A morning at Rumah Kanak-Kanak W.P., Kepong

As I reached the compound of the faded orange coloured house in Kepong,I felt numbed by the silent atmosphere that lingered around the place. The air was almost certainly void of something that I could not yet comprehend at that moment.

I stood there under the hot sun, peeping into the seemingly dark space of the house as the glass panel to the hall lay opened.

Inside, many curious faces peered at the stranger whom stood by their gates. I entered, and stepped onto the large grey cemented compound. All of them rose, albeit very slowly but eventually walked towards me after given permission by a robust looking elderly woman.

Many faces of both young and old greeted me and I was then surrounded by a group of polite young boys whom introduced themselves in an orderly, respectful manner. An instant reminder on how the caretakers emphasized the personal growth of these kids. They ushered me inside, while the elder ones had assisted me with the bags that I carried along. This was Rumah Kanak-Kanak W.P, an orphanage located in Kepong, Selangor, and I was there on behalf of our Yoga Sharing Group.

Mr. Vinoth, the caretaker, introduced himself. He was a medium sized man, soft spoken and sported a thick moustache. His kindness could be seen from the way he smiled. We took our seats next to each other and to my right, many religious pictures adorned the old walls and below it, there were layers of stacked books, clothes and utensils. To my left, the entire group sat quietly on the cold marbled floor while the rest enjoyed the comforts of an old sofa. Together they eagerly listened to our conversation. Mr. Vinoth was kind enough to openly discuss his principals and future plans to bring up these children, and during that hour, I had learned much valuable information with regards to the laborious tasks and commitment required to embark on such a noble endeavour. He also highly appreciated our efforts to disperse free yoga knowledge to these under privileged children.

Suddenly a tiny figure, the smallest of the lot appeared from the left and stood in between my legs. He appeared agitated, and I knew the reaction well. It was a face that longed for attention and love. I welcomed his presence by holding his cheeks and cried a loud, cheerful “Hello!” There was no introduction between us, but I was presented with an instant recital of the “ABCD” from him, and the rest cheered him. Upon completion, I delivered words of praises and embraced this young boy and wished I had a chocolate or candy inside my pocket at that moment. He then introduced himself with a style that resembled a mainstream movie actor, “my name is R.A.O., Rao!” and sent out much laughter across the house. I soon discovered that little Rao was the light of the house.

Mr Vinoth and his wife have cared for the children of this home for twenty years. “All of them here are like my own children,” he said proudly. “They all call me ‘Dad’.”

Few minutes after Mr. Vinoth left, the Yoga sharing group arrived, and Mrs. Vinoth, the robust lady I had seen earlier from the gates, welcomed them into the house. After a short introductory session, our lead Mona Cheong requested the kids to create a formation outside the house compound. The kids instantly loved her motherly, soft spoken approach as they giggled and responded to her instructions attentively. Assisting Mona was Jaspreet Kaur, another facilitator from MYS. We started with questions related to yoga practice and the importance involved in sharing of this timeless knowledge. From the answers received, I must say that this was indeed a bright young group.

Mona began with the basic joint exercises which included the clenching of fist, followed by stretching of fingers and rotation of leg joints and so on. These were important, as it allowed good blood flow and lubrication to the joints,and prepared them for the next round of asanas. I was told once by Master Manisekaran, that children had more balancing power compared to adults and they would be able to instantly follow most of the balancing pose with ease. Master was right. When Mona began with her “Pine Tree” asana, to my surprise, all complied with ease, making me blush with the fact that I had some trouble myself performing it for the first time few years ago. As they performed, Annie Kong and I had our hands clicking on the cameras we brought.

Then came the rest of the asanas, namely the Eka Pada Pranamasana (One-legged salutation pose, Poorna Merudandasana (Spinal Column Pose), Pada Angushtana (Tip Toe Pose) and the Natarajasana (Dance pose). Again, most of the children completed the movements swiftly, without much of a problem. This included little Rao as well, whom to our surprise, lead the whole team. Although physically small, his spirits were larger and stronger than the rest. Every now and then, we assisted and guided some of them to ensure the movements were correct. It was fun watching them dwell in these varieties of poses. Their faces gleamed of pride and happiness upon completing the asanas, and we could well notice, the silent ones had then started talking and the loud ones had become louder. Yoga was also a silent confidence booster in these young minds. However, the most interesting moment had taken place during the question and answer session. Each time before an asana was performed; they were asked on why it was performed, and the importance that lies within its practice. For instance, when Mona asked them, “Why do we practice the Lion’s Roar asana?” a multitude of answers popped up from them.

“So that our tongues may become longer?” joked one from the front as the rest giggled.

“Perhaps to make our voice louder!” attempted one from the middle.

“To make our speech better!” answered another from the back, but this time around, correctly.

The kids certainly loved the yoga session. Their smiles and glitter in their eyes showed it all but most importantly, they did this with so much of joy in their faces, which was a heart warming sight to behold. When the session ended, the children were asked to be seated in a circle. It was time for a short game known as the Mandala Drawing and it was guided by Saravana Sealan, together with Sheila, Nemala, and the rest. A single piece of paper was given to the children, and each would take turns to add a pattern inside a circle, and by the time the rounds were completed, a full colourful beautiful mandala art was produced. When the game ended, Saravana raised the mandalas high and invited the children to explain the meaning of their drawings, and some of the answers did manage to raise our eyebrows.

Meanwhile, Mona, Jaspreet and Annie Kong had moved into the hall and assisted the elderly group with some basic joint exercises as well. Our sessions stopped at lunch hour, and we gave the house a wonderful vegetarian lunch treat. Vijaya had ordered these delicious packed meals from a nice vegetarian restaurant in brickfields. All of them sat in a circle around the hall, and with their hands joined together, they sang a short prayer before having their meals. We excused ourselves, and thanked Mrs. Vinoth for her kind hospitality, and we presented them with some gifts such as teddy bears, clothes, shoes and food items. It felt sad to leave them so quickly, but nevertheless we were all very happy with the knowledge that had been shared for the day. We will definitely come back to this house again and share our love and efforts.

As I took my leave, I was reminded by Mother Theresa’s words, “the most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved”, and I am glad good people like Mr and Mrs. Vinoth are doing their part for the society in taking care of these children.