There is an ashram for leprosy patients in Hyderabad. They also house tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS infected patients. They have a team of German doctors. It is a very big campus with lush greenery and very neat living places for all the inmates and their caretakers. They also have a very nice hospitals. They mostly run on private charity. My father-in-law was an ardent supporter of this charity in his lifetime and I had the opportunity of visiting this place on 2-3 occasions after my marriage. After his death, my mother-in-law continues to support this charity. This time too when we went to Hyderabad, my mother-in-law had arranged for a lunch for all the inmates for which one has to pay a fixed amount. One has to provide a sweet on their own and normally we buy laddoos from outside but this time she has prepared the sweets for all 500 people. Pretty amazing! It was pouring heavily when we visited them. We made Siddharth and Isha distribute the sweets to the people who came for lunch. It was a very fulfilling experience for them. Siddharth felt really proud doing it and I explained to him what they were suffering from and why we were there. It was a strangely touching experience as always, seeing the people queuing up for food, smiling despite their obvious physical disabilities. It makes one feel so small and so ashamed for being able to do so little. We spend so much money on eating outside or buying things for ourselves but so grudgingly part with things for the less fortunate. More often than not, it is the inertia which holds us back. I get so saddened that I try to shield my own self which is a pathetic excuse. I think I will do more, now that my son has taken the first step.
Siddharth commented that he would like to go to a charitable organization similar to this one in Bangalore and I have promised to take him.