This time last year I was mass consuming masala chai, playing (and beating) the boys at badminton, arm wrestling (and losing), talking mental health and feelings, laughing and crying and sharing many 'heart-squishy' moments with the boys of Bal Ashram. I started off last year in the presence of so much love - an incredible amount of love. The boys introduced me to an irreplaceable, unconditional type of love. My heart glows a little every time I reminisce about the bittersweet memories that I've created with them. They've taught me so freaking much and I just wish that they can see themselves with just as much, if not more, love that they have showered me with. Each of those boys left a lasting impact on my life. Manifesting that I get to see them again this year 🥺❣️
A few hours into my birthday I receive a voice message from Laasya asking if I'd want to FaceTime the boys because they wanted to wish me for my birthday. Obviously I would never miss a chance to see their faces, let alone on my birthday, so we FaceTimed. I spoke with them until their phone died. They'd throw the phone around and shriek, "Happy Birthday Didi!" Some would sing 'Kya Baat Ay' for me; some would chat with Amma and Nanna; some would use their puppy dog faces to ask me when I was coming back again; some would ask me to cut a cake on camera. The most heartwarming part, though, was when 'V' virtually took me to the conference hall and connected the phone to the TV so that my entire face was displayed on the TV. That's when I saw at least 30 kids sitting on the floor waving intensely at the camera and screaming, "Happy Birthday Esha Didi!!!" There was a humongous part of me that immediately thought What did I do to deserve this