement on the kid’s faces and once we were done with our newspaper hats, the smile on the kids’ faces was just priceless. And better off was when they realized that they were going to paint them.
Talking with the kids, though I couldn’t get through to them thoroughly, I was able to actually understand what they were trying to say. Though I felt a little helpless when they were trying to make a conversation with me and when they realized that I couldn’t understand Kannada-that look on their faces was a little heartbreaking. It was as if they were eager to know what we had to say but then the glass shatters. But I’m pretty sure(rather hope) that’s going to change in say another 2-3 weeks.
Also, one thing that touched me was when a girl, Jyoti, came up to me and asked me if “Simran and Tani akka” (my classmates who worked with Tackle over the summer) were going to come today. I, mean, yes I felt bad saying that they weren’t coming, but, another thought that came in my mind was, one day they might be asking to someone about me(yes, I know, its selfish).
The funniest part was how I was trying to communicate with them in Tamil+Kannada+English+Malayalam-even the kids found it funny as well. Another thing was how the kids after making the newspaper hats and painting them, they came up to me asking me to make them one more.
But the moment of the day was when a girl just came up to me and put a flower in my hair. Its for moments like these-moments that I can cherish for the rest of my life-that I joined Tackle. Another moment was when I was walking with my friends to catch an auto and we had two of the girls with us as well and they were screaming “akka bye” till we were literally out of sight.
—- Elizabeth Korah