He experienced being abandoned with no emotions fairly developed yet, lived one of the most turbulent child lives with utter joy, struggled with killing poverty as an adolescent, and grew up living here and there while earning educational degrees from different colleges and universities in Bangluru (then Banglore) in circumstances only a survivor can survive.
This is why when Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das and cricketer Suresh Raina conferred him with the prestigious Dr Yashwant Rao Kelkar Awards by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in its 63rd National Convention in Ranchi for the year for taking care of abandoned street children, Sparsha Trust Founder R Gopinath could express his emotions more through his eyes. Excerpts of the conversation with The Pioneer:
You are said to have experienced one of the most turbulent and bitter childhoods. Can you please tell us little more about it?
I was born at Manchaganahalli of Mulbagal Taluk in Kolar district of Karnataka on January 4, 1981. When I was little over two years, my father sold whatever property he had on his name and ran away from his wife and three kids abandoned behind. He also injured my mother with knife around her neck in process. I had an uncle who didn’t allow us to stay with him and said us to go anywhere to live or die. We lived like refugee for some time. Then one person asked us to make a small hut in his land. It is story of three decade ago when my mother earned Rs 2 daily as labourer. Feeding four in Rs 2 was the only way forward.
So, how did you manage to get educated?
One day a rich man from the village we lived in approached my mother asking to send her sons to him for taking care of his livestock and he would give us required food. So, my elder brother started taking care of his cows. And I was, despite promised to be sent in a school, forced to take care of his cows and herd of sheep. I did that for some years. My sister worked in another house and one day, at the age of 13, she was forced to marry a 40-year-old guy of the village as his second wife. She actually sacrificed because if she had refused, we had to leave the village. I was around 7-8 years at that time. Then I managed to get enrolled in a school in class-V directly keeping my age in mind. Then I went to college and university, managing everything mostly by myself in utter poverty, and with the help of my elder brother on few important occasions.
How difficult was it for you to drop the idea of acquiring worldly possessions at a time when you could afford all those, and devoting everything of yours for the poor and abandoned kids?
Fortunately, I didn’t drop any worldly possession. After I was graduated, I got a job in a multi-national company. I dreamed of flying one day, and I enjoyed flying. I dreamed of earning Rs 1 Lakh a month, and I achieved it. I wanted a house for myself, I earned it. I wanted to help my nephews, I helped them. So, I didn’t leave any worldly possession untouched. But I knew the pain of those kids living in streets. So, I started working for them.
When did you start all this?
The idea of working for abandoned children started hammering me somewhere around 2006 only, but I could get Sparsha Trust registered in year 2009. We have got more than 8,000 street children enrolled in various schools in Karnataka. Many of them are pursuing higher studies by now. All these children were either abandoned or orphans or forced in flesh-trade. After disastrous earthquake in Nepal in April 2015, I came across more than a dozen girls in streets of Bangluru who were brought there and were forced in flesh trade. This is all pathetic to humanity. Unfortunately, human being is pushing another human being in all kinds of danger.
What does this award mean for you?
A lot. This is first such award to me. But then, recognition of my work means more than awards. People have started recognizing what I have been doing. I want the word ‘orphan’ deleted from respective dictionaries of languages.
As you have been awarded by ABVP, would you like to take help of its large network in your work?
Not at all. I am not willing to take advantage of any. Of course I will always seek help from all corners of society for whatever I have been doing. But I am very clear with one thing that I can’t be in give and take kind of relationships. As far as ABVP is concerned, dozens of students, rather hundreds of students must be willing to do exactly what I am doing, but they couldn’t have found the possible way. I will certainly help them with ideas and encouragement which makes much difference for anyone willing to do something for society. Dozens of Gopinath from ABVP network might be something that I could want, but no direct help from ABVP.