URVASHI

“One day I will find the right words and they will be simple”

~Jack Kerouac

Once again, India has been the sanctuary of this sentiment, the clarity I have needed in the complexities of life. However, I make an addition to Kerouac’s beautiful wish and suggest that these words he refers to are in fact not words at all. While we have traveled to India with the definite purpose of of teaching children English, our work in teaching the language is minuscule  compared to the pure love I am so blessed to share with the girls I have taught. It has been remarkable to see them grow in knowledge and character in the short four days we have had with them.

The circumstances have been perfect with the ten of us in Operation Jeevan and the ten of them at the YMAD House of Learning: Anamika, Ankita, Divyanshi, Ganisha, Neha, Pooja, Priya, Rupali, Sejal, and Urvashi. We have had the opportunity to get know our beautiful girls all the better. I have so much love for my sweet little sister Urvashi. She is nine years old; one of the younger (and smaller) girls. Her eyes are big and bright, and she is joyful and shy. At first, I assumed that her bashful behavior was a result of our presence, but I soon realized that she is quiet even among her peers. The more I have spent time with her, the more I recognize how alike we are. I have always been more reserved among my own peers, because I prefer to listen and observe what I am experiencing. Urvashi is the same, and you can tell that she admires and looks up to the other girls, who in turn look out for their younger friend.

From the first day to the last, Urvashi has turned from a stranger across the globe to my little Indian di. Through chalk tracing and tickle racing, meditating and washing her hair, dancing and singing by her side, swinging her in circles and holding her little hand, all the way up to our unison sniffles as she cried in my shoulder, she has softened my heart and reminded me of what is important.  Without love and friendship, nothing else matters. Because the hope that a person can provide another is far greater than any English vocabulary word.

I send love to all of  my friends and to Mom, Dad, Noah and Ruthie. Love you!

Rachael