How to make big differences to lives of others
In India, thee are several festivals in all parts of the country. Many or most of these have a big social dimension: they bring friends together, there is a big time feast, several friends and relatives get together, and in most of the cases, the people really make a big difference by simply sharing experiences, jokes and so on.
With the break up of joint families, such festivities are becoming rare indeed. Friendship is still there, but in many cases, such friendship, has often acquired commercial tones. People do not joke with each other like what they did some years ago. Compassion is becoming less.
Well, we need to simply put the clock back.
Everything has to start from our homes. We need to care and share with our wives and our children. We should praise our wives for the food they serve us, even if there are some areas of improvement. We should share their household duties. This is already going on in the cities, and this ought to become a regular feature in small towns and villages as well.
We need to spend quality time with our children, identify their hidden talents, and encourage them all the way. If the parents need to go the extra mile in getting this done, so be it. For example, many musicians, directors, painters and so on, have really made a success of their careers, only because their parents encouraged them all the way. In no way, is any human being inferior to anyone else.
For, God has given each of us some talent or the other. This talent is latent, it is inborn. We just need to identify this talent and nurture it to the greatest heights. Once this is done, there will be a big difference in the attitudes of children, and the respect they give to elders.
The smallest of things can make a big difference too. In several houses in the district of Coimbatore, in Tamil Nadu, there are servant maids who literally live like members of families and take care of every need of the family. In return, the servant maids are not treated as servants but as members of the family members, and the children of such people go on to study and become doctors, IT professionals and so on. This is more true of farm houses, where the entire family lives in the farm house and manages the one hundred acres of land that the family owns.
Such is the caring for the other person in such households. Since the family lives in unison with nature at its best, with the best of ecology, all around, the health of such people is normally determined by the intake of rich organic food, without the trace of nitrogenous fertilizers. In fact, research is now available on how the health of people in such environs is now ensured, because of the environment. There is happiness all around, since people are healthy.
We need to take a leaf from such human interactions, and then start preparing for doing something in our own unique way. This author knows of several families, who are filthy rich, who spend at least two hours in old age homes, orphanages, and even slums. The children are given educational aids, the old people are talked to, and are encouraged to be happy, lots of jokes get shared and so on. This makes a huge difference to the lives of the old people, and those who are not lucky in terms of economic resources.
When we talk about the poor, we can be a lot more kind to them, and offer them all help. There are several voluntary organizations that reach out to the poor, when there are fire accidents, and everything is gone. They are even given soft loans to rebuilt their homes. Such efforts should be further widened to make further inroads into whatever help can be given to those who deserve such help.
The rich IT class has to wake up and do something solid. Many take a sabbatical and are aligning themselves with Non governmental organizations. India needs a tremendous push in this regard, and we all need to wake up.
Words of kindness can make a big difference. Some months ago, a little girl lost her life in flash floods in the town of Vellore, in Tamil Nadu. The real tragedy was that the family had come to Vellore for medical treatment of one of their relatives. Many unknown persons offered to trace the body, and also gave all support to the police. Very recently, when an eleven-storied structure came down crashing in the city of Chennai, thousands of unknown people literally ran to the place and saved many lives.
So, such good feelings and emotions are part of human nature. What we need to do, is to enlarge the scope through community initiatives and help the society to grow. In Tamil Nadu, several Self-help groups have now come together to provide training on various trades to women, on a mass scale. Such initiatives help the women to stand on their own legs. The scope of such initiatives needs to be widened even further.
Similarly, the creative energies of teenagers can be mobilized further. There are some good autonomous colleges in Chennai, where community work is compulsory. In fact, many first year girl students take free English tuitions in Government schools, educate women on small savings and so on. These efforts need to be given a further fillip to take the movement to the next level.
Where there is a will, there is a way. The involvement of the religious heads in some movement or the other, will also have a sobering effect on corrupt politicians. The Amma Canteens in Chennai, is a classic example. This Government initiative has met with tremendous success and has found support from all religious heads. The politicians, who normally wait for an opportunity to swindle money, are now supporting this scheme, that addresses the needs of urban poor. In fact, this scheme is now being extended throughout Tamil Nadu as well, and the success of this scheme has prompted other State Governments to follow suit.
So, we do have several good case studies, several reference points to take our initiatives forward. Now, what is required is a will to share resources, our talents and so on, for the benefit of others, particularly the poor.
Once we make a start, we will get new ideas. And these ideas can be taken forward, for better success.
Like it on Facebook, Tweet it or share this article on other bookmarking websites.