“Blessed are they whose our bodies get destroyed within the service of others.” ― Swami Vivekananda
At 21, Tarak Mondol is now not the unsure younger man who as soon as stepped out of the Kishalaya Kids’s House in Barasat, West Bengal. Rising up in an orphanage, he confronted challenges most of us can hardly think about. But, in the present day, he’s not solely a black belt in Karate but additionally a revered martial arts teacher, guiding others with the identical self-discipline and power that helped him rise above his circumstances.
For Pawan, 23, leaving the identical youngsters’s residence at 18 was a turning level. His first job at an area clothes retailer didn’t simply really feel like a paycheck, it felt like a brand new starting, an opportunity to construct a future and carve his personal path. Although their journeys could seem totally different, they’ve a typical thread: Aparna Das.
Now 60, Aparna Das has helped change the lives of virtually 100 folks, from youngsters to the aged. She has persistently devoted her time and vitality to serving to others as a result of she discovered pleasure in making a distinction in folks’s lives.
Nonetheless, a long time in the past, whereas targeted on assembly the calls for of a busy joint household, Aparna by no means imagined that sooner or later she could be shaping the futures of so many. With 9 brothers-in-law, alongside along with her husband, mother-in-law, and father-in-law to take care of, Aparna usually felt overwhelmed. “I felt like I used to be shedding myself,” she remembers. Her early years had been consumed by family chores, caregiving, and working the house.
“It wasn’t the work that made me unhappy, it was the truth that I couldn’t pursue the issues I cherished,” she tells The Higher India. She quietly embraced her position, setting apart her passions like enjoying the guitar, studying books, and following her personal pursuits, for the sake of her household. However because the years glided by, a delicate sense of disconnection from her true self started to take root.
After changing into a mom in 1994, Aparna discovered a brand new function in elevating her daughter. She devoted herself to making sure her baby’s future was brilliant, pouring all her vitality into nurturing and supporting her. However when her daughter moved to Kolkata to chase her personal desires, Aparna felt a void reemerge in her life. Recognising this, her daughter turned an sudden catalyst, urging her to rediscover her personal passions.
“I’ve witnessed my mom make numerous sacrifices all through her life to make sure I had her time, consideration, and care. After I moved to Kolkata to pursue my very own path, I wished her to lastly use her time for issues that really deliver her pleasure. It was then that I inspired her to succeed in out to NGOs and begin partaking in work that she is obsessed with,” Suparna Das, Aparna’s daughter, shares.
“She motivated me to observe my desires,” Aparna says, her voice crammed with gratitude. That encouragement sparked a brand new chapter in her life, one targeted on serving to others.
Empowering the underprivileged
Round 2015, Aparna started her journey into social work by volunteering at Kishalaya Kids’s House in Barasat. What began as a option to make significant use of her time quickly grew right into a lifelong mission. She poured her coronary heart and soul into caring for orphaned youngsters, educating them important life abilities and providing them unwavering love and help.
“I don’t consider we are able to do social work with cash,” she emphasises, asserting that real service originates from the depths of 1’s being. “Assist others wholeheartedly, and every part will fall into place.”
For Aparna, this ethos meant not solely serving others but additionally standing on her personal toes. “I don’t take a single penny for my work, my earnings are my very own,” she says. Over time, she constructed her personal sources of revenue, together with mushroom farming. “I as soon as grew mushrooms in my residence, and with out even having to go away, I earned an excellent dwelling from them.”
Through the winter, Aparna spends her time making dried lentil dumplings, often called Bori in Bengali, which she sells inside her neighborhood. “I don’t have to take cash from anybody. I stand by myself, offering for myself and others with my very own arms,” she says, a way of pleasure in her voice. This work not solely helps her maintain herself but additionally permits her to help the NGOs she cares about, contributing by donations and different types of help.
At Aradhana Social & Improvement Group, Aparna has shaped deep, significant connections with the kids; providing them extra than simply help, she offers them her coronary heart.
“I owe a lot of my progress and success to Aparna ma’am’s unwavering help, and I consider others ought to draw inspiration from her generosity and kindness,” says Tarak.
Aparna’s strategy to supporting the kids goes far past assembly their fundamental wants. “I educate them to dream, to not really feel unhappy about their circumstances, however to see a brilliant future forward,” she explains. At Aradhana Social & Improvement Group, she encourages the kids to precise themselves creatively by actions like poem recitations and singing, serving to them achieve confidence and uncover their distinctive voices. She additionally teaches them helpful life abilities, comparable to private hygiene and duty, equipping them with the instruments they should navigate life’s challenges with resilience and self-assurance.
“It’s not sufficient to show them the way to survive, we should educate them the way to thrive,” she says.
Regardless of the challenges that include Aparna’s age, she continues undeterred. She stays devoted to serving her neighborhood by connecting those that want to donate with organisations in want. Via her intensive community, she arranges for meals, clothes, and medical help to succeed in those that require it.
‘When you’ve got a talent, use it to construct your future’
A very memorable second got here through the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when youngsters at Aradhana Social & Improvement Group had been affected by the virus. Unable to supply monetary help, Aparna was perplexed about the way to assist. “I didn’t know what to do, however I knew I needed to discover a manner,” she remembers. To her delight, a pal provided to donate meals in celebration of her granddaughter’s birthday. “It was such a aid,” she says. With this sudden assist, Aparna ensured the kids obtained nourishing meals and care, even when she couldn’t be there bodily.
