All posts tagged: parents

The Aasha Build: Gift hope, build a home

Slumdog Millionaire has put the slums of India on the world map, albiet in an artistic way. Despite the obvious, it’s still hard to believe that some people don’t have a concrete roof over their heads, that they live in make-shift shacks even in this age and time. Apparently, India homes 17% of all slum-dwellers in the world, a figure which translates to about 170 million people! The odds are just slightly tilted in our favor.Β  If you have ever witnessed the poverty on India’s streets (in person or through CNN or BBC), I am sure you have wondered, even for a moment, if there was a way you could help. This is your chance. A few of us have started an initiative with Habitat for HumanityΒ to build houses in a slum area in Devanahalli, on the outskirts of Bangalore, India. The 2 weeks we spend on site will involve an intensive 10 day build, with an aim of constructing 8 double-storeyed houses, sheltering 16 families or approximately 96 individuals. A house might sound trivial, …

The days of yore

I don’t know what it is about our childhood that we can’t stop reminiscing. Maybe the innocence, maybe the ignorance. At some point, we lost track of time and grew up. Those days seem so long ago, but we’ll always carry a part of them within us. Sometimes in the form of playful memories, sometimes as cherished dreams. When you’re twenty and it hits you that you can’t control time, it begins to sting inside. What wouldn’t you give to live one of those days again, just a little bit differently? I know that the only people who can bring us anywhere close to our long-gone childhood are our parents. Maybe it’s the unconditional affection, maybe the faith they have in us. Sometimes, I wonder how they do it, and so universally. I was allowed to be a child these last ten days. Today, they get back to India and I get back to reality. I hate goodbyes. Shivya NathWelcome to my blog, The Shooting Star. I’ve been called a storyteller, writer, photographer, digital nomad, …