The Duchess of Cornwall was moved close to tears today when she was shown round a centre for abused and abandoned children.
She met children as young as a three-day-old baby abandoned by its teenage mother and teenagers who had been raped and sexually abused.
Despite the horrific stories it was still a joyous and colourful occasion. The Duchess was greeted by a group of dancers in jewel-coloured saris with flowers in their hair, who even managed to persuade her to try out some of their dance moves.
Emotional trip: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall poses with students during a visit to the Asha Sadan children's home in Mumbai. She was moved close to tears by the stories of some of the children living in the home
The Duchess was shown round a residential block for the centre's youngest residents, where photographers were banned.
Meeting a group of children aged three and under, one little boy who was unable to walk dragged himself on his stomach over to her and pulled himself to his feet to be able to greet Camilla.
She gently touched his hand and the boy smiled, delighted.
She listened intently as one of the staff explained how one child was still unable to speak due to the trauma they had suffered.
The Duchess of Cornwall is shown some Indian dance moves by girls from Asha Sadan (House of Hope) for children who have been abandoned or abused
But it was seeing the youngest children taken in by the centre that really touched her heart.
The Duchess said: 'They are just such tragic stories, you cannot believe.'
She was particularly moved by the sight of the three-day-old boy whose 15 year old mother had abandoned him and will be put up for adoption.
'You just want to scoop them all up in your arms and take them home,' she said.
As the Duchess spoke to a class of girls about to sit their exams, most of whom had been raped or abused, an aide of the Duchess said: 'She was particularly keen to see the centre as an extension of her work in the UK for victims of rape and sexual violence.'
The Duchess was greeted by a group of dancers in jewel-coloured saris with flowers in their hair, who even managed to persuade the Duchess to try out some of their dance moves
It is the Royal couple's third official visit to India together and their most extensive yet, which will see them spending nine days in India and afterwards visiting Sri Lanka in order to attend the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Staff said one of the girls in the home had been taken in as a three-year-old after being burned by her mother. Farida Patel, the chairwoman of the home, said: 'The girl was telling the cops, "Just take her to jail.'"
The Duchess's last stop at the Asha Sadan Residential Home - literally the House of Hope - was to see the girls learning the craft skills which will prepare them for life in the outside world, including hairdressing and tailoring.
She bought several jute shopping bags for her grandchildren and said: 'I am so glad they are getting to sell and keep some money for themselves.'
Asha Sadan provides elementary education and training and special care to abandoned or abused children from poor Indian backgrounds.
The Duchess of Cornwall takes part in an 'Aarti' ceremony as she arrives at Asha Sadan (House of Hope) for children who have been abandoned or abused during her Royal visit to Mumbai
Camilla watches a dance performance during her visit to the home for abandoned and abused children
Founded almost 80 years ago, the centre also prepares children in its care for employment opportunities and the challenges of adulthood.
It supports abused and abandoned boys and girls up to the age of six and girls up to the age of 18.
On arrival, the Duchess was greeted by some of the children before touring the Children's Wing, viewing the education and skill training facilities, seeing handicraft stalls and meeting some of the older girls.
Though partially funded by the Department of Women and Child Development, Asha Sadan is mainly dependent on donations from individuals, business and philanthropic institutions.
The Asha Sadan Committee provides a high standard of care for its residents. It does so with the help of volunteers, a dedicated team of honorary doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, speech therapist and a physiotherapist.
Today, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall today became the first members of the Royal Family to mark the traditional Remembrance Sunday events at a service in Mumbai.
The couple, who are on a nine-day tour of India and are currently five and a half hours ahead of the UK, attended a service of Remembrance in honour of the fallen at St John the Evangelist Church in the Naval area of the bustling city.
Known locally as the Afghan Church, St John's was built as a monument to the gallantry of those members of the British Army who laid down their lives in the two Afghan wars.
Respect: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales today attended a Remembrance Day Service at the Afghan Church in Mumbai, India
An annual Remembrance Service is held at the church, organised by the Ex-Servicemen's Association, and attended by regular church-goers, serving and former service personnel.
The Service is supported by the British Deputy High Commission.
As Charles and Camilla arrived, the magnificent pipe band of 11 Battalion, The Dogra Regiment, began to play on their bagpipes.
The Prince and The Duchess were met by the British Deputy High Commissioner, Kumar Iyer, and Roddy Sale, a retired captain in the Welsh Guards and Honorary Acting Chairman of the Ex-Servicemen’s Association.
Service: Prince Charles met with Madahukar Dongre - the last holder of the Burma Star in India - after the event
Camilla was wearing a black and white print dress with a Philip Treacy hat while Charles was in a cool linen suit upon which was an impressive display of medals.
The service was held by parish priest, Reverend Joel Ramanadhula, who led the Procession of the Clergy and Their Royal Highnesses into the church.
