31st of October

We started our day in a mad rush to reach to the goal of breakfast, of the very same Kashmir Apples and Eggy Pancakes (which actually turned out to be omelettes). We successfully finished breakfast with only seconds to spare. Riddled with caffeine and pineapple juice, the team was ready for our sixth day at the Kalkaji Resource Centre.

Smiling eyes welcomed us again as we reached the centre. Dr Kiran was visiting today, creating an atmosphere that was both electric and frantic- there were still many "finishing touches" to be added to the murals. We had a brief meeting before we started, where Hannah Crawford gave us some insightful words of wisdom, "We should try and live in the moment rather than always looking forwards and backwards" and then quickly set out to complete the task hand.

There was then a schism in the group... with half going to outline in the Disney room and half going to draw grass by thrashing green paint onto the library walls. Spirits were high and we frequently exploded into song. Time flew in much the same way bricks don't, and soon Dr Kiran was only minutes away. We hastily threw mats out, changed and put our brushes away.

Her arrival sparked a mass euphoria amongst us all, with her infectious laughter spreading through the crowd. She had an impromptu tour of what we had done, and she seemed to be genuinely pleased, which was a great reward for us. Sophie remarked that she was like a queen visiting her people and that she deserves every bit of praise and respect that is given to her. We sat down to listen to her and the children describe the work of Asha in Kalkaji, such as a baby girl being saved from the skip outside the centre. It's stories like that which remind us how important the charity is.

We tried to verbalise our admiration of what they were doing, but words failed to describe how we really felt. Once our formal conversation ended, a bowl of spicy rice was suddenly produced and we merrily ate away. It gave us a chance to talk to the children in a calmer way, which we all jumped at. We've begun to feel like we really know the kids now, and we think that they're beginning to get to know us. The girls finally got their henna tattoos (which are only setting in now) while the boys looked on enviously. However the boys didn't miss out on all the fun- we got to carry the girl's bags while the henna dried.

That's all we can write for now- we have a very special birthday celebration to prepare for. Can you believe Christine is 25 already? All that's left to say is that we hope you're all having a Happy Halloween! Light a firework for us!

Han and Michael