The hub of all activity is the Centre, built at each construction site, or housed in a community centre in the slums and resettlement colonies. Brick walls and a tin roof is all we need at first, to house our crèche, balwadi and classroom.

By 9:00 a.m. the mothers arrive to leave their children for the day.

The Crèche is for babies below 3 years - here they will feed on milk and cereal, and rest in the safe hands of the childcare worker, while their mothers are at work.

Our toddlers from 3 to 6 years keep busy at the Balwadi playing with pebbles, blocks, strings and beads, in the sand-box or the doll's house. They learn as they play and eagerly sit down in a circle at 10.30 a.m. for story-time!

The older brothers and sisters are happy to attend class, relieved for some time of their baby-sitting chores. Playing with alphabets and numbers in the NFE (non-formal education) classes is something they look forward to.

Lunchtime! Everyone tucks into hot khichdi (gruel of rice, lentils and vegetables).

While the kids nap in the afternoon, the staff catches up on work. Notes are made, meetings planned, and reminders chalked out for health follow-ups and other important tasks

Refreshed from a nap the children settle down on the mats around low tables to focus on the afternoon activity of the day - painting, paper folding and pasting, clay work - depending on the weekly plan.

Around 5:00 p.m., mothers start arriving to pick up their kids. A snack of channa or peanut chikki and they are off. All is quiet till 9:00 the next morning.