Along The Heart's Flow Chart

Ashis K. Biswas May 17, 2004 00:00 IST Along The Heart's Flow Chart -0001-11-30T00:00:00+05:53

Vinayak Lohani, 26, always knew boardroom brainstorms were not his cup of tea. In fact, long before campus recruitment began at the Indian Institute of Management, Joka, he had found his true calling—educating and sheltering abandoned street children. Today, living in a rural suburb of Behala in southwest Calcutta, barefoot and dressed in white kurta pyjama, Lohani has at last given flight to his dreams. Just four months ago, he launched the Parivar Education Society which is already home to some 55 young boys and girls.

Many of them hail from the red-light areas of north Calcutta, Sealdah railway station, south Calcutta and Canning. Some do not know their parents, others have sex workers for mothers who have no support from their fathers. Parivar plans to take at least 500 such cases under its roof.

Other NGOs like Sankalp and Child in Need Institute (CINI) help Parivar locate abandoned children. Authorities at the iim are also doing their best to chip in. Says a spokesperson, "There are known red-light pockets in Calcutta like Sonagachi and Kalighat. Securing the...