AASRA - Because They Need Us

Basanti Colony was all perked up last Monday , the 25th of October , to celebrate birthdays of Jigyansha and Jyostna . It being a change from the rhythm of routine life , seemed to charge one and all , with vigour and enthusiasm. By the time we reached there, the decorations and preparations for the birthday party were almost done with. The place was beautifully decked up and all the children were agog with excitement, eager, or rather it would be more proper to say , were impatient for the celebrations to begin. Finally their wait was over and the party celebrations took off with cutting of cake by the two little angels. And after that followed a grand dinner n lots of others party food . Needless to say , any occasion at Basanti , is a special one.

Ideas, people say can come from anywhere. Then how can kids be deprived of it? Interactive workshop on case studies on “Real Time Hydrological Modelling for Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin” was organised in our institute from 23rd to 25th September, 2010. Chhend, one of the workplace of AASRA made an active participation in this event. A four member team of Biswa, Durga, Suman and Kumar guided by Amlan and Prabartika of AASRA displayed a working model on Rainwater Harvesting. They were applauded and appreciated for their hard work and dedication. They were given a token of appreciation from the Chief Guest itself and were asked to carry on their work and come up with more new ideas. It was a new experience for the kids as they displayed their ideas for the first time in front of a bench of experienced members.

This year Aasra celebrated the Ganesh Puja festival at all its workplaces on 11th September 2010.There was a grand celebration at Sec-21 Leprosy Colony. The idol of Lord Ganesh had been prepared by a boy from OSAP leprosy colony, Kanhu. The Aasrites reached the Colony at 9am in the morning. Then we spent much time with the kids there, playing games. The Puja started at 11am..The atmosphere was very pious and devotional. The priest recited hymns. The organisation and conduct of the puja was a grand success. The puja was followed with the partake of 'prasad' by all. It was really a delightful experience worshiping Lord Ganesh in the company of the kids at Sec-21 Leprosy Colony.

On the day of Raksha Bandhan, the Aasraites went to their allotted workplaces to celebrate the auspicious occasion, with the motive of distributing sweets and smiles. Arriving there, greeted by excited faces and plates decorated with Rakhi, the beautiful band signifying the bond between a brother and a sister; diyas, and sweets. Settling down a bit, the Raksha Bandhan ceremony started. The girls there tied rakhis to the boys of Aasra and the Aasra girls tied Rakhis to the boys there. The boys there were so eager and happy at the prospect of having sisters, every time one of the members went to tie a Rakhi almost all the hands reached out. This was followed by music and dance, as goes the custom of every happy celebration. There was lots of fun with the kids. The celebration then turned into a mini Christmas as all the kids had their demands of various presents heard. Pens and chocolates were also distributed. In short, the evening was alight with happiness.

"Let the wick of our work burn, from the smallest candle to the brightest torch, And with it let it burn, all miseries that did not belong, And at the end, let only the light remain. The light which is bright & full of love, warmth and tender touch.... streaming within & around us always, making the world a bright place to live in." Riding in the rollercoaster of my life, I had never thought other than myself. Though my heart cried for the unpriviledged sections but my response to it was almost nil. After the completion of my schooling, I joined NITRKL for my Engineering degree. I found accomodation in the hostel inside the campus. For the first time in my life I had to stay way away from my home. I was very much missing my parents and other family members.Though physically residing in the hostel, my restless mind was ever in search of a shelter where I can get peace. I realised peace only can prevail in the area where mind and soul are full of noble thoughts and phy

There were those sad beautiful eyes, The tilted heads with pink cheeks, The batting lashes with a tear drop, And a smile with a curve in the corner.... The hands outreaching to be held, The ears eager to hear words of love, Those legs longing to stand tall and strong, There were those sad empty eyes.... The curtain falls, their faces lit up, Eyes closed, they dream of flying away, The smile spreads across, it is so fragile, In the whirl of the wind, they live their lives.... The bubble bursts, the curtains rise, They open eyes to find their wings torn, The cry deep in their heart ever so blue, The fear whispering, “never dream again"..... They look up, look into the heaven, Overcast, the turmoil never seems to cease, Winter so heavy upon their souls, The lamp of joy flickering so wild.... Pair of hands covers it, it burns unbroken, It glows stronger, the clouds drift apart, The sun shines on them, shining ever so bright,

