"There is so much suffering out here…" she uttered the words in fluent English, gazing me into my eyes. I just stood there silently watching her. I tried to speak but I was struck and confronted by a wave of silence that had slowly crept into me during my last sixty minutes of stay there.

"I want to go away from this place… People suffer so much here… I can’t hide my feelings and dance with them pretending to be in joy when in reality I see only suffering", she spoke smiling at me like a child. It was hard for me to smile truly, yet I tried my best and gave a warm smile.

"I ran away from this place thrice in the last few months… But still I always end up being here abducted by people", she winked. "But this time, I came here on my own… I came here for my own welfare... I know how much they care for me… for people like me..."

"I still long for the day when I can be truly free..." she spoke with a ray of hope. Conveying to her my best wishes, I just slowly stepped out of this huge building of Banyan. Seating myself in an autorickshaw in deep silence, I monitor the thoughts that undulate my mind just like a thrown stone creating ripples in the lake... just to realize how fortunate I am to be endowed with all the things I have...yet the mind that never gets satisfied by these ephemeral satisfactions that I get by gratification and self-indulgence of senses... I rode back home...

I just remained silent just like a lake clear of any ripples... What's the meaning of life if not to make this world a better place for others to live...?

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"The Banyan is an organisation that cares for and rehabilitates homeless women with mental illness found in the streets of Chennai. At its home, Adaikalam, The Banyan provides the women a safe shelter, care, medical attention, and a supportive environment to enable them to recover and to take responsibility for their lives again. The Banyan also supports the women's return to their families and communities and when this is not possible, supports the women in setting up new lives for themselves. Over the past 12 years, The Banyan has reached out to more than 1500 women and reunited around 850 women with their families all throughout India.

The vision of The Banyan is to ensure that no mentally ill homeless person is left uncared and unattended for in the streets. With this in mind, The Banyan is taking a strong role in lobbying for the rights of the homeless mentally ill in order to facilitate localized access to mental health care. The Banyan draws its strength from its hundreds of volunteers and well-wishers, whose support is a driving force for making this world a more humane and caring place. Join us in this endeavour."