VEDANTA KHUSHI : Care for the Underprivileged Children
Vedanta Khushi is a social media campaign that started off to spread the awareness towards care for the underprivileged children – their Nutrition – Education – Health and overall development in India. Through its blog, www.khushi-creatinghappiness.blogspot.in, Vedanta Khushi posts motivating heart touching experiences and stories of people who have helped underprivileged children through their own ways.
From the very beginning I hated children working in a tea-stall or hotel. I was doing my Engineering from Bangalore and me and my few friends had no option but to stay out as the hostel accommodation was not available. So, we also had no option but to eat out as cooking was not possible and neither allowed by the land-lord.
So true, I am yet to meet a boy in college who has enough money to spend. Money was always an issue and whatever you do, one never has excess of it.
We were 3 friends, 2 were from Engineering background and one was doing MBA.
On routine, we use to have our breakfast, lunch and dinner at almost same hotel, which was on the MG Road. Something that always disturbed me was getting served by a boy of 12-14 years. I always felt very uncomfortable. May be because my brother is of the same age. My friends too felt the same and we generally discussed.
Our tempers were tested when one day this child slipped and the entire ‘masala dosa’ fell on a customer’s shirt and trouser. The owner of the hotel started beating this child. All three of us got up and stopped the owner and separated the child. By now he was bleeding. A heated argument happened and we decided not to eat in any hotel which had child labour employed.
Initially, we had to travel and search for a place, but it was not difficult. We were right and we found that slowly our other engineers and management friends followed and stopped eating at joints where Child Labour was employed. It is just a matter of taking a decision.
We three completed our education but till we were in Bangalore, we just stuck to our decision. We were happy to fight for the Right of the Child. No Child Labour means No Child Labour.
I am “Khush” and I am sure my friends must be also “Khush”. This “Khushi” stays within me always.
Many times you do good work but it is difficult to find a place for expressing that “Khushi”. This initiative has given me that platform..
Sanjiv Kaul, New Delhi