The tender buds in the untended garden, instead of blossoming, wither to the weeds in the eyes of the society. But we in Aasra, care for these buds and help them blossom beautifully. In the eyes of God, everyone is equal, so why in the society do we see division and disparity?? With the hope of removing this differentiation between fellow souls, I joined Aasra. Since then I have been going to sector 21, every Saturday evening, I and three of my friends cycle down to meet the kids there. There I teach children in the seventh and eighth standard. Teaching them is great fun ,and their interest is very encouraging .Not only Saturdays, but we also celebrate festivals with them. Be it celebrating Independence Day, distributing sweets on Ganesh Puja or preparing the Rangoli on Diwali, time spent at sector 21, with the sweet smiling faces of kids, is the best time spent, away from home. This helps to work more, help more. If you want to bring a change, you have to be

(A real story which may bring a difference in you for a/an/your sec/min/hour/day/week/month/year/lifetime) “I am a student. I want to study and learn. But there is very little opportunity in our locality. Also the financial condition of my familyis not sound. I have completed my matriculation and now want to do my higher secondary education. Can I help my family and keep my studies going simultaneously? Can I? Yes, I can. I know stitching. I can earn something by using my leisure time for stitching.” This was the thought of a girl named Maithili Sahoo from a leprosy colony situated in sector-21, Rourkela. Finally she did what she was thinking and successfully passed +2 Arts exam from CHSE board scoring 52% marks with her own effort. Still she wanted to pursue higher studies which required some more financial assistant and then AASRA helped her in achieving her ambition. Currently she is doing her undergraduate (B.A.) with political science as hons. Now she has won the 1st prize in Rang

संसार एक ऐसी अबूझ पहेली, जिसकी जड़ में ही भेदभाव की निर्मम ज्वाला धधक रही है, जिसकी लपटें हमें ही नही बल्कि हमारे पुरे समाज को ध्वस्त कर रही है| क्यूँ मैं ऐसी बोझिल बातें कर रहा हूँ जो जगजाहिर हैं ? ऐसा ही सवाल आपके मन में भी कौंध रहा होगा, परन्तु, इस सवाल का जवाब देने से पहले मैं आपको ये बता दूँ... " मैं आसरा का एक स्थाई सदस्य हूँ| " कहते हैं, नाम अपने अस्तित्व का बोधक होता है| इसलिए मुझे बताने की आवश्यकता ही नहीं की आसरा क्या है | फिर भी 'आसरा' का शाब्दिक अर्थ होता है 'आश्रय'| आश्रय उन तमाम लोगों का जिन्हें समाज ने तिरस्कृत कर अपने से अलग कर दिया है| उन्हें या तो समाज का कोढ़ मन जाता है या फिर हमारे " सभ्य समाज " की नजरों में उनका अस्तित्व नगण्य होता है| खैर, मैं आपको एक ऐसी जगह के बारे में बता रहा हूँ जहाँ इंसानों ने इंसानियत को लांघते हुए, इंसानों के बीच ही रेखाएं खींच दी हैं| लेप्रोसी कालोनी- देखने में एक आम गाँव की तरह - खेलते बच्चे, मुस्कुराते चेहरे...| मगर यह क्या, गाँव के किनारे ये पत्थर कैसे? पूछने पर पता चला इन्हें समाज से अलग कर द

Far from the madding crowd on the Ring road, a right turn from the Space Chowk and half a mile into Chhend is a small abode of some cherubic lamps; whose light does not reach out in its totality to the outer world partly because Fate grins at them and partly because they are shrouded by clouds of neglect and poverty. They are a score plus five in all; some of them mischievous, some silent and some too young and innocent to comprehend why the place is for them!!And that place is called Shishu Bhavan because it is awfully heartrending and cold to call it an ‘orphange’ . The place, whatever it is, is a home to these lovely children and we at AASRA just help them see that it always remains a home to them. And we can claim that we are getting along successfully in our venture. The warm welcome we receive from them, their prompt handshakes, our participation in their game of cricket, their interest in the lessons we take for them, bursting crackers with them on Diwali’s eve, their keen e

Aasra- a word that signifies shelter. A word that gives warmth when given to a lonely human being: let alone an orphan, a destitute who has lost everything he/she had in this world. For them, the world has become a cruel place, a living hell. They need someone who can become a calm breeze that touches their lives and makes everything around them as beautiful as it was before-as beautiful as spring, as calm as stillness of night. These aspirations and thoughts gave birth to AASRA whose sole objective is bringing smiles on the little ones. The brainchild of Prof. G.K. Roy (Dept. Of Chemical Engg.), Prof. K.R. Patel (Dept. of Mechanical Engg.) and some inspiring brains of 2004-2008 batch – AASRA... they set out to do something which was a need of the hour. Going to orphanages and leprosy colonies and reaching out to those hapless young ones, their aim was one. Within the thorns of life, the club wanted to bring about a sea change in the mindsets of students as well as the people in