More than 100 people had come that morning, starting out early and traveling long distances from Guwahati to be with us in time for the inauguration. Many were coming for the first time. They wanted to see for themselves. They wanted to help. We served them tea with pitha at the beginning and a light lunch at the end.
Given this setting, Ranjan's question was unexpected. I was rather irritated. Was that a time to be asking about bills? I told him I would have to check the papers and did not remember it offhand. He then said, 'I just want to say that you don't have to pay me anything anymore. Whatever you owe I wish to donate to Sishugram.' When I asked him why he was doing it he told me, 'You have done me a great honour by acknowledging my work in public today. I am overwhelmed.'
That was how things went that day. We could sense the huge amount of good will that existed for people about Sishugram. We spoke about our problems. People listened and were willing to contribute generously. Many told me about many schemes that we could apply for. Many offered to come and help themselves. We now had a brand new Hall for the girls to use. And many donated a little something on their way out of Sishugram that afternoon.
Yet, things were not getting better at Sishugram. Despite our best efforts, we had not been able to raise Sishugram, or make the girls at Sishugram understand the need to be responsible, to work hard and do well. I was not sure what we were doing wrong. There were problems of indiscipline, of mismanagement, of lying, of not trying to do better, of not doing what one should. Our girls were not growing up with the right set of values. There was something we were not getting right.
That is what we would need to address first. For else, we are failing people's trust. That night, just before I went to bed, I got another call, this time from Mrinmoy, the driver who I had hired that day to take me to Sishugram. 'Baideo,' he said, 'I want to donate 300 rupees per month to Sishugram. I wish I could give more but you know what my situation is. Please let me have the UPI address to which to send the money.'
Latest by then I understood that I had a bigger job on my hands, for if the girls don't grow up well, we are failing to keep the trust that Ranjan, Mrinmoy and many other donors had placed on us. More importantly, we were failing in our basic duty, the reason why Sishugram was established in the first place nearly 50 years ago --- to provide a safe home for girls who came from troubled backgrounds and to help them to become good human beings.
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