Georgia...
Peach trees...
But, I was in Atlanta to meet her and wanted to surprise her.
Surprisingly though, getting to her was not that easy.
You see, she is Indian; and I am a US Citizen of Pakistani origin.
And unless I am the lead in a Veer- Zaara sequel, I might as well cast myself into a sequel of the Mission Impossible variety when it comes to meeting her… let alone surprising her.
I am no contender for any lead role.
But her name means a star.
And when it comes to creating and nurturing stars here on earth, you have to look no further than KIBA (Kids Island Basic Academy).
A bustling school of 1400+ kids in the low income part of the town of Aligarh, UP, India.
She is the founder and principal of the school - a beacon of hope for low income families who can hardly afford to send their kids to school.
What does all that have to do with Georgia? And why is it on my mind?
It wasn't because she runs KIBA half way across the world that I wanted to meet her.
It was because she is my sister.
Apia, as we call her, was in town and was eagerly awaiting the reunion after 12 years.
And her name, Tara, means a star.
Peachtree…
They all lived on the same street. Or so it seemed.
How crowded that street must be?
Peach is the state fruit of Georgia. Peach trees aplenty there.
And when I landed there, I noticed a recurring theme; every little while, I would read a sign that invariably had the word peachtree in it.
"On/just off Peachtree road…", would be the likely response; if you ask anyone who lives in the greater Atlanta area.
Beautiful trees everywhere my sister and I went.
But her thoughts would invariably gravitate toward the more than fourteen hundred children that she nurtures and cares for.
Even on her vacation, among her own kids here in the USA, she would wake up in the wee hours to check up on her rest of the children half way across the globe.
Teaching is a lot like planting trees.
But it is a lot more than that.
Mrs. Tara Jabeen, my sister, proved it again and again…
"If you are planning for a year, sow rice;
if you are planning for a decade, plant trees;
if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people." A Chinese proverb.