What units Aparna aside from others is her perception within the energy of private duty. She doesn’t simply provide handouts, she empowers folks to assist themselves. This mindset has pushed her to mentor and information people towards self-sufficiency. As an example, she helped a younger lady struggling financially begin her personal mushroom cultivation enterprise. “When you’ve got a talent, use it to construct your future,” Aparna advises. Whether or not it’s educating youngsters life abilities or serving to adults begin small companies based mostly on their abilities, she believes in creating alternatives for folks to form their very own destinies.
“One of the vital fulfilling elements of my work has been mentoring younger folks,” Aparna shares with a smile. “Pawan is among the younger males whose journey has deeply touched me. When he first got here to me, he had nowhere to go. I provided him shelter and helped him get again on his toes.”
Aparna remembers how Pawan struggled to seek out course after leaving the Kishalaya Kids’s House. “I noticed his potential and knew he simply wanted some steerage,” she says. She didn’t cease there, Aparna helped him discover his first job at a clothes retailer, and later, a place at a restaurant. “I even helped him open a checking account and taught him the way to handle his financial savings,” she provides.
Seeing Pawan in the present day, thriving and impartial, brings Aparna immense pleasure. “What stands out essentially the most is how onerous he labored to get the place he’s now. His success is my biggest reward,” she says, her voice crammed with happiness. “I’m so happy with him. He’s not only a success story, he’s like household to me.”
Caring for the aged
Aparna’s dedication to the aged mirrors her dedication to youngsters, as she works tirelessly to make sure senior residents at Shondhaneer Previous Age House in Madhyamgram obtain the care and help they deserve. “At Shondhaneer, I be a part of different volunteers to rearrange breakfast and snacks for the residents. One other organisation handles their lunch and dinner, however I guarantee their mornings start with nourishing meals,” she explains. Her hands-on strategy ensures that the aged are well-cared for and energised to start out their day.
Her compassion extends to the cautious administration of donations as effectively. “Every time folks want to donate meals to outdated age houses, I direct them to Shondhaneer. I want providing dry snacks like puffed rice, biscuits, and fruits, easy, wholesome choices which are straightforward to retailer and distribute,” she shares. This pragmatic strategy underscores her deep understanding of the wants of the aged, guaranteeing that their each day necessities are met with considerate care.
Though her household initially struggled to grasp her work, Aparna’s husband has since turn into certainly one of her biggest supporters. “He used to ask me the place I used to be going, what I used to be doing, however now he understands,” she says with a smile. His help, alongside her daughter’s, has been essential in serving to Aparna steadiness her social work with household tasks. “Time administration is essential,” she says, acknowledging the fixed juggling act between her duties at residence and her work locally.
Aparna’s journey has not been with out its challenges. Through the years, she encountered resistance from some NGOs the place she observed that youngsters weren’t being correctly cared for. As a substitute of ignoring the difficulty, she took motion. “I noticed that some NGOs weren’t assembly the kids’s wants, and I couldn’t stand by. I spoke on to the authorities, insisting they prioritise the kids’s well-being, guarantee correct care, and meet their fundamental wants, together with meals,” she says, highlighting her dedication to advocating for the weak, even in troublesome circumstances.
Inspiring the subsequent technology
“I grew up in Kishalaya Kids’s House in Barasat, the place I had the privilege of assembly Aparna ma’am. She turned a major affect in my life. After turning 18, I needed to depart the house, and I used to be lucky sufficient to stick with her. Through the COVID-19 lockdown, she welcomed me into her residence for a month and helped me safe a job. Alongside the way in which, I pursued my ardour for karate and achieved a black belt. I accomplished my class 12 research, and in the present day, I’m a karate teacher,” says Tarak.
“What stands out essentially the most about Aparna ma’am is her generosity. She by no means requested for something in return and was there to information me at each step of my life. All the pieces I’ve achieved in the present day is due to her. I contemplate her my mom, and I’m perpetually grateful for the steerage, help, and alternatives she has given me,” Pawan displays,
Aparna has at all times been a powerful advocate for the youthful technology, believing that younger folks should be taught empathy, kindness, and the significance of giving. “Train your youngsters to be type and to assist others,” she advises. “We’re advancing technologically, however humanity should advance as effectively,” she says, urging dad and mom to deal with elevating youngsters with sturdy ethical values.
“I draw inspiration from my mom, father, and grandfather, who taught me that serving to others isn’t just an act, however a lifestyle. They at all times opened our residence to these in want, and we had been raised to deal with everybody like household, no matter the place they got here from,” she provides. Via these classes, Aparna hopes to encourage others to nurture youngsters who develop as much as be not solely profitable but additionally compassionate.
For Aparna, her work has by no means been about recognition or accolades. As a substitute, her mission is easy, “I do what I do as a result of I consider in giving again to society. If all of us give just a little, we are able to change rather a lot.”
Edited by Arunava Banerjee; All photographs courtesy Aparna Das
