When we look at a newborn human baby, one thing becomes immediately clear - human beings are not designed to grow up alone. Unlike most animals, a human baby remains dependent for many years. A calf walks within hours. Birds soon learn to fly. But a human child requires years of feeding, protection, emotional reassurance,...
Empathy is one of those qualities we often talk about but rarely pause to understand. It isn’t just about feeling sorry for someone or offering help in difficult times. Empathy is the simple, everyday act of acknowledging another human being — seeing them, hearing them, and treating them with dignity. Very early in my journey in...
When we hear the term in-kind donation, we usually think of non-monetary contributions—groceries, new or gently-used clothes, refurbished laptops, or even appliances like washing machines. At Bala Mandir, these are received as regular donations and acknowledged with receipts, but without any financial transaction. While reflecting on this, I realised there is a bigger category of in-kind...
At Bala Mandir, we have always believed that every child deserves more than shelter, education, and safety. They deserve warmth, affection, and the feeling of being part of a family—even if only for a while. This summer, we took a small but meaningful step toward that vision through our very first Temporary Summer Fostering Programme. Why...
On December 5, 2023, when Bala Mandir was still flooded and the water was getting pumped out, there was a major surprise for the children and staff. Suddenly they saw something jumping up from the water with a splash. The alert social workers quickly guessed that these were fish which had probably come down with...
In December 2023,, Chennai experienced major floods caused by Cyclone Michaung, which brought heavy rainfall and strong winds, leading to severe flooding in the city. Over 34 cm of rainfall inundated the city within 48 hours (December 4 th and 5 th ), causing extensive damage and disrupting almost all public services. This reminded us of...
In August 2021, most unexpectedly, I got a call from Mr Madhavan, ex-CEO of Cognizant Foundation who is a good friend and a well-wisher of Bala Mandir. At that time the world was in the grip of the COVID pandemic and we had just launched the Kinship Care programme and were looking to get some...
Being a hardcore cricket fan for over 60 years of my life and having played the game from a very young age, it has been of some concern to me that none of the Bala Mandir children, either in the school or in the Home, play the game. On some days I have seen the Home...
My association with Bala Mandir began in March 2012 when I was still working in the corporate sector. It was only by the end of 2019 when I retired, that I started volunteering on a full-time basis with Bala Mandir. One of the first tasks given to me was to take charge of the Bala...
For my father’s Sashtiaptharpurthi (61st birthday) in 1990, we had a big celebration and the extended family and friends from various places, including from far North of India, assembled in Thirukadaiyur where we had made booking for all of them. It was an elaborate function spread over 2 days. It was a wonderful event and...
