Written by Pallavi Dadarkar

One common theme during the Sewa tour around various different projects was 'Atithi Devo Bhava,' which means Guest is God. Everywhere we went we were treated so well, it was as if we are God (which we are obviously nothing close to!!)

It started at Divya Vidyalaya, where during our arrival, the children greeted us with roses. We also attended a sports day with the children, where they competed against kids from 12 different schools. During the inauguration ceremony, we were unexpectedly called on stage to receive an award. I felt a bit embarrassed at this, as I didn’t feel we had done anything particularly deserving, especially considering all the other people there, ranging from the children, teachers, volunteers, the event organisers, and headteachers of all the schools!

Another example took place during our stay at Samvedana Rehabilitation Centre in Latur. There was another school just behind, which we visited to get an idea of what a boarding school in India is like. We went with the impression that we would just be watching them in their daily routine. However, when we arrived the schoolgirls were sat on the floor which chairs arranged for us, and they were expecting a Q&A session with us! Again, I was very shocked, firstly because we did not need chairs, especially if they were sitting on the floor and secondly because of how much they looked up to us, eager to hear our answers to their questions.

Spending hours at the school, I was shocked at the pedestal these girls placed us on. They wanted to talk to us, take selfies and know about our dreams. This recurring question ‘What is your dream?’ made me feel sad and ashamed, realising how young these girls are, yet they had planned out their entire lives. Whereas, in contrast I was 10 years older than some of them and still uncertain about my own path.

This is just a snapshot of how warm and welcoming everyone in India was towards us; everyone treats you as if you are family. It fills me with gratitude to be of Indian heritage, as there is such a heightened sense of community and belonging everywhere you go.