Life is long and full of challenges. Most of those challenges are internal, and depend on how WE choose to accept and interpret them. Our lives can take very different paths, depending on what we do and how we look at what happens to us along the way. Here are 10 points of advice that if followed, will guarantee a better life – one that brings with it true peace of mind.
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They say a photograph tells a thousand words.
And yet, in many cases it still unable to convey the entire story.
In 2015, there were some heartbreaking moments — from desperate refugees drinking rainwater to hippos out on the street, to children running from death in Syria.
Reuters photographers tell the story behind some of the most iconic pictures of the year.
Ghazal, 4, (left) and Judy, 7, carrying 8-month-old Suhair, run away after the shelling of a Red Crescent convoy in Damascus, Syria on May 6.
The story: I was covering the Syrian Arab Red Crescent convoy’s visit to the Douma neighborhood of Damascus, which was carrying medical aid and supplies used to give psychological support to children affected by war. Every time the aid convoy arrived, children would gather around it, happy that they were going to be supplied with food and medicine.
Before the shell landed on the convoy I was sitting on the pavement relaxing; the children gathered around me so I could photograph them. While I was taking these photos, the shell exploded. It killed a female volunteer and wounded many people and volunteers nearby.
The children were terrified and began to scream and cry, especially when they saw a female volunteer covered with blood from a head injury. The challenge to portray this image was just like the challenges we face daily in time of war. I knew that there might be another shell falling within a matter of seconds; then one did exactly that a little further away. Do you want to protect yourself, like everyone else, by walking into a shop or home? Help carry the injured or be satisfied to take photos while others transfer them to ambulances? Do you want to calm screaming children? Or do you just want to cry because of what’s happened?
All these questions need answers in a matter of seconds before you can capture such an image. In this particular photograph, it was the first time I had seen how children’s innocent laughter could turn into screams, fear and tears. It was a very sad moment when I put my eye to the viewfinder to take pictures of laughing children; then when I looked back after taking the picture, I saw the same children crying, distraught. It takes only a few seconds for life to turn to ashes and blood.
Photograph: Bassam Khabieh/Reuters
Syrian migrants cross under a fence into Hungary at the border with Serbia, near Roszke in August.
The story: Rail tracks, unguarded, line the border with Serbia. Most refugees used the tracks, a few miles long, as a highway into Hungary. I arrived at the border every day at 6.00 am. The crossing was the only spot still not blocked. A triple coil of razor wire was up everywhere else as Hungary prepared to fence off the border. The rail crossing was easy enough but many migrants chose to jump the fence to avoid the police waiting a few hundred metres inside. The razors were not too sharp to handle with heavy gloves.
Dozens of other photographers and I paced the fence, some way from the rail tracks. Among the shrubs we could make out the contours of migrants waiting for the right moment. Everyone watched everyone else. We watched the refugees, who watched the police, who watched us. It was like an elaborate board game. It was more than just waiting. The people on the other side of the fence filled the atmosphere with strange, unspeakable tension.
This family decided they had waited enough. They started for the fence. Aware of the stakes, they lifted the razor wire, looked around, then went for it. Once across they vanished in the woods. I never saw them again. Photographing the migrants was the ultimate test of staying out of the story: observe keenly, wait, shoot. Don’t cut the wire, don’t invite the refugees in, don’t alert the police. There was little human contact with the thousands of refugees scaling the fence. You learnt nothing about them. They came and went. But those who walked along the tracks stopped and talked. They accepted water or the odd chocolate bar. They even shared stories – stories that will haunt me forever.
There is no way to shake the emotional impact. Once I put the camera down and had time to reflect it all came back. You have to let the story wash through you to remain human.
Photograph: Bernardett Szabo/Reuters
An injured man is carried out of the Bataclan following fatal shootings in Paris, France, in November.
The story: The weekend appeared calm. I had the evening off. Just before 10, the phone rang: in a grave voice my editor told me that a shooting had occurred at a cafe in eastern Paris and I should get there as quickly as possible.
Around the same time, colleagues who were covering the France v Germany match heard explosions at the Stade de France. They turned their lenses away from the match and scanned the crowd to try and catch something. I took the bulletproof vest from my car — it had been there since the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January — and got on my scooter. I stopped by the bureau to pick up a 400mm lens, certain that the security perimeter would be wide.
