One of the lovely things about our ‘Home of Love’ is that everyone involved is part of one big periwar (family). Like all families, it’s always great when our children who have left ‘home’ come back for a visit. Recently, we caught up with Darshan who made the three-hour bus journey from Pune, where he is working in a hotel, to collect some documentation he needed to complete his passport application.
Orphaned when he was very young, he lived at Snehalaya until he completed his 12th standard. A quiet boy who struggled academically he was unsure of his future direction. Our staff worked with him and when he developed an interest in helping in our kitchen we sought out a suitable course for him in hospitality and his future was secured when he was accepted to study hotel management with a hotel chain in Pune.
Adjusting to life away from Snehalaya and the long days of training the industry requires was a challenge, but he enjoyed meeting the people from all over India that were his course mates, learning everything about hotels from front-of-house and housekeeping to laundry and kitchens. Finally, after four years of training 22-year-old Dashan has successfully qualified as a cook employed in the 5-star Parc Estique Hotel. The hours may be long but he enjoys speaking English with the guests from across the world and preparing and eating the multi-cuisine the hotel serves. While he prefers working on pastry preparing sweet treats, he is just as happy stir frying on the noodle bar.
When asked about his time at Snehalaya he smiles and talks about the happy memories he has and his gratitude to the staff who brought him up and were always there to offer support when he was struggling with his studies. We’re really happy he’s also able to spend the night with us catching up with his friends still living here and speaking with others keen to follow in his footsteps sharing his insights into the industry and how he plans to use it to get a job overseas.