In theatre and soccer, kids and execs find common joy

GURGAON: Corporate executives in the city stepped beyond their domain in an effort to bring joy to underprivileged on the occasion of International Happiness Day.
It was a memorable day for over 100 children in Tigra village, when professionals from an infrastructure major based in Cyber City, played a soccer match with them.
“Generally, people come to the village to distribute sweets and clothes. But they played with us and made us feel equal,” smiled Neelam, 16, a student of Sunshine Foundation, an NGO that tied up with the company to organize the match.
For professionals who took time out from their busy schedules and participated in the match, there couldn’t have been a better way to celebrate the day. Shubra Aprajita (25), environmental consultant at the firm, said, “Bringing happiness to someone doesn’t mean just providing them with material comforts. It is all about interacting with them. When you talk to the village children, you come to know about challenges they face. While they felt special with our participation in the match, it made us happy to know they find pleasures in small things.”
Many feel engaging in activities with underprivileged children is the best way to de-stress. Akshay Takkar, 23, who works as a research analyst with an MNC, celebrated the day with children from ‘Kilkari’, an NGO. “As I am interested in theatre, I taught them (children) about this art. The children were happy as they got an opportunity to dress up as Bollywood stars and learn techniques of voice modulation. Such activities bring smiles to many faces. This is what happiness is all about,” smiled Takkar. He has pledged to work with the children throughout the year.
It also helped some professionals get to know the city better. “The growing culture of gated colonies in the city has created a divide between urban and rural pockets. I’m glad we got an opportunity today to interact with the other side. I think we have a lot to learn from them, as they derive happiness from small things, while we wait for big moments,” said major Vinay Jaswal, HR vice president of a hotel chain.