As a child when I used to go to the railway station in winters I used to see very old people, the age of my grandparents lying on the platform without a blanket, their body shivering
In my school I used to see a scantily clad kid of my age working in a tea stall, washing utensils all day. Why was he being deprived of participating in the sports day, the annual picnic or the visit to the zoo? Why was that kid not studying with us in the school?
I used to ask my parents as to why there was inequality between us and the others. Even as a child I knew that the answers that I got were not convincing. My civic books said otherwise .The constitution of India has given everyone the right to equality
I used to get so overwhelmed with the feeling of helplessness of not being able to do anything about the prevalent poverty, lack of education and basic amenities a lot of times. There were occasions when a tear used to roll down my eye.
Our society measures success with the money that one earns and the designation that one holds. As long as we can get a well paying job everything is fine. Social responsibilities and duties do not count for much."Why should I do something for people who are not even related to me?", "Why should I care about these underprivileged people?", "I would rather earn more money than toil in a village in summers to teach the underprivileged the importance of hygiene". These have been some of the reactions that I have got from people when discussions about our social responsibilities have ensued.
Don’t we have any social responsibility towards others?
Sparsh-Ek Prayatna was formed almost 5 years back when some of my friends and I were trying to answer the same question. If I look back at the last 5 years , we have come a long way – fully operational schools at construction sites in Gurgaon and Bangalore, a team of street play theatre artists , candle making vocational programs , legal aid camps , clothes distribution drives and donation drives for Kashmiri migrants. But is that enough? The answer is pretty simple – By no means.
I feel on the top of the moon when I play with the kids of Prayas / Garv. There is no baggage. I don’t think about anything. Complete Bliss!!! I somehow feel complete.
I can’t forget my last 2 birthdays. 2 years ago my friends had planned a surprise birthday party for me .They had taught the children of construction workers to sing songs, arranged a cake and chocolates . I got the best ever gift that day when i saw happiness on those children's faces .
My last birthday was very special too. I was woken up in the morning at 8 AM (i hate my friends for that), taken to a construction site . When I reached there I saw a huge banner outside a school. The banner read – "Garv – A child education programme centre of Sparsh – Ek prayatna started on 23rd April". My eyes were moist. I was speechless. Incidentally Garv happens to be the name of my nephew.
Through Sparsh I have met some very special people in my life. These people are responsible for whatever little Sparsh has been able to contribute to the society. I have never said this to them before, but it’s just because of them that Sparsh has given happiness and joy to so many underprivileged people.
The enthusiasm of the volunteers of Sparsh has not died down over the years and all of us keep striving to do more for the society .I hope this fire to do sometrhing constructive for society as a whole burns forever........
PS: You can visit http://www.sparsh-ekprayatna.org/ to know more about Sparsh / to contribute in your own way to the society
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Everybody while growing up witness each and every sight you have described and think over them but once they growup, they leave things-unsaid and undone.
ReplyDeleteSome people, like you go the extra mile and do things like Sparsh.It must be so satisfying!Keep up the good work!
I too try and do my bit by whatever means i can by giving away my old books and clothes to the needy and poor.
touchwood for your praytna dear..may god bless and yes jus a small suggestion thz article is wonderful for tht HT thing..wat say?
ReplyDeleteinvolving oneself with such a gud cause at such a young age takes lots of perseverance, willpower and strenght of mind.. ur this one step is going to make lives of many children better ...and ur this determination is also going to encourage others to follow ... all the best ....
ReplyDeletei congratulate you once again Saurav.I know its been very close to your heart.indeed a great effort!
ReplyDeletenice , brief , apt , the moments described are beautifully penned. and yes it should find a space in HT
ReplyDeletevery heart warming to hear the passion you have about this cause. Rare to see. Keep it up..
ReplyDelete- Amit
All - i have been very busy these days , but i will be back soon to reply to all the posts and to write another post :) , thanks for the encouragements
ReplyDeleteIn this world dere r two kind of people...1 who always see everything, good or bad, and talk about it for hours and do nothing...2nd who see the same thing but take a step to improve it...u r in that 2nd category...and trust me its a very small grp of people...even I m standing in the other grp...U r still in that stage where u r building ur career...but thinking of others at this point of time...nd not only thinking but doing it through Sparsh or any other organization is a commendable thing...It not only gives u personal satisfaction but also its a help for hundreds...Keep up the good work and the fire within u...All blessings of those people and every1 who knows u...r with u...nd above all...God Bless U!!!:)
ReplyDeletePragya - Its great that you the extra mile to help others.If you need guidance or feel like contributing more please contact us at Sparsh
ReplyDeleteShuchi - Thanks for your comments.I have forwarded the post ( with a few edits to make it less poersonal)to Hindustan Times
ReplyDeleteAditi - People like you help me keep the fire burning.Thanks
ReplyDeleteTaniya - You know me well :)
ReplyDeleteAshita - Thanks and you may see the post in HT soon :)
ReplyDeleteAmit - thanks for the encouraging words.The road is long, i feel Sparsh needs to help many more underpriviledged people in the coming years
ReplyDeleteChintu - I think most of us want to help the underpriviledged.All we need to do is to take out the time and effort to help the underprivildeged.I feel the happiness that one can get by doing a noble cause cannot be matched by anything else
ReplyDeleteHi Saurav
ReplyDeleteHaving known you personally I admire whatever you have taken up in life however I have come across a different point of view quite recently. The point is why do we have to do everything on our own to make ourselves responsible citizens, as a responsible citizen we select govt provide money by way of taxes and as per the constitution
its the duty of the govt to provide everything that are rights to each of its citizens. this is both feasible and economical to do. So in a way a more long term and more sustainable solution is to assert democracy in much more effective sense. Make demands on system because the system was created to do what it is not doing and hence the solution lies in making the system more accountable to voting public.
In no way am I advocating that we become ablative towards what is not happening right. What I am saying is that, to change the reality the way it should be, it is necessary to make sure that the agent that is capable of making that change becomes more efficient.
Would love to hear your and others view about this.
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ReplyDeleteSandeep - You have raised a valid point. The govt. by far has the financial power and operational strength to impact the society.But does that mean that we shy away from helping the underpriviledged and wait for the Govt. to help them?
ReplyDeleteI have personally knwon you and know how you went out of your way to get a kid who did not have appropriate funds get admitted to a school.
The problem is that because the pouplation below poverty line is so huge , we just can't afford to wait for our democratic system to become more effective.We need to take responsibilities by not only filing Public Interest Litigations demanding disclosure of funds that went towards uplifting the underpriviledged but also by forming societies / organizations dedicated towards social upliftment.
The Govt. i feel has the appropriate funds but is its intention always right? We can help in channelizing those funds in the right manner.
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ReplyDeleteI guess you are right in saying that the problem is so huge that just govt "may" not be sufficient. However, i was not advocating waiting for govt what i was saying was to actively take on govt on issues that it is not attending to and hence make sure that the 100 rs that are meant to be spent on a child and have already been provided to the govt are not again spend by individuals.
ReplyDeleteI think are converging to the same solution to the problem faced by us today .
ReplyDeleteThe lack of education , unemployment and other issues are so huge in our country that Govt. is simply incapable of addressing this issue alone.The individuals can contribute towards resolving these issues in two ways -
1. Keeping a check on the Govt. by voting for the right individuals and by filing PILs to ascertain what the Govt. is doing
2. Not wait for the Govt. to do everthing and take on responsibility to eradicate poverty, unemployment , lack of education and other issues upon themselves
more power to you...
ReplyDeletePandey - Thanks a ton!!!
ReplyDelete