A little about yourself (origin, education, past work experiences)
I belong to a farming family in Moga district of Punjab. After completing my graduation from the faculty of Engineering and Communication Technology, Chandigarh, I worked in US based staffing firm for one year. Currently in pursuit of higher endeavours of becoming an administrative officer, I am preparing for Civil services Exams along with Masters in History, which is also my favourite subject. Learning is a hobby for me, and I love to travel and get to know different people from diverse backgrounds. I stay calm under pressure, bit lazy at times, do things in my own style, and a firm believer in will power.

How did volunteering with Bhumi happen (including beginning, which project you volunteered for)?

During college, my friends and I were quite active in social activities. As a matter of fact, I was so busy engaged in the events that I had no time to join an organization. After my college, I pushed myself to remain active in social causes and that made me search for NGOs online. That is how I got to know about Bhumi. I registered as a volunteer and received a call from one of the volunteers regarding commencement of Bhumi Chandigarh Chapter. I was among the founding members of Chandigarh Chapter. First project we started was Little Einstein mathematics and I played the role of centre Coordinator. After attending Beacon 2015 we started the Catalyse project in Chandigarh and currently coordinating this project.

What change did these experiences bring in your life? How has Bhumi altered you, personally?

I am very grateful to Bhumi for giving me a platform where I could test my abilities, learn new things, meet new people, and become more aware of my surroundings. Volunteering with Bhumi in different situations has widened my horizon of understanding things. Above all, I can now call myself a practical man than ever before.

One most memorable incident in your life as a Bhumian.

Most memorable moment as a Bhumian was the opportunity for me to give a presentation during a recruitment drive in Khalsa College, Chandigarh. Though I had public speaking experience of speaking in front of a huge crowd earlier, the enthusiasm and response from students and teachers made it close to my heart.

Tell us about one Bhumian, who you think is a very good inspiration for you

Tanushree is a source of inspiration for me. Right from beginning of the chapter in Chandigarh, she has set the face of an ideal role model by working in a truly professional manner. One important thing that I learnt from her is her way of studying each and every aspect of a field before entering it. She has a lovely personality along with a calm mind.

Any specific, special moment with kids or volunteers you would like to share with us?

I’d like to share a simple but highly valuable experience I had with kids during one of the classes. In our initial days we were finding it quite tough to handle the little kids of Kartar Asra Orphanage centre. The difficulty was that kids took a lot of time to settle down for a class. We did an experiment, we made two rows of four chairs and stuck the name tags of kids on those chairs. To our surprise kids started settling down in their respective chairs within seconds and were ready to learn. Another experience I have worth sharing is about a particular student from Kartar Asra center. For reasons unknown, he was unable to concentrate while studying. All our efforts to help him study were going futile. Hence we sat down and discussed about it, and decided about changing our approach to teach him. Next Sunday we provided him with a big white board and this time it brought a change. He immersed himself into studying and surrounding noises could not distract him as easily as before.

A message to every volunteer at Bhumi?

You all are doing a great job! It feels nice to be part of such a big family joined by a common force of Bhumi. Lots of love.