En route I heard about another shooting incident. When I arrived at the Bataclan, police warned journalists that we could be considered targets. They ordered us to take cover. The streets were silent. Security forces evacuated some victims, who were taken to safety. Special Forces units started arriving on the scene in huge numbers.
With two colleagues we decided to seek shelter. A young man let us into his apartment and we took up position at the windows. Just before midnight explosions were heard at the music hall. We could not see what was happening; no angle gave us a direct view to the entrance to the Bataclan.
Once the Special Forces operation finished, people covered in blood and wrapped in blankets came flooding out of the theatre. We descended from our window perches to photograph the victims. We tried to record the emotion that these instants provided. Some people, covered in blood, spoke to us. Their stories were chilling. The moments they lived will remain with them forever. They also mark the life of a photojournalist.
Photograph: Christian Hartmann/Reuters
This image from September captures a Syrian refugee holding a baby swims towards the Greek island of Lesbos.
The story: Another inflatable boat packed with dozens of migrants and refugees heading towards the shore. That’s what I noticed in the distance. The sea was calm and they were cheering on the dinghy. Suddenly, some 200 metres away, the rear of the boat deflated for no obvious reason, and people started falling into the sea.
Screams replaced cheers as they frantically tried to stay afloat on life tubes, or by clinging on to the boat. Those who could swim tried to help those who couldn’t. As this dramatic scene unfolded and people drifted away from each other, the biggest challenge was to capture as many of the different scenes as I could.
There were people falling overboard; two men trying to keep their friend afloat; a man still on the boat lifting his child in the air; another man, nearing collapse from exhaustion, swimming towards the shore; volunteers rushing towards the boat. In this hectic moment, one man, tense and yelling really loudly, caught my eye so I shot some frames.
Later, as he tried to catch his breath on the beach, I asked him where he was from. “Syria,” he told me before heading towards a volunteer holding a baby. The distance of the shot hadn’t allowed me to see the details of the picture clearly. It was only when I began editing that I could make out the tiny head of a baby in a life tube, and the screaming man trying to keep himself and the baby above water.
Everything I cover, from riots to politics and sports, trains me to be on the alert and try to get the best from what I am shooting. I learned from this experience that disaster can occur even in what appears to be the calmest of situations.
Looking back, the most memorable moment was when I opened the picture and saw the baby, who looked fast asleep as if in a cradle – dreaming or listening to a lullaby.
Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters
In June, Tbilisi was lashed with heavy rains, causing many animals, including this hippopotamus to flee the zoo and roam the flooded streets.
The story: The flood killed at least 12 people and partly destroyed Tbilisi Zoo, killing dozens of animals, while 30 more — including tigers, lions and bears managed to escape from their cages. On that night the capital of Georgia was as I’d never seen it.
Among the escapees roaming the streets were a rare breed of white lion cub and six wolves, which roamed through the grounds of a children’s hospital. The zoo is right in the centre of the city, between the state broadcaster and Tbilisi State University.
Heavy rains had turned the Vere river that flows near the zoo and through Tbilisi into a torrent that washed away buildings, roads and cars. The enormous amount of mud and debris under my feet meant that making even a small movement was very difficult while shooting photos. I was there from 11:30 pm. This photo was shot at 6:00 am the next morning; my memory card was almost full so I had only a couple of shots left.
This situation was totally different from any I’d experienced before as a photographer. In the past, all my reporting experience had been negotiating with people; this was the first time I worked with animals. I was smiling as I took this photo of Begi, as I discovered it was called. I had bought a watch for my 14-year-old daughter in that shop just two days before the flood. And here was a hippo in front of it. There was only one complicated escape route available to me in case Begi decided to attack.
There were very few people around, as police had shut down the area. The distance between the hippo and me was about 25 metres but I realised that even for an animal as powerful as this one it was also quite difficult to move forward in such mud. I was also reassured that armed police would protect me in case of attack.
Today, Begi is arguably the world’s most famous hippo.
Srikanth Bolla (pictured below) is standing tall living by his conviction that if the “world looks at me and says, ‘Srikanth, you can do nothing,’ I look back at the world and say ‘I can do anything’.”
