Little Girls waitinG For biG b
At a modest rented office of a noted non-governmental organisation, Aarohan, in Malviya Nagar in south Delhi, a group of schoolgoing girls were busy writing a letter to “Uncle Amitabh Bachchan”, each one giving her own line to be incorporated. They were upset as the actor had failed to keep his promise to come and meet them. Under the watchful eyes of Aarohan’s founder president Rani Patel, they were trying to pen a decent letter. It was learnt that 28 Aarohan girls from underprivileged families were picked by the Prime Minister’s Office last year for a gala event at India Gate to celebrate the Modi government’s two years’ achievements. Amitabh Bachchan had interacted with them while anchoring a special “Beti Bachao, Beti Padao” segment, and promised to visit them soon. Pinky, who has written the letter to Amitabh Bachchan on behalf of other girls, specially interacted with him. He was surprised when she told him that she had scored 92% marks in the CBSE Class 10 exams and that she wanted to be a cardiac surgeon. She is now pursing Class 11 in the science stream and scoring nearly 100% marks in each subject. Aarohan has organised special coaching classes for her science subjects. Her mother is a domestic help and father an alcoholic. “Aarohan follows Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy that if a child cannot reach the school, the school must reach the child,” says Rani Patel. Aarohan focuses on education, health, skilled training, environment and social awareness. It organises coaching classes and computer training for the Municipal Corporation and government-run schools and build toilets.
The girls are not optimistic about “Big B” accepting their invitation. One of them said, “We see him every day on our television screen, selling all kinds of things, from lal tel (red hair oil) to chocolates and cement. He must be making a lot of money out of these advertisements. Can’t he just spare one hour to come and meet us?” Her friend, a naughty one, said, “I think we should complain to Jaya aunty (his wife) and Modiji.”