Rajdhani Ki Mitti

Sounds like a senti title, doesnt it? Well, read on...

In retrospect, it seems almost ridiculous. 

I spent an awful hour trying to call my husband in Delhi, after the bomb blasts. His cell was not working, he was working in a basti with kids. And then I spent another tense half hour trying to convince him to stay put. He didnt listen. When he was going back home, I told Pavan to pray and the kid lit four agarbattis. Finally he reached home and called to say he is ok.

Prayas is in Delhi for a project that we called Rajdhani ki mitti. The plan, when we discussed it, was to collect soil from differnet parts of the city, use it to grow sarso, a plant which purifies and enriches the soil it is grown in. After the plant grows, the kids who are involved in this project, put back the soil at the same places where it was collected from. The intention? They will feel a sense of belonging for the city, an ownership.

Meanwhile, they make audio pod casts and learn how to blog thier efforts.

And, while this is going on, some other guys have a project too. They plant bombs in five different parts of the city. The intention? They will feel a sense of ownership, power through terror, for the city?