Sitting comfortably in my A/C office’s cubicle, in an ergonomically conducive setup, with every piece of information at my finger-tips, any near-dear one a “hello” or an e-mail away, a vending machine a few steps away and many such facilities, I still crave for better working conditions…oblivious of the harsh working conditions in some of the other industries in both the organized and non-organized sectors.
It is not just the working conditions, but be it anything, we humans always crave for more…better!
In the super fast-paced oh-so-busy lives, how often do we sit back and think about ourselves (not our need and greed!)? How about thinking of others?
I do not blame anybody, because as a matter of fact we get so much engrossed in our routine drudgery, that it takes some dedication to let the mind traverse beyond the confines of cubicles.
In one such successful attempt, our group joined hands to fight the “nothing-ness” in our lives and follow the inner voices.
We all realized that there was a “philanthropic being” deep inside each one of us.
The discussions kindled us to bring the thoughts of “doing some good to people, society” at the back of our minds, right there in the forum!
After some ground work and lots of discussions we decided to visit an NGO called Santulan. (It primarily works for the children of the stone quarry workers).
We visited Santulan last Saturday. It was an eye-opener.
How could I not think about the people living in the outskirts…far away from the shimmer and comforts of the city, struggling for survival?
How do they live amidst the clouds of dust, the noise of crushers (I thought of how suffocated I feel even while passing by the dusty construction sites on my way to office!), break those huge stones, day and night, in such hazardous conditions for a nibble?
(I thought of how we crib about the quality and variety of food in the cafeteria!)
About their families? Both the parents work and there is no one left at home to look after the children.
Their children should be provided with the basic necessities of life. They should not be deprived of the education and health care. They deserve love and affection.
The innocence of these little ones should not be crushed under the boulders.
They should be encouraged to dream big and live better lives.
Then I realized how fortunate I was to enjoy the myriads of luxuries (taken for granted!) back home.
It was Jani’s (one of my friends who had accompanied us) birthday. We had carried some packets of chocolates. The kids sang “Happy Birthday” for him. He distributed chocolates amongst them (Remember, how we did this on our birthdays in school?). Then some of them presented a “Priya-geet” for us. The birthday boy was touched by this gesture (Actually, we all were. Who will not be?) We have had many birthday celebrations in the office- the cake-cutting and smearing ritual, loads of gifts, birthday bumps, the grand parties thereafter….but this birthday celebration was indeed unique.
The visit has reinforced the feelings of doing our bit for the society.
Hopefully, this is not just the temporary “feel-good” phase, but an actual “do-good” factor that would have a long-lasting impact.
We are happy that we took the first step….miles to go though.
This is just the beginning and we vow to make the most of it!
Note: Much more to write on this in the days to come.
You might also get an idea of how moving the experience was by visiting this blog-
Kedar said,
February 17, 2008 @ 6:41 pm
Hey..
Everyone lives for himself/herself. The question is what possible difference I can make for others?
There are ppl who do the QUALITY things beyond their cubicles.
Yes, sometimes life is very difficult if you closely see the destitute people in our society. Real strength of character comes when you see these ppl, accept them and do something for them, for humanity. This links to our “Pursuit of happiness”
Not everything is bad though..
Keep up the good work
livelifequeensize said,
February 18, 2008 @ 5:44 am
Pursuit of happiness…This little part of my life is happiness:-)Well said dost, your comment reminds me of one of my favourite dialogues (from a Hindi film:Bawarchi)-”Apna kam to sab karte hain, lekin dusare ka kam karne me jo aanand aata hai uski to baat hi alag hai”.
Thanks and keep inspiring me through your work.
Ram said,
February 18, 2008 @ 12:00 pm
Well descripted, me being a part of this journey still feel that what we need to do not to show that we are helping these people, but we are facilitating ways for them. The job they are doing is also important, whether it’s a quarry worker, rickshaw-wala, that security guard outside you house/office, they all deserve a good life of their kids! Our parents did the same “Jee Tod Mehnat” for us to send us to good schools, provide us education, and anything and everything we requried!
It’s a lifelong journey, and whenever we interact these people we should give them the feeling that the task they ar doing is not tirvial, but indeed education is the “Hatiyaar”, which they can give their kids, to break the circle of poverty!
Zindabaad…….Zindaho!
Amit said,
February 18, 2008 @ 8:05 pm
Hey Kirti,
That line from Bawarchi defines Philanthropy for me. What I would like to add to it is, that Doosra can be anyone around you, not necessarily an underprivileged member of the society. Happiness – accoring to me – is a state of mind, which the fickle human mind tends to associate to seemingly silly things like helping someone out in a problem, being able to share one’s grief, sharing a hearty laugh with someone and even accepting a mistake or a blunder you have committed. No wonder you felt happy after spending a time with the children!
However, you guys have done the easy bit – initiation. The difficult part is Sustainance, which incidentally was the theme of TCS Maitree Volunteers’ meet I attended a couple of weeks back. I got to know first hand, how difficult sustaining an initiative can be as all initiatives, including the one I am part of, faced similar problems wrt this aspect. The root cause is lack of drive within the volunteers, for various reasons – many of them genuine. You need sheer will power to overcome these reasons, which can prove very difficult as there is nothing to gain but moments of happiness in exchange of a lot of struggle. I am still looking for the store of will power within me. I wish you guys find it before me!
As you said, this is the first step, there are miles to go!
livelifequeensize said,
February 19, 2008 @ 12:10 pm
Ram, I respect your feelings and believe “koi kaam chhota ya bada nahi hota”.But education can empower them to live better lives.And also know that we are just a drop in the ocean,but at least we have started something constructive. Your comment reminds of an ad- “Ka kha ga gha ko pehchano, alif ko padhna seekho…a aa e ee ko “Hatiyaar” banaakar ladna seekho”
Yup, let us stay spirited- zindabaad!
Elena said,
August 23, 2009 @ 4:51 am
Do not let this feeling die in you. It is so beautiful. I love kids. They are all innocence and purity. When they look at my eyes, all my troubles go away. I feel happy. Be happy. Be around kids.