At 1100 local time the Last Post was played and there was a two-minute silence, after which Brigadier Furdoon S. P. Mehta, a member of Ex-Servicemen Association, said a few brief words on the issue of moral courage.
Outside Charles and Camilla met with Second World War veterans, and senior Indian Defence Staff.
Among them was Madhukar Dongre, 92, the last living holder of the Burma Star in India.
Mr Dongre was a mechanic in the Indian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and served in both Burma and Indonesia.
He said through an interpreter: 'I am very proud and honoured to meet the prince. His grandfather King George V1 was king when I was serving although I do not remember very much of what happened now.'
Visit: Prince Charles and Camilla also visited Kirkee Commonwealth Graves Cemenary, pictured, today
After the service the couple took their private jet to Pune, where they will toured the Kirklee Commonwealth War Graves.
Also as part of their nine-day tour, the Royal couple attended a glittering dinner in Mumbai on Saturday evening.
The Royal couple were guests of honour at the charity event organised by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, worth a cool $22 billion.
In a speech Charles introduced his wife as 'my Mehabooba' - 'my love, prompting cheers and applause from the clearly delighted audience.
He also admitted that the Queen's private Norfolk residence, Sandringham, was filled with enough relics given to King Edward V11 when he toured India in 1873 'to start a small war between ourselves'.
The event, held at the ritzy Oberoi Hotel, was thrown in aid of Charles's British Asian Trust, which he formed in 2007 to help the poor in South Asia by offering access to education, health and employment.
The Royal Couple with with Indian Billionaire Mukesh Ambani (second right) and his wife Nita (second left) and Kajol Devgan (left) and husband Ajay (right), after arriving to attend a charity fund raising dinner in Mumbai
Bollywood royalty: Charles and Camilla rub shoulders with Kajol and Nita Ambani at the British Asian Trust Reception
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall with Indian Billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita
Last night's host, Mr Ambani, is an Indian petrochemical magnate and is ranked by Forbes as one of the most powerful people in the world.
He also recently built for himself a 27 storey home in Mumbai worth $1 billion, which is said to be the most expensive private home in history.
Mr Ambani is chair of the charity's Indian advisory council and used his enviable contacts book to invite some of his fellow financial heavyweights - worth between $825 million and $9 billion - to the bash as well as a host of Bollywood stars.
Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall arrive at the charity fund raiser
Among them were Ajay Devgan an Indian film actor, director, and producer who has established himself as one of the leading lights of Bollywood, the Mumbai film industry, and his actress wife Kajol, one of its most popular actresses.
Also present was the 'King of Bollywood' and 'India's sexiest man' Akshay Kumar, who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films, and his popular wife Twinkle.
In honour of the occasion Camilla was wearing a mint Anna Valentine Indian-stye tunic embroidered with hummingbirds, which had been made for her in Delhi, with a large set of diamond earrings and bracelet given to her by her husband.
Host Mr Ambani's wife, Nita, praised the prince for his charitable efforts saying: 'The fact that he is here, convening this, says so much.'
The Prince of Wales had earlier paid tribute to the bravery of staff at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel today, almost five years after the worst terrorist attack in India's history.
He met two chefs who were shot as they helped hundreds of guests escape the worst terrorist attack in India's history.
He and the Duchess of Cornwall were visiting the hotel to lay a wreath in memory of the 30 guests and staff who were killed at the hotel when ten terrorist commandos came ashore in a boat on November 26th 2008 and launched a three day massacre in which more than 160 died.
After laying a jasmine wreath and bowing his head in silence, the Prince and Duchess met waiters, bell boys, telephone operators, chefs and managers who were working that night when four of the ten gunmen entered the hotel in two pairs.
One operator, Sophia D'Silva, 35, told the Prince who she had been besieged with heart-breaking calls from guests rapped in their rooms crying and screaming for help as the gun men prowled the hotel's corridor. 'Tragic,' he replied, as she described their distress.
Prakash Bangera, senior captain in charge of waiters in the hotel's Zodiac Grill, had told the Prince how he had tried to calm dozens if guests in his restaurant as the gunmen rampaged outside its locked doors.
He even braved three runs through the gunfire upstairs to the main kitchen to bring back platters of sandwiches to his traumatised guests.
The Prince said he was very proud that had tried our best to save the guests and that 'we need more guys like you everywhere,' he said.
Prince Charles lays a wreath at the Mumbai Massacre Memorial at the Taj Palace Hotel
The Prince met were two chefs who were shot as they helped hundreds of guests escape the worst terrorist attack in India's history
After laying a jasmine wreath and bowing his head in silence, the Prince and Duchess met waiters, bell boys, telephone operators, chefs and managers who were working that night when four of the ten gunmen entered the hotel in two pairs
Prince Charles meets business leaders at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai where he laid a wreath in memory of the November 2008 terror attack
The Prince heard the bonding story of two chefs at the hotel who were both the sons of army men, had trained together at catering college, got their first jobs together at the Taj Palace at the same time and were both shot on the same night.
