Fulbright-mtvU Fellows

Food Before The Law

While life is not picture perfect in the USA, one thing America can justly pride itself on is the idea of the “American Dream.” No matter your initial socio-economic status, hard work and ambition can provide you a ticket to a better life. I have a friend from high school that grew up in a drug-infested, poverty stricken neighborhood in Chicago. He worked hard and obtained a scholarship first to Phillips Academy Andover and then to Harvard. He is now a star trader at Goldman Sachs and his prospects are unlimited. In India, such a rise to the top from an underprivileged background is virtually impossible. The country revolves around an elite 1% of the population that owns the other 99%, with family businesses that extend for generations controlling the lot of it. The poorest are so poor that there is little hope to rise unless some sort of viable standard of living is obtained. India is a nation of about 1.15 billion people, and the amount of untapped potential that lay in the slums and in the countryside is staggering. Without the basic necessities of life, how can these children even begin to dream? What would they even dream of?
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Tags: Akanksha Foundation, Bombay, Slums

Be The Change

It wasn’t easy, but I’ve finally managed to set up a relatively normal life here. Although Mumbai represents craziness at its best, I am surprised by the level of organization and structure of the Akanksha Foundation, the main youth foundation I will be working with during my time here in India. With 33 after school centers and 2 full time schools, Akanksha has developed a specific curriculum and manual with which they want to instruct every child. They have programs that range from the basics of Math and English to social leadership and music. They help slum kids apply to universities, market their artwork to generate income for their families, and even teach them basic computer skills in partnership with SchoolNet. The soul of Akanksha is in Mahatma Ghandi’s mantra: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Akanksha changes the lives of children by showing them how to believe again through the art of imagination. They help the kids escape from their harsh realities in the slums, even for just a few hours a day or a week, to let them be children again. I visited with the centers and met with the children, volunteers and professors. It was assessment day, and the children were being tested on their progress through oral and written exams. I sat in on multiple assessments where the children were asked about current events and about what they had read or seen recently in the news. What was going on in their Mumbai? And you know the first thing the children spoke of? Music. They knew the latest Bollywood release, they spoke of Michael Jackson’s death, they quoted lyrics romanticizing their favorite songs. One little boy even broke out in dance and serenaded me with a Bollywood love song (it took all I had not to blush!).
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Tags: Akanksha Foundation, Bollywood, Katerina Kaif, Michael Jackson, Mumbai

Mumbai Meri Jaan

Namaste from India, and welcome to my Fulbright mtvU-blog! For the next 9 months, I will live in Mumbai and use this site to post videos, soundbites, photos, interviews, and updates on my project exploring Bollywood culture and its impacts and influences on underprivileged youth in Mumbai. As part of my project, I aim to coordinate with entertainment professionals at Rohit Roy Productions and the youth of the Akanksha Foundation to develop the theatre and drama program of the foundation and to create a Bollywood performance by the youth. My ultimate goal is to produce a documentary of the children’s journey, which will be screened at a fundraising gala that marks the 20^th anniversary of the Akanksha foundation’s efforts.

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Tags: Akanksha Foundation, Bollywood, Mumbai, Rohit Roy Productions