A "Pyar ka Mohalla" fosters Love at GB Road

Posted by Geetanjali Babbar on Aug 25, 2014

For the ordinary citizen in Delhi, GB Road means a number of things. For us at KatKatha, it is our home and 15th August, 2014 was dedicated for the Independence of our didis and children who are marginalised by society and therefore do not have the pleasure of living a normal life like all of us and celebrate fearlessly. It was to be their day under the sky to help put behind them years of neglect and disdain by capturing the “Road less Travelled” as their own.

Dreaming is the Elixir of Life and we at Kat-katha are nothing but a bunch of dreamers who wish to make the Impossible, Possible. Kat-Kalrav (Pyar ka Mohalla) was one such dream, which became a reality, thanks to the endless contributions and prayers of all. A day of celebration with our didis and children right in the middle of the road that they have lived in for years without fear of recrimination and as free spirits.

The preparations began with all volunteers and children pitching in to transform the landscape of GB Road by cleaning up the street and walls that had a dreary and withered look to one of brightness and cheer. The walls were given a fresh layer of paint and then transformed into expressions of love and gratitude through graffiti painted by selfless volunteers. The freshness and expressions that reflected from each of the walls, made our children and didis feel empowered with hope and questioned the people living there of their long-strung beliefs, beliefs which are medieval and prejudiced. This is just the beginning and with our dream, we hope to transform the ethos of the area completely.

Our brave didis got out of their dingy homes and joined us in the celebrations. Some did stare out of their windows and gave us their thumbs up with the hope that they would join us the next time. They came in their finery to the centre stage, watched with awe the show put up by volunteers, joined in the dance, clapped, cracked jokes, and looked gorgeous with their smiles reaching their eyes. The love that flowed within the space, the first of its kind, bang in the middle of GB Road was unimaginable. Love replaced hate and it was a sea of happiness and comfort that flowed right through the evening. Kat-Katha’s endeavour to “stringing life to unmoving puppets” seemed to have created magic on this wonderful day of India’s Independence and that of our didis and their children

This beautiful video captures the magical spirit of Kat Kalrav (Pyar ka Mohalla).


All this was possible because of the pure love and spirit of all the volunteers, groups that performed and many more, not present on that day physically but emotionally attached to the spirit. We celebrated the livelihood of the didis and their children. We celebrated their birthday and their bravery. Your omnipresent affection and support enabled a free flowing and enjoyable evening, which strengthened the trust of the didis and their children about the Kat-katha family.

No event can be successful without maximum participation - so beautifully managed by the mobilisation efforts of volunteers and performing groups. Our children were their beautiful, happy selves on stage and they brought the house down with their dance, music and drama.

A special word of gratitude to Khana Badosh, Immortals, Manzil Mystics, Pahal, Vidya and Child, Rajkumar (our Dance Teacher), Hardik, Delhi Police, MCD, Renu’s husband and many more  behind the scenes who gave it their best to make this an evening of fun, love, joy, camaraderie and inspiration for our didis and children to dream bigger.

Kaट-कatha's vision is to "Present a series of "life choices" to women and children living in brothels and instill "confidence" in them to design and act towards a life of choice.

Posted by Geetanjali Babbar on Aug 25, 2014 | permalink


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Previous Comments
  • Neerad wrote ...

    This is sooo beautiful. salute to your spirit to serve the didi's and kids. Thank you so much for sharing

  • Siddharth wrote ...

    Wow!!! Kat-Katha team, thank you so much for sharing the stories and the video :)

  • Jignasha wrote ...

    Great work Kat katha team :-). Sachme yeh pyar ka muhhala lag raha hai, bahut sundar. thank you for sharing this journey with us.

  • Trupti wrote ...

    Thank u for sharing so beautifully:-). . u guys rock. . loads of love to the baccha party. Next 15th August at G.B road :-)

  • Sheetal wrote ...

    dear family at kat katha,

    what a moving video... it really touched a chord.. the scenes of celebration and transformation were inspiring and i second trupti.. next 15th august at G B road..

    love,
    sheetal n khush

  • Meet wrote ...

    dear kat katha family,

    i don't have words. Beautiful, just one things say LOVE, LOVE and LOVE

    Peace.Joy.Love.Smile

  • Madhusudan wrote ...

    Dearest Gitanjali
    Thank you for sharing this. This collective dream of yours coming true filled my heart with tremendous love and faith. May you continue to grow in this path of love joy and service.
    We look forward to welcoming you all in Ahmedabad. We have lot of homes, so accommodation is not a problem.
    with love

  • Khushmita wrote ...

    Thank you for sharing all this love...the video is truly so heart warming :) It really gladdens the spirit...love and blessings to all at Kat Kalrav for your hard work that have shaped into this wonderful gift to the world..

  • Purvi wrote ...

    Dear gitanjali and katkatha family,

    Incredible journey!! Salute all of you for your spirit to spread happiness and true freedom to didis and kids..

    Lots of love

  • Audrey wrote ...

    Such stunning images and stories!! So grateful for all the ripples of love you are pouring into the world! :)

  • shashi shekhar wrote ...

    katha from kat-katha are always beautiful...keep going kat parivar :)

  • gita wrote ...

    Great to see the joy of your dream come true

  • varsha wrote ...

    beautiful work, an expression of who you are. :)

  • Ann Gelsheimer wrote ...

    Thank you for your love. It was so beautiful to watch.

  • Nasim Noormohamed wrote ...

    Gitanjali, you have done such great work, myself I wished, I was in Dehli yo be one of your volunteer, but I m sure you do have millions who follow u on FB. I salute you, in your work, and God always helps who helps other helpless souls. I m truly speechless at some of your interviews. GOD BLESS YOU.