When he was born, neighbours in the village suggested that his parents smother him.
It was better than the pain they would have to go through their lifetime, some said.
He is a “useless” baby without eyes… being born blind is a sin, others added.
Twenty-three years later, Srikanth Bolla is standing tall living by his conviction that if the “world looks at me and says, ‘Srikanth, you can do nothing,’ I look back at the world and say ‘I can do anything’.”
Srikanth is the CEO of Hyderabad-based Bollant Industries, an organisation that employs uneducated disabled employees to manufacture eco-friendly, disposable consumer packaging solutions, which is worth Rs 50 crores.
He considers himself the luckiest man alive, not because he is now a millionaire, but because his uneducated parents, who earned Rs 20,000 a year, did not heed any of the ‘advice’ they received and raised him with love and affection.
“They are the richest people I know,” says Srikanth.
Underdog success story
What is it about stories like Srikanth’s that so inspire and fill one with hope?
Could it be the multiple zeroes after a dollar sign or the belief that you and I can achieve similar success if we set our minds and hearts to it?
Underdog success stories touch a raw nerve. After all, everyone faces adversity, they dream, and they work hard.
It is another matter that only a few cross the threshold of limits set by society.
In Srikanth’s case, it is his sheer tenacity that shines through the dark clouds of his misfortune.
Being born blind was just one part of the story. He was also born poor. And you know what that means in a society like ours.
In school, he was pushed to the back bench and not allowed to play.
The little village school had no way of knowing what inclusion meant.
When he wanted to take up science after his class X, he was denied the option because of his disability.
All of 18, Srikanth not only fought the system but went on to become the first international blind student to be admitted to the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.
As author Paulo Coelho says, “We warriors of light must be prepared to have patience in difficult times and to know the Universe is conspiring in our favour, even though we may not understand how.”
Today, Srikanth has four production plants, one each in Hubli (Karnataka) and Nizamabad (Telangana), and two in Hyderabad (Telangana). Another plant, which will be one hundred percent solar
operated, is coming up in Sri City, an integrated business city in Andhra Pradesh, 55 kms from Chennai.
Angel investor Ravi Mantha, who met Srikanth about two years ago, was so impressed with his business acumen and vision for his company that he not only decided to mentor him but also invested in Srikanth’s company.
It was a small, tin-roof shack in an industrial area near Hyderabad. There were eight employees and three machines under the shed. I expected him to talk about how he wanted to make a social impact, but was surprised by the business clarity and technical knowhow in someone so young,” Ravi says.
They are raising $2-million (around Rs 13 crores) in funding and have already raised Rs 9 crores.
According to Ravi, his personal goal is to “take the company to IPO.”
A vision to build a sustainable company with a workforce comprising 70 percent people with disability is no mean task.
“Srikanth’s vision is inbuilt in the company. It is not just a lip service to CSR,” adds Ravi.
Isolation a big curse
“The isolation of differently-abled people starts at birth,” Srikanth said in his first public speech on the INKTalks stage in Mumbai last month. According to him, “Compassion is a way of showing someone to live; to give someone an opportunity to thrive and make them rich. Richness does not come from money, it comes from happiness.”
When Srikanth was growing up, his father, a farmer, would take him to the fields but the little boy couldn’t be of any help.
His father then decided that he might as well study.
“In my parent’s entrepreneurship model, I was a failure. In entrepreneurship, we have a lean business model where we evaluate an enterprise and say how quickly it fails.”
Since the nearest school in his village was five kilometres away, he had to make his way there mostly on foot. He did this for two years.
“No one acknowledged my presence. I was put in the last bench. I could not participate in the PT class.
That was the time in my life I thought I was the poorest child in the world. It was not because of lack of money but because of loneliness.”
When his father realised that the child was not learning anything, he admitted Srikanth to a special needs school in Hyderabad.
The boy thrived in the compassion he was shown there. He not only learnt to play chess and cricket but excelled in them. He topped his class, even embracing an opportunity to work with late President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in the Lead India project.
But none of this mattered much because Srikanth was denied admission to the science stream in class XI.
He cleared the Andhra Pradesh class X state board exams with over 90 percent marks, but the board said he could only take Arts subjects after that.
