When God wants us to learn something, he gives us circumstances

Kiran Desai Uncle, 88 years, just like his name, brings rays of light and hope to hundreds of children in the small town of Nadiad, in Gujarat. His core belief is to spend money where the benefit is ongoing and helps build a life. More on that later, but first, a look back at his innings so far.

Raised in Nadiad, he always had an affinity for numbers. He completed his M.Com at H.L. College, Ahmedabad, and went on to work with the Government in the Sales Tax Department. That is when an advertisement appeared from the UK, recruiting accounts personnel. He applied for a work permit and began his journey in Britain with a new home, city, family, and job. He lived in Harrow for over 40 years. He worked for Initial Servicing Ltd for over 30 years, in the Finance department at their head office. The stability came not only from an employment perspective but also within. An avid follower of yoga, he even introduced his sons to yoga and set up a routine of spending weekends at the yoga ashram with the entire family.

Today a resident with us at PapayaCare, along with his wife, Saroj Aunty – he still follows a routine, eats healthily, and never misses his exercises. He has even followed the neti routine of cleansing the nasal passage, something that is not everyone’s cup of tea. While he does not believe in preaching, he says when God wants us to learn something, he gives us “circumstances”, and they prepare us. And to think of it, the same person is changing the circumstances of hundreds of underprivileged students from his village in Nadiad.

Uncle has been running and funding an institution for the last 21 years (phew!) named Bal Sanskar Kendra in Nadiad with the help of a friend-cum-well-wisher named Vibha ben, who teaches the kids. Children from four years of age onwards are welcome to study all subjects during the weekend when their school is closed. They are also provided with stationery supplies and education scholarships by Bal Sanskar Kendra. He says it is heartening to see children who have grown up and now hold big corporate jobs still come back to the village to do their bit to teach and support the institution.

Soft-spoken and tranquil, he considers himself a collector of things – be it newspaper cuttings, memories or friends. We at PapayaCare feel honoured to have him as part of our big family and to share his wisdom with a dash of a smile 🙂