When I visited [Sphoorti](http://www.sphoorti.org) in Hyderabad, the kids invited me, shouting "uncle" with smiling faces as if they knew me. They didn't want anything from me. I was trying to remember when I saw a smile so free. I sat and asked them to tell me their stories. Some of the boys danced, some were good housekeepers, some had a painting hobby and others just sat under the tree at the verandah and did their homework all evening. It didn't occur to me that I was visiting a Government school with neglected children. This place was filled with love, lots of it.

Sphoorti is a grass roots center in Hyderabad, aimed to raise very poor children, orphans, children whose parents couldn't afford them. It's a place where children lived, ate, played and went to school. I first heard about Srivyal--an educated young man who worked in America and came back to start his dream--when a friend asked me to contribute to sphoorti. I was sceptic: Who is this guy? Where will my money go? Will he really light the bulb?

I walked along the premises at sphoorti, a six-room house, a large center-court, where kids played and studied under the light at night. I looked at one of the rooms and learnt that eight kids slept in a space half the size of my bedroom in Boston. Here, instead, they slept on blankets.

One year's worth of kid's schooling costs 3000 rupees-75$. Other centers do wonderful things, too, but sphoorti was different. It was in my city. I had to do something.

I created a documentary with over hundred photographs of the lives of the kids at Sphoorti:
Read about the event in this week's [Boston Magazine](http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts_entertainment/event/boston_photography_center_photo_fair) I'll be raising funds at this event from the sale of these photographs (as postcards). If you know anyone that would care to come, please do let them know. Sphoorti needs your smile.