‘I am an Indian at heart’

About 25 years ago, USA-based Elaine Kueper (known as Mohini to the locals in India) was going through a personal turmoil as her husband left her after a year of marriage. She was extremely low and was trying to find some purpose in life. She decided to attend a session by Dr Baskaran Pillai, an international spiritual leader and scholar-mystic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the end of this session, she was a changed person. “There was just so much peace and positivity emanating from him that I felt there was hope in life. I was in awe,” she recollects. She met Dr Pillai, talked to him, told him about her pain and eventually, he introduced her to the possibility of changing the lives of millions of children across the globe through a new sound technology that could help in triggering the natural intelligence of children coming from deprived backgrounds. “I felt that I had found my purpose in life and decided to be a part of Dr Pillai’s mission,” she says. 

In 1989, Dr Pillai created Tripura Foundation US as a vehicle to share his science-based, innovative transformational tools and programs with people around the world. Elaine joined Dr Pillai in this venture and started working towards changing the lives of children coming from deprived backgrounds in US and Mexico. “We use the phonemic intelligence technique to teach children. In this method, we teach them sounds with vowels and consonants that activate specific parts of the brain. It helps in improving their concentration, memory, intelligence and even makes them more compassionate,” she explains. In 1999, Dr Pillai created Tripura Foundation, India with major focus on Tamil Nadu. 

In 1999-2000, Elaine joined the foundation’s activities in India and worked with families in the slums of Chennai, like the MGR Colony and the Koilhoppe fishing community. “Simple meals brought happiness to so many people here and we first witnessed the power of education in uplifting the poor. In 2000, we partnered with the Rotary Club of Madras in projects to feed children undergoing surgery for polio, as well as sponsoring bright, needy students with scholarships,” she says. 

Tripura Foundation also went on to open about 89 ‘Hope centres’ across Tamil Nadu. She explains, “We go to remote villages in the state, share our technology with the village leaders, convince them to provide us infrastructure to teach children and after convincing the parents or guardians of these underprivileged kids, make them join our sessions. We call these are hope centres for obvious reasons.” Within two weeks of taking up the classes and adopting the phonemic intelligence technique, there is marked change in the behaviour of these kids, feels Elaine. 

“Many of these kids come from broken families and have deeply disturbed backgrounds, not to mention they are poor. We have noticed that after taking these sessions, most of these kids’ natural intelligence is triggered. In addition, they become more responsible and compassionate,” she says. They have managed to influence the lives of 15,000 kids in India. Every kid they teach at their hope centre has to vow to perform a compassionate activity daily. Based on this, Tripura Foundation hosts the Hope Hero Award in Chennai that felicitates children who have shown exemplary compassion and helped others. 

“It is amazing to bring hope into the lives of so many children on a regular basis. It is a beautiful feeling to see them bloom into positive and loving individuals,” says Elaine. 

She keeps returning to India every year and stays here for two to three months at one go. “I am born and brought up in US but I feel like I am an Indian at heart. The children here have showered me with love. When I am asked how many children I have, I say I have thousands across the globe,” she finishes.