Be remembered for Good

I came upon this wonderful video by Avijit Dutt from the Good Crusaders series and what a joy we can feel watching him narrate stories of how he helped create the child abuse helpline. If you are determined and be consistent and you will find a solution for the problem you are worried about. Avijit Dutt recalls how he was shooting a film on child abuse and his coincidental meeting with MTNL helped form 1098 which is available across the world now and helps save several children from the clutches of child abuse, provides counseling among other things. 

In another experience, he mentions about how generalization and extrapolation of urban data is used to bring out statistics to take decisions on health care policies. Avijit Dutt and his team worked on a health care camp to do tests generate reports and use the data (big data) to help find patterns of non-communicable diseases and thereby prevent them from happening. Also, he explains how the use of these tests, when made available to the patient, can help save a lot of money and also stop doctors and pathologists from cheating people and getting unnecessary tests from being made. This study of this vast data can help in making informed valued strategic decisions that will, in turn, help the people. This knowledge also equips the villagers and beneficiaries to be knowledgeable and stop diseases.

In another interesting episode, he explains how an idle mind can be a devil's workshop or sugar factory. The cause was 'worry'! Can you just imagine that? Worry. People had everything from money enough to last a couple of decades and this money was from land deals they sold out to the urbanization. When they were in the farms sweating day in and day out, they were happy and healthy. But once the money came in and they had no work to do, they started worrying about today, tomorrow and which helped grow weak to health problems like diabetes. Simple understanding situations like these are used to create awareness and use the CSR funds of companies and use them to create sustainable happiness and bring about change in the world around us. 

Another beautiful story is by Rashmi Tiwari who explains how her horizons expanded when she visited a village which was in absolute poverty and these poor people had too little to live and were ready to sell out their own children. Such economic deprivation pushed them to take extreme measures and how hunger can drive you to any end. How Rashmi Tiwari helped the tribal girls to get educated, motivated, knowledgeable and help reduce the human trafficking through Ahan foundation! The videos in this series would open your mind to endless possibilities in helping others in the society. The Good Crusaders is a platform created by 100 Pipers to help bring positive stories that would warm your heart and show how simple it is to make a change one life at a time. Compassion breeds happiness manifold and we need as much as we can!

#TheGoodCrusaders #100Pipers #BeRememberedForGood

Monday Blues: Let us protest

One of the disadvantages of growing up is that one needs to be sane and think like a grown up! Comes with the package, this responsibility I mean. No. The ability to do the needful doesn't get upgraded on its own. We need to grow this ourselves, unlike the hair, nails, tummy... you get the drift. Unfortunate to see how some of us can stay there as mental, psychological toddlers while we don bigger roles, move on from one job to another, demand higher salaries, better positions, respect, and claim to fame while our opinions are still the same as in the kindergarten.

Let me explain. Did you ever get up one day and think, "What value add am I doing to my company, my job, my clients, my family, my life?" Do you even care to know or do you even know! If you think I am trying to make you feel bad about yourself, then you are damn right I am. What is the point of the boring job you are doing or same thing you do repetitively every day without questioning the heck out of it when zombies of humanoids can do a better job than you and maybe they can be trained to smile while doing it? Have you heard the story of a guy who worked in a factory all his life doing what he thought was his job. He was punctual, readily available to volunteer, witty and smart in his dictionary! Well, that's the story he was all that in HIS dictionary. No one cares about him. Or will care about you when you end up like him. Time to wake up out of the perfect bubble you have designed for yourself. There is nothing called holding up, staying afloat, being flexible, surviving. Either you are surviving or dying. Nothing in between. 

Why do we protest or support certain things? Why do we beat up people when we see an accident? Why don't we rise up in protest when there is a rape incident or molestation like Nirbhaya? Why do we think voting is not important? Why do we think politicians beating up each other, drinking, throwing mikes, tearing off shirts is politics? We voted for these unruly rowdies? Do we know why we are doing what we are doing? Great revolutions were born out of passion and had a purpose. When you say you want to be in a world that appreciates what you are doing, better start contributing positively to what you are passionate about. I can be really passionate about Swachch Bharat (Clean India) movement on social media but be as dirty as I can when I am alone. I can be the flag-bearer of anti-corruption drives while ranting on social media but do things my way when I need. I can protest against MNCs trying to change our culture but live off a dozen of them every day. There is nothing more hypocritical than that. While screaming swadeshi, we choose to depend on thousand things that we have grown accustomed to even if they are made by MNCs. We chose to dump our parents in old age homes while giving lectures about how parents are a gift of God. Mob mentality shows how week our society is when it comes to taking decisions. Are we growing humans or zombies? 

Next time you are faced with a cause you feel like supporting or resisting, think like a grown up and decide. You might want to learn more about the cause, check facts, before actually protesting. If it is genuine, give your everything. If it is not, stay home. The maturity of a generation is measured on its ability to accept, adopt, challenge, grow and improve. The maturity of a wo/man is judged on his/her ability to take sane decisions, change, question, evolve and be compassionate. You got to be truthful at least to yourself. And if you are not adding value to your job, get a new one. If you are not adding value to a relationship, better start to contribute positively as you might not be very useful if you don't. If you have nothing positive to say or help grow, shut up! Don't be the noise, be the informed, concerned, rational voice. Have a great Monday.

#Jallikattu #Demockrazy #Rantpost #Hypocrisy #ProtestingCulture