Little angels in the mountains of Uttarakhand in India

I was an aspiring actor lying on a couch watching the news from a comfortable flat in the suburbs of Mumbai. All news channels were going on and on about floods in the Indian state of Uttarakhand causing thousands of casualties and loss of property. This is when I decided to make myself useful. I made a couple of phone calls to find out where I can go for help as a volunteer, booked a train ticket and packed my bags to embark on a journey. I had no clue that this impulsive trip would turn out to be the most enriching and memorable experience of my life.
I reached Haridwar from Bandra after a 36-hour journey in the Sleeper class of the Dehradun Express. After staying in a dharamshala for Rs.100 a night, I got a bus at 3.15am to take me to Rudraprayag. From here, roads were broken so it was a combination of several bus-rides, car-rides and treks that finally got me to the village of Khumera after 12 hours. This is where I met Archana Bahuguna, the lady I had conversed with from Mumbai. She appreciated my effort in coming all the way from Mumbai and hosted me in her family home. I was to begin volunteer work from the next day.
I started going to villages like Tyuri, Bansu, Badasu with food and clothes sent by several charitable and political organizations. These villages looked extremely green and beautiful during the monsoons but their beauty was overpowered by grievances of people who had lost their loved ones. I was eventually asked to make a list of casualties and the needs of their families based on my surveys. Meeting families of victims was taking a toll on me emotionally when the greatest thing happened. I met some kids from a school called Space for Nurturing Creativity - a community living center where around 25 kids of the age group of 6-24 studied, cooked, farmed, played, lived! They invited me over and I conducted a drama session for them. Next thing I know is that they moved my bag to the school from Archana's house the next day and insisted that I live with them!
The volunteering trip which was supposed to end in 7 days continued for 2 months - all for these kids. Yoga and meditation in the mornings followed by our fun drama and English sessions, music classes where even 6-10 year olds displayed stunning talents with the tabla and flute, the morning and evening meals which the whole family enjoyed together and the play we all put together before I left - these are all memories that I will cherish forever.