Indian August for 24 young NRIs

Aruna Raghuram / TNN / Jun 23, 2008, 05:08 IST

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24 NRI youngsters will be sampling the country's experience through a one-year fellowship with an Ahmedabad-based NGO.

AHMEDABAD: Come August, 24 non-resident Indian youngsters, 20 from US, will be trooping to India. No, they're not here to catch up with family or visit tourist hotspots, but to get in touch with their Indian roots by getting involved in development projects.Reared abroad, they will be sampling the Indian experience through a one-year fellowship with city-based non-government organization, Indicorps. The NGO, set up in 2002, has two fellowships a year, beginning in January and August open only to people of Indian origin. The fellows will be involved in projects across the country. Doesn��t the youngsters mind taking a one-year break from their studies or careers? "They don't see it as a break, but as part of life's journey. It's such a robust experience that they feel better prepared for any career. During the course of the project they also experience spiritual growth - how to become better human beings," says Tanya Sehgal, who is co-ordinating the fellowships.Three fellows, who are finishing this August, are based in Ahmedabad. Ishtar Lakhani, a third generation Indian living in Durban, South Africa, is working on ��re-energizing' Sabarmati Ashram by training and recruiting college students to work as guides.

"Visitors don't want a history lesson but interesting anecdotes about the 15 years Gandhi spent in the city," says the 23-year-old who has studied anthropology. The richest part of her Ahmedabad experience has been participating in all seasons and festivals," she says. For Parth Thakar, 24, it's homecoming as he was born in the city. He has been working with Environmental Sanitation Institute to design and build a mobile health and sanitation bus that will tour rural Gujarat to create awareness.What motivated Parth to take up the fellowship was a desire to reconnect with India. "It's also a chance to give something back to my home country. Living in Ahmedabad has been fantastic - especially the strong family and community feeling," says the youngster.Rashida Merchant, 23, has been involved in Manav Sadhana's activities in Ramapir No Tekro, a slum in Juna Vadaj. She's been taking computer classes, tuitions for children and working in health camps and the anganwadi in the slum. She took up the fellowship because she was interested in development work, specifically in India. "It's been an inspiring and enlightening experience and I've learnt a good deal about myself. For instance, that I can persevere in the face of challenges," she says.

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