Ajit Singh had taken birth in this
atmosphere, but luckily he escaped the fangs of the drug serpent and grew
up to be a schoolteacher. He had nourished a dream in his eyes long of
setting up a school for village children, which will also work as a center
for counseling and an institution against drug-abuse. Satpal Kaur, who
is also a schoolteacher, met him when he was deep into this unending struggle
with the menace. They married and started the voyage into the dark cave
of demons. Today they hold their head high standing among many happy faces
of the children from the village in their home, which has been turned
into a school itself for the lack of resources in the village. The school
is named Vidyamandir, the temple of education and learning.
At the ring of the dawn, 163 children take their seats
in the bedrooms, terrace, rooftop, veranda and the courtyard to start
a day filled with light and hope that has been introduced to them by Ajit
Singh. Ajit Singh’s father, an old man takes his chair out into
the fields or into a corner of the house to make room for the Class III
students in his room. This is not only education for those children, but
also a moment stolen from the harsh realities of drunken fathers and widowed
mothers to smile and chirp lost in their own dreams.
The next step, as Ajit Singh says is to find the path to fulfill these
dreams. The path is there, he is fully sure about it.
Ajit knows and feels what these small girls and boys
feel and know. He has lived through this world, studying in an environment
himself, where only hate and shame was all he received for being the denizen
of Maqboolpura. He raised his small family with great efforts, keeping
them safe from the claws of the demon. But the problem unveiled its face
when his little son started asking questions. Why was the liquor being
sold in open? Why were the people so attracted towards drugs? What about
the deaths happening right next to their door? What about the widows left
behind? Who will care for the children of the deceased?
The questions made a point. Ajit Singh thought for months
before he realized all paths coming onto a single destination –
The School. Vidyamandir was established in 1999 with about 22 students
at the beginning and some helpful senior students from the locality. The
money came from Ajit and Satpal’s modest salaries. Some of the better
youth like Rimpi and Veena, two sisters whose father Kamal Kishore died
eight years ago due to drug abuse teach in Vidyamandir. Rimpi gets 300
Rs. Ajit Singh says that though he cannot afford any more money for these
helping girls and boys, yet this little sum makes the job attractive to
them. Parveen Kaur, a more educated voluntary teacher earns the highest
700 Rs. He controls the school whenever the couple has to go out. Everybody
teaching here feels a great pride for being of some use to the social
concern.
The help came in many forms. Second hand books were brought
from the schools where Ajit Singh and Satpal Kaur teach. Brij Bedi of
N.G.O. Citizen’s Forum donated uniforms and books to the school
and his wife Super cop Kiran Bedi, visits the school on a regular basis
and has announced a help of rupees 6000 from Navjyoti, an N.G.O. of which
she is the general secretary. The couple hired another room with this
money and pays salaries with the remaining amount.
The school is none like a professional or formal institution
but ‘An Oasis of Love and Care’ as Satpal Kaur expresses her
joy on having found so many daughters for herself and sisters and brothers
for her son. The couple gives coaching to the senior student-cum-teachers
in the spare time or in the evenings. Many of them are preparing for the
competitive exams. According to Ajit Singh, they could easily move to
city or a better living place as they earn enough money from their salaries
to afford a good and reasonable life style, but the calling from their
motherland held them back.
A proud Satpal Kaur announces, “A smile from a single face is worth
hundreds and thousands of houses".
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