When the Prince heard if their story, he turned an exclaimed to The Duchess of Cornwall: 'These two were shot!'
Nitin Minocha, 39, was helping guests to escape when he was gunned down. He was shot in the hand and has had nine operations to restore the full use of his hand.
His college friend and Taj colleague Raghu Deora, 39, told the Prince how he had been hiding in the first floor kitchen along with a father and his son when a gunmen in a red cap discovered them and forced them to lie down on their fronts in the corridor.
'He asked us our names, realised we were not the ones he was looking for and then shot all three of us with a spray of bullets. first they hit my leg and broke it, and the second went through the back of my stomach like a punch.
The other two just couldn't make it and died in front of me. The gunman presumed I was dead,' he said.
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall enjoy a puppet show by children during their visit to a mobile creche in Mumbai , India today
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall pay a visit to a Mumbai mobile creche during day 4 of an official visit to India in Mumbai, India
He crawled past colleagues who had been killed - seven of the hotel's chefs were shot dead - and was eventually rescued by the hotel's head of security Sunil Kudiali, who oversaw the security for the Prince and Duchess's visit today.
He later saw one of his colleagues, a popular chef at the hotel whom he had been with in the morning, dead on the floor and two others, one who also died, and Raghu Deora, whom he saved.
'I lost a lot of friends. and they shot my dog, Lucy. She was a sniffer dog and she and her handler ran towards the smell of sulphur away shot twice at point blank,' he said.
Earlier today the royal couple were enchanted by a group of young children on a visit to a mobile creche in the city.
The crèche has been set up for the children of building workers.
The couple, who now have six grandchildren between them, were shown a room with seven two-year-olds playing games with their teachers.
Charles and Camilla both squatted down to look at the youngsters, beaming indulgently at them while Camilla patted one on the head.
It was only as they were leaving that they realised that one little lad had been totally overlooked.
A row of simple cloth hammocks had been strung up along one wall, which at first sight appeared empty. On closer inspection ten tiny toes could be seen peeping out of the end of one; inside an eight-month-old boy was fast asleep.
'Such a good idea!' said a delighted Charles.
Playtime: The couple, who now have six grandchildren between them, were shown a room with seven two-year-olds playing games with their teachers
Charles and Camilla both squatted down to look at the youngsters, beaming indulgently at them while Camilla patted one on the head
Camilla chats to staff at the Mumbai Mobile Creche during the fourth day of the Royal visit to India
The Royal couple leaves after their visit to the crèche which has been set up for the children of building workers
In another classroom the couple watched a group of five and six-year-olds put on a puppet show.
At the end of the display, which featured tigers and horses, Charles said; 'Look! He is eating the grass!' as the puppet horse munched on the green cloth.
The couple also saw a room where a group of three to five year olds were singing and pretending to be monkeys.
Camilla, wearing a pretty pink flowing tunic with beading at the shoulder, was captivated: 'Look at them, so sweet. Just gorgeous.'
Tugging on her husband's sleeve she gestured to the children and said: 'Darling look, look. 'There is a really cheeky one over there.'
Little five-year-old Sajeeya was gently dragged by the arm out of the performance by his teacher and admonished for playing up playing up.
Showing off: The youngsters seemed delighted at the Royal visit and performed an impromptu dance for the Duke and Duchess
The couple also saw a room where a group of three to five year olds were singing and pretending to be monkeys
A little girl Afrin, aged three, also caught the duchess' eye and smiled and waved at the royal during the performance.
Charles and Camilla are currently on a nine-day tour of India at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to strengthen the UK's econonic, political and social links.
The Mubai Mobile Creche charity was set up in 1972 to provide childcare for the families of people working in construction projects in the fast-expanding city.
In those days it was common for women to work on building sites alongside the men. 'They just used to leave the children to fend for themselves, or would carry them to work, risking exposure to all sorts of accidents.
They would make hammocks out of saris, even high up,' said a charity spokeswoman.
Increased mechanisation means few women now work in construction but find other local jobs while their husbands work on the building sites.
The Royal couple squat down with some of the youngsters at the mobile creche in Mumbai
The construction industry is India's largest employer of migrant workers in India, an estimated total of more than 30 million labourers who move to the cities in search of work.
Chief executive Vrishali Pispati said the crèches covered 30 construction sites in the city, looking after 1,100 children every day, a total of around 4,600 a year.
Mrs Pispati said the charity, which is supported by Charles's British Asian Trust, aimed to provide the children with food and health care as well as education. 'You cannot study if there's no food in your belly.
And you cannot study with food in your belly and a book in front of you but you have a skin infection. That's why comprehensive care is so essential.'
The Prince first visited a mobile crèche in India in 2003 when he was very impressed with the work they do.
A royal aide said: 'When the British Asian Trust was set up in 2007 one of the first things the Prince said was that we must support these families on building sites.'
Daily Mail
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