“Was it because I was born blind? No. I was made blind by the perceptions of the people.”
Having been denied the opportunity, Srikanth decided to fight for it.
“I sued the government and fought for six months. In the end, I got a government order that said I could take the science subjects but at my ‘own risk’. ”
Thus not ‘risking’ anything to chance, Srikanth did whatever he could to prove them wrong.
He got all the textbooks converted to audio books, worked day and night to complete the course and managed to secure 98 percent in the XII board exams.
Fortune favours the brave
Sometimes, life mimics a steeplechase. Especially when it comes to those it has big plans for.
It did not give Srikanth enough time to bask in his victory when it threw another spanner in the works. He applied for IIT, BITSPilani, and other top engineering colleges, but did not get a hall ticket.
Instead, “I got a letter saying ‘you are blind, hence you are not allowed to apply for competitive exams.’ If IIT did not want me, I did not want IIT either. How long can you fight?”
He chose his battles carefully and did his homework searching the Internet to find the best engineering programme for someone like himself. He applied to schools in the US and got into the top four — MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, and Carnegie Mellon.
He went to MIT (with a scholarship) as the first international blind student in the school’s history.
It wasn’t easy adjusting to life there, but by and by he started to do well.
Towards the end of his bachelor’s course when the ‘what next’ question came up, it brought him back to where he had started.
“Many questions bothered me. Why should a disabled child be pushed to the back row in the class? Why should the 10 percent of the disabled population of India be left out of the Indian economy?
Why can’t they make a living like everyone else with dignity?”
He decided to give up the ‘golden’ opportunity in corporate America and came back to India in search of answers to his questions. He set up a support service platform to rehabilitate, nurture and integrate differently-abled people in society.
“We helped about 3000 students in acquiring an education and vocational rehabilitation. But then I thought what about their employment? So I built this company and now employ 150 differently-abled people.”
Good always rebounds
Entrepreneur bravehearts like the warriors of Paulo Coelho always find one unflinching support, an anchor to keep them afloat. In Srikanth’s case, it is his co-founder Swarnalatha.
“She was his special needs teacher in school. She has been his mentor and guide through all these years. She trains all the employees with disabilities at Bollant thereby creating a strong community where they feel valued,” says Ravi, adding, “Srikanth is a true source of my inspiration. He is not only my young friend and protégé but is also my mentor who teaches me daily that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.”
The boy who was born blind is today showing many the path to real happiness.
He says his three most important life lessons are: “Show compassion and make people rich. Include people in your life and remove loneliness, and lastly, do something good; it will come back to you.”
Lead image: Kind courtesy INKTalks
source….Dipti Nair in http://www.rediff.com
Natarajan”
Science tells us that hot water turns into a cloud of ice crystals when tossed at subzero temperatures, but Ontario based photographer Michael Davies managed capture this phenomenon on camera. This past Sunday, just 20km south of the Arctic Circle, Davies took these incredible photos of his friend Markus hurling hot tea in -40°C weather.
“Prepared with multiple thermoses filled with tea, we began tossing the water and shooting,” Davies told Huff Post. “Nothing of this shot was to chance, I followed the temperature, watched for calm wind, and planned the shot and set it up. Even the sun in the middle of the spray was something I was hoping for, even though it’s impossible to control.”
More info: michaelhdavies.com | Flickr (h/t: huffpost, colossal)
Source….www.boredpanda.com
Natarajan
Embodiments of Divine Love! Wherever you may be, never give room for any differences. Everyone must get rid of all selfishness, self-interest and self-centeredness. Mutual regard (Mamatha), equipoise (Samatha) and forbearance (kshamatha) are basic qualities necessary for every human being. Hence develop love, forbearance and compassion. Realise that love is present in everyone. Get rid of all differences and adhere to your faith and traditions. Learn to live in love and harmony with all the members of your society. When differences of all kinds are given up, love will grow in you and you can have a direct vision of God. Without love, verbal prayers are of no avail. Divine love is the only unifier, motivator and harbinger of joy to everyone. God is love and God can be realised only through love. All saints and religions have emphasized the greatness of love, truth, sacrifice and unity. Therefore cultivate love.
She could not walk alone herself once. She now