Jaipur: On the occasion of International Fathers' Day 2022, a unique tale of compassion, humanity, and family support systems have emerged from Rajasthan's Jaipur. Anurag Srivastava, an employee in a Multi-National Company, recently spoke to ETV Bharat and narrated his journey over the last decade and more with his son Vatsal. The child, having been born in 2000, was diagnosed with autism around 2005, which changed the lives of Srivastava, and his wife Garima, in a complete manner.
Srivastava had to take the difficult decision of quitting his day job. What emerged out of the decision, however, was transformational for the family of three, as they started a center for other children with autism. "When I discovered the nature of the disease - I initially did not even know what it was - it felt like my life was over. Thankfully, my parents reminded me that as a father, this was my time to stay with him (Vatsal)" Anurag said.
Being an MNC employee his frequent trips to places like Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai meant "I had to leave him at home. My wife Garima was trained, but nonetheless, I needed to be there. I was also at the peak of my career at the time and was economically well-off too. But eventually, I realized I was running behind money, and decided my son was more important for me than this," Srivastava observed.
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The decision was crucial, as the former explained that Vatsal developed more and more problems as he grew older. "It is at this point that I thought why not start a center, where Vatsal will be able to meet other, similar children and make friends?" he noted. This led the couple to rent out a flat in the nearby residential tower, and use their own home as a residential self-help center.
"Since then, we have seen hundreds of children, many from other cities such as Jaipur and Kota, coming here and receiving training in the last 11 years," a proud Srivastava beams. "At present, there are three children enrolled in the center. We want them to imbibe enough in two years to become self-reliant," he said. Financial difficulties, however, have remained a concern for the family.
"The financial difficulty is still there. We charge a certain amount for children who come to the residential training center, but they do not cover the entire cost", he said, adding, however, that "friends and family have been a blessing. They have stuck around whenever I faced difficulties."
