“Tracks” is not your regular compilation of short
stories. It’s about courage and comedy, dreams and
disillusionment, love and hate, torture and triumph, journeys
and destinations…”
So begins Fr. Placie (as he is affectionately known to all),
in his introduction to these 'true life adventures’ of the
children of Snehasadan. But it’s more than just that. It’s
also the story of Placie’s life, his finding a home for his
own heart among the 280 boys and girls in these 16 shelters in
north Mumbai.
Placie continues, “I call it Tracks because it stands for the
countless imprints of little feet on my heart. And for the
railway tracks that bring thousands of dreamers to this city
of hope. It’s about trying to put derailed lives back on
track. It’s about tracking down lost families…”
The
book celebrates the lost kids whom Father Placie and his team
rescued from despair and gave a second chance at life. We meet
the kids – Raja, Rani, Suraj, Sunil, Varsha, Rekha, Ajay and
Bala. We also meet those who have parented them – Eloy Molines,
Tony Fonseca, Mary Veyra, Lawrence Dias, Raju Anappa, Eustace
Fernandes and Ricardo Frances who started it all, back in
1962. Mixed with the stories are Placie’s reflections, born
out of stern experience. There are also reflections on the
changing urban home, where it’s parents – not children – who
are neither seen nor heard. Vernon D’Cunha contributes a
theological essay on `street work’ seen through the eyes of
the Gospel.
All told, the 140 pages of Tracks are both, a rich packet of
stories, and a challenge to us to look at street children with
different eyes.
Events
Tracks
The
book celebrates the lost kids whom Father Placie and his team
rescued from despair and gave a second chance at life. We meet
the kids – Raja, Rani, Suraj, Sunil, Varsha, Rekha, Ajay and
Bala. We also meet those who have parented them – Eloy Molines,
Tony Fonseca, Mary Veyra, Lawrence Dias, Raju Anappa, Eustace
Fernandes and Ricardo Frances who started it all, back in
1962. Mixed with the stories are Placie’s reflections, born
out of stern experience. There are also reflections on the
changing urban home, where it’s parents – not children – who
are neither seen nor heard. Vernon D’Cunha contributes a
theological essay on `street work’ seen through the eyes of
the Gospel.