Geetanjali Krishna: Mending broken lives

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The children carefully tend the little vegetable patch, keeping it scrupulously weeded and watered. Every day they watch their radishes grow bigger and bigger, waiting for the day when they would be able to proudly harvest their crop.

A neat fence keeps their garden out of bounds for the large number of stray dogs they've befriended. "Nobody is even allowed to break the leaves of our radishes," says 11-year-old Vikranta, "for we want them to grow really well!" And right in the middle of the little patch is a small metal statue of the Mother Goddess: "she guards over our vegetables," they chorus, "she protects them from harm."

Nurturing this little piece of earth is probably much more than just a fun activity for most of the young kids at Karm Marg, an organisation that gives destitute children both a chance to get off the streets and toearn a living. It is something of a healing process for them as well.

For in their earlier lives, Vikranta and his friends lived "" or were forced to live, on the streets of Delhi. And even that was a more palatable option for many, than the physical, mental and sometimes even sexual abuse that they faced in their homes. Most were found begging or doing odd jobs at the railway station, says Veena, who runs Karm Marg. Today, Karm Gaon, their residential campus in Faridabad, houses about 60 children of ages ranging from five to eighteen.

Their pasts cannot be wished away, but Veena and her colleagues try to enable these children to enjoy the remainder of their fractured childhood. "Their spirit often surprises me," says she. So Vikranta and a couple of his friends learn football at Delhi's National Stadium. Another child learns modern dance under Navtej Johar. And they all have dreams for a better life ahead. Even little Poonam, who is a little slow, has a plan for her future. "I want to become a policeman," she lisps.

When I ask her how she plans to achieve her goal, she says, "I'll first have to learn how to wield the danda!"

Her elder sister, ten-year-old Tara, wants to be a teacher when she grows up. Vikranta, the naughtiest child in Karm Gaon, declares he wants to become a doctor. The children jeer good-naturedly, for his latest prank is still fresh in their minds "" some time ago, he smeared toothpaste over some girls' faces while they were sleeping. Eleven-year-old Deepa, the latest entrant in Karm Gaon, is in a hurry to go to school. "I was studying in class five when my father brought my brother and me here "" now we've to wait for the new semester to resume our studies!"

Understandably, most of the children at Karm Gaon are reticent about their pasts. Instead, they laugh and play, their high voices mingling with the strains of the latest Hindi pop music to create the feel of a carefree school hostel. But scratch the surface, and a different reality emerges. Deepa's little brother, left here when their mother deserted their family, moodily kicks the puppy he was playing with a minute ago. The puppy yelps in pain, but no one looks up. Eight-year-old Babli is angry. She didn't want to go to school in the morning, she says, but everyone forced her to. The tantrum leads to a flood of tears. She goes to the vegetable patch and forlornly pulls out a couple of dry leaves. Maybe if she'd received even a fraction of the nurturing she and her friends lavish on the radishes, the world would have been a different place for her.