I took 5,000 photos in 3 weeks time in India. How could I possibly choose which one to post first?
I’m going with Shrinivas at the Taj Mahal. Why? Because Shrinivas is awesome, that’s why. (And so was the Taj Mahal for that matter, but that’s for a later blog post.)
Shrinivas lives at Asha Mission in New Delhi, India(not to be confused with Ashraya Mission, also for a later blog.) Asha Mission is a home for kids who either don’t have parents, or whose parents can’t take care of them. I got to spend a few very memorable days with Shrinivas and 34 other amazing little Indian kiddos. Somehow, all 35 of these children cram into one tiny little house. They have electricity…most of the time. They sleep on the ground. They eat together, learn together, play together, pray together. There’s nothing in our country to compare life at Asha Mission to. We live with luxuries they’ll never know.
And yet they live with joy that I’ve scarcely seen before.
From the moment our team arrived, the kids greeted us with a giant “Welcome” banner and a room full of smiles. Speaking of smiles, that ‘s what Shrinivas does best. He was chosen as part of a small group of the best-behaved children who got to accompany us to the Taj Mahal. Poor little guy puked the whole way there while he sat on my lap. But after 6 hours of pain, he still had a huge smile on his face when he saw the Taj.
Shrinivas affectionately referred to me as “Bhayah.” It means “big brother” in Hindi. No doubt he stole a piece of my heart during the brief time we spent together. There’s a lot to learn from a grateful young man like him. When it was time for me to leave and go back home, he drew a picture for me. It reads:
“I love you Baya. I miss you Baya. I pray for you Baya. I pray for your parents. Please come back soon.”
Next time you’re at my place I’ll let you look at it. It’s one of my most precious reminders of those special children at Asha Mission.
Do you have any thoughts or comments? I’d love to hear from you. You can click here to lend your two cents.
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