Project Kayakalp In The City of Dreams

Mumbai- A city unbound by time, a city where everybody is always on the move, indeed a city that never sleeps. More importantly, Mumbai was the next big step in our march towards sustainability of Project Kayakalp. It gave us the platform to present our project to a host of investors and budding entrepreneurs.  

 We stood at the New Delhi Railway Station along with our 4 puppeteers and the 18 bags, suitcases and tote-bags that we had to load onto the train. Most of these were brimming with the face masks, the “Kathputli’s”- the Jadugar, the Behrupiya and the Magician, the rest held the folding stage and other necessities required for our Puppet Show at ‘The Barclays Social Impact Investment Forum’ at the Taj Hotel, Mumbai.

 

 

We gathered courage and set off for a 16 hour long train journey to Mumbai- The City of Dreams. We shared jokes & food, played cards and other nail-biting games, and stood at the train doors as the wind brushed through our hair and faces.

We reached Mumbai CST at 7 pm. From there on, we were always on our toes. We split ourselves into three teams. The first team took a taxi to a prestigious institute in Mumbai for research work; the second took the luggage to our place of stay while the third accompanied the puppeteers to their accommodation. All of us finally met at Café Montegard and had a gala dinner which was followed by a mesmerizing walk along the Marine Drive.

Day 2 in Mumbai was an important day for all of us. We, along with the puppeteers assembled at the Ball Room of the Taj Hotel in Colaba. The stage was set for the Puppet Show and we crossed our fingers, showered good luck wishes upon our extremely talented artists and hoped for the best.

The thunder of claps and the kind and generous   words of appraisal made us realize that the audience was indeed captivated by the performance of our puppeteers. We had done it! Our puppeteers had done it! The enthralled audience had witnessed a show with a strong message that they would never forget. The conference was followed by a scrumptious dinner at the hotel. We met some passionate entrepreneurs who took us through the journey of their lives. This gave us an insight into how we could take our projects further.

After the conference came to an end, we could finally relax a little. We headed straight to our favourite place in the city: The Marine Drive and later took a cab to Carter Road. Through the cab windows the puppeteers gazed at the Bandra-Worli Sea Link and admired its beauty. Home to over 100 million people, Mumbai buzzed its usual, with fast moving local trains, kids dreaming of becoming movie stars, beggars planning their next strategy and every other kind of human being one could think of! The puppeteers too agreed that Darwin’s theory of “Survival of the Fittest” applied aptly to this city.

On Day 3, we met some of our alumni members. Over a cup of coffee, we discussed life and Enactus with Krishnanunni and Tuhina. Our approach towards Enactus changed after the conversation. Earlier, Enactus for us was just an organisation that helped the ones in need. We then realised how it’s a lot more. Enactus is a way of living life. It is a commitment to empower people through the positive power of entrepreneurship. It is the happiness that one acquires by bringing a smile on others’ faces.

It was now time to bid farewell to the city that helped us achieve the next major milestone in our journey. We rushed to Mumbai Central to catch our train & left ‘Bombay’ with bags and totes full of resplendent memories and significant learning.  

The Mumbai Journey for us is one of the MOST cherished experiences that we have had in Enactus till date. A feeling of achievement and pride rushed through us as we headed back. Enactus SRCC had taken Project Kayakalp to the next level.

A City of Hope, A City of Dreams;

Mumbai always feels like it is about to burst at the seams.

From the Coolies to the Seths, from the Slums to the High Rise Buildings;

This City has given us the ‘Never Say Die’ attitude!


- Written by Ria Golecha & Jay Suneja

Enactus SRCC: Behind the Scenes

Amidst our endeavour to transform and revive the lives of our communities in Nekpur and Shadipur, there have been a number of humorous instances, which have left an indelible imprint on our minds and which bring a smile to our faces each time we remember them. First year members of Enactus SRCC recall some such moments from the first six months they spent in the organisation.

While returning from Nekpur, our Project Director got into a taxi which looked similar to ours. She was startled when she couldn’t find her belongings inside the car. The driver, understandably, was very surprised at her sudden appearance in his taxi. After a while, my friend and I indicated to her that she had boarded an entirely different car.

 ~Sarthak Agrawal

This incident took place in Tilonia where seniors, fellow Enactus first year members and I had gone for a two day visit. At night, one of the seniors spoke to us about his fear of lizards and had his bed changed with me as it was close to the wall and he was afraid of lizards falling off the wall, and on him. Another senior, while talking, accidentally dropped a tube of toothpaste, and the sound from the impact led the first senior to believe that it had been made by a lizard. He instantly jumped onto a bed in his panic, coupled with emphatic screaming on account of his terror that the lizard would reach him somehow. We laughed our hearts out!

~ Vaibhav Chowdhury.

After exasperating hours of witch hunting for an office in the lanes of Meerut, asking for directions and consulting Google Maps, we finally reached our destination - a cowshed!

~Abhishek Naulakha
                                                                  

On 5th September, during the Durga Puja days, I stepped onto the stage at a Pandaal in Dwarka, to address 1500 people. I was confident that it’d be a piece of cake, but as soon as I saw 3000 eyes staring at me, I realised that I was completely out of my element. Brimming with nerves and unease, I committed a blunder that I will always remember. “Now everyone, I present to you – the puppeteers from Kathputli colony, Nekpur", I announced. I made every attempt to take the words back – biting my tongue and covering my face with my hands in abject horror and disbelief. Kathputli colony is in Shadipur!

~ Parth Luthra.

A fellow team member and I reached Shadipur, to meet our community of puppeteers at around 01:20 p.m., panicking that the accompanying senior would be very annoyed, since we were 10 minutes late. Little did we know that she herself was going to be 2 hours late! We waited for her at the metro station till 3 p.m. She promised to take us out for lunch and to write the minutes for the visit in order to make it up to us.

~ Shrivika Dhawan.

After concluding a third party meeting at Hauz Khas, our Project Director, my fellow Enactus first year member and I left in an auto-rickshaw. Our Project Director thought that we would get down at the metro station and he planned on using the same auto to take him to his house, which was further ahead. En route, my friend and I decided to go to Hauz Khas market to grab a bite and relayed our plans to the senior. He got out of the auto, so that we could de-board and he could take the auto to his place. Unaware of his intentions, my friend asked the driver to carry on, waving to our senior, who had been left stranded by us. A few minutes later, realization dawned on us, accompanied by embarrassment and unreasonable hilarity. We called our senior to apologise, but I still tease my friend unmercifully whenever I recall the incident.

~Shubham Khemka

Such moments and experiences bring about bittersweet memories that make us realise how close Enactus really is to our hearts and how it has shaped us in the short time we’ve spent as its members. It has given us everything we could possibly want – memories, excitement, adventure, the inexplicable thrill of doing something by ourselves and most of all, a poignant sense of fulfillment. We sense the change in ourselves as we undergo a metamorphosis from “Helpers” to “Social Entrepreneurs” and we will reflect on these remarkable experiences when we spread our wings and take flight.

- Compiled by Rai Sengupta, Shubham Khemka, Aayush Aggarwal and Sumedha Arora

Unison: #EnactusAtRaahgiri

On a cold November morning, Enactus teams from Delhi and beyond stood shoulder to shoulder for the first time not to compete but to connect with each other.

2nd November 2014, Raahgiri Day witnessed an Enactus marathon, in the heart of Delhi, Connaught Place for all the teams. This initiative by Enactus SRCC, sought to provide a platform for different teams to bond, to kindle new friendships and to bring more smiles by spreading the Enactus spirit.

The teams arrived at the venue at 6:30 a.m. A Zumba session was conducted for the teams preceding the marathon. After the teams had warmed up, they lined up for the marathon which was flagged off by Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi (Member of Parliament, New Delhi), the esteemed chief guest for the event. Along the marathon track, Enactus SRCC members stood holding colorful placards with motivational quotes on them to keep the runners pumped up. Messages like “Run like you stole something” and “Only 200m to go”, added vibrance to the inner circle of the Connaught Place.

As the teams sweat it out, the puppeteers of Project Kayakalp performed a show on Road Safety for everyone else present.

After the marathon, the teams made their way to the amphitheatre inside Central Park, where they were divided into teams of ten, in a rather innovative way. Each Enactus team member was handed a chit, with the name of a country on it as they entered the amphitheatre. Each member had to locate the volunteer holding the placard with the name of the country they had on their chit and hence form a team.

Once the teams were formed, they were given a short activity to get them going. Each team had to come up with a fun and quirky team name and a justification for it, after which one member from each team came forth and announced the team name to everyone. The teams bonded well, during this activity, with many similarities coming forth in the process. One team with Pink Floyd fans even gave a rendition of “We don’t need no education!”

After this initial ice-breaking activity, the teams were told about the main activity wherein each team received five cards, with five tasks written on them. The tasks- ranging from creating a synchronized dance step to saying a tongue twister- had to be performed with the general public inside Central Park. Once a team had performed a task with a certain group of people, they had to pin Enactus badges onto them and then take a group selfie.

The teams were highly enthused and soon set off to perform this fun activity with great gusto. Soon, Central Park witnessed cross-college Enactus teams interacting with the general public and pinning the yellow Enactus badges onto them. After the activity was done, the Enactus teams got photographed with the giant Enactus logo at the photo booth.

In the end, the Enactus teams got photographed under the National Flag with the Enactus Flag being passed from member to member as Wavin’ Flag played in the background. The smiles of the team members, happy and content as the sun shone on their faces, brought forth one message: No matter which team we belong to, no matter which college we represent or what our projects are, if we seek to help and empower people, we are connected by something deep and unbreakable! A bond that supersedes competition and rivalry; A bond that we as Enactus team members share; And it is because of this bond, that in the end, we are able to proclaim: We All Win.

- Rai Sengupta & Anurag Sarawgi

Lighting up Lives

“Find out where the joy resides and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss joy is to miss all.” With the onset of Diwali, the memories of previous years’ celebrations bloom afresh. Bringing joy to people, helping them and cheering them up, is what we as members of Enactus believe in.

Some team members share their most cherished experiences!

Two years back I, along with my friends visited an orphanage and took a few crackers with us to help the young children celebrate Diwali. To our amazement they refused to burst crackers. Even such young children knew the true essence of Diwali. The next year we went to the same orphanage and this time, took new clothes and food for them. We went and celebrated a prosperous and pollution free Diwali with the children. The smile on their faces was enough to make my Diwali a prosperous one.

-     
   -  Mridul Bansal

Fresh winds marking the end of summer, marketplaces enclosed in bright hues, the streets buzzing with life and light! Every year the essence of Diwali makes this time for me, the best part of the year.

-   
     -  Twinkle Malhan

Following the Nepalese Culture of asking for food, money and blessings on the eve of Diwali, one such group of children who had no home or anyone to look after them came. We fed them and gifted them new colourful dresses. The happiness on their faces defined Diwali in its true spirit – The Festival Of Happiness.

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 - -  Abhishek Naulakha
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An old couple stays in my neighbourhood, and their children are settled abroad. They rarely move out of their home and do not interact with anyone. Last year on Diwali, I went to them with some sweets and chatted for an hour. The smiles on their faces sweetened up my Diwali like never before!

-          
    -  Sarthak Agarwal
_

“If you light a lamp for someone else, it will also brighten your path.” A festival of lights with no light - such was Diwali for the visually challenged students of The Blind School in Delhi. A simple donation in the form of books in Braille and a conversation with them lit up their world. Diwali last year, was indeed special.

-         
     -  Parth Luthra
_

Diwali for me is the festival to make time for everyone I adore. Last year on Diwali, my entire extended family, from all parts of the country and the world came down to Bhubaneshwar to celebrate together. We met each other after years. It’s always going to be the most special Diwali.

-         
     - Vishal Sahoo
_

With Buildings illuminated with diyas, candle-sticks and electric bulbs, let’s light up the lives of other people too, since true happiness lies in giving joy to others. Let’s hope that this Diwali is an occasion of joy, thrill and excitement for everyone. Enactus SRCC wishes everyone a Happy Diwali.

-          Compiled by Rai Sengupta and Parth Luthra                                                                                         

Kathputli Colony: The First Time

 “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Our journey with Enactus has just begun and we look forward to a sea of opportunities, wrought with challenges and abound with new experiences and learning. The first step we took to begin our promising new journey was visiting Project Kayakalp's community of puppeteers in Kathputli Colony, Shadipur Depot. Guiding us into the world of social entrepreneurship was the most fun loving senior, Kanupriya, which definitely added to our excitement. 

We got off the metro, crossed the congested road and reached Kathputli Colony. Our excitement grew incredibly as we inched closer to our destination. With its open drains, narrow lanes and shanties, the colony resembled the thousands of slums that India harbors. Initially a bit wary of our surroundings, we trailed on, realizing that there is something unique about this dwelling and its residents. 

As soon as we entered the room where the puppeteers were practising, we were greeted with broad smiles and pleasantries that immediately put us at ease. . We were welcomed with such warmth and happiness that all our initial apprehensions vanished into thin air. The puppeteers enthusiastically introduced themselves and were more than willing to know about us that was the beginning of a bond with our community that we hope will only get stronger with time. 

The grey-walled room seemed unusually bright. It was a treat watching the puppeteers get on with their task. Doing, un-doing and then re-doing each step they worked with boundless patience, keeping in mind every single detail. Their zeal for perfection is truly inspiring. 

We had to sit for two hours, just supervising the happenings but we never came across a dull moment. Such was the energy in that room. The training session for the day soon ended, much to our disappointment. 
Kanupriya then requested one of the puppeteers to take us around the colony. Infused with new excitement, we began our tour. What followed next is difficult to put into words.

The children played around happily, lighting up those dingy lanes with their bright smiles. Grown-ups went about their daily chores busily. We walked through a series of interconnected narrow lanes that permitted only one person at a time.  Dogs, hens, gutters, mud stoves (for cooking rice) over the gutters- all fit perfectly in those metre-wide gullies-we have no idea how!. It was a maze, which only the inhabitants of the colony could crack.  It was a world that we would never have been able to fathom before joining Enactus. 

- Ria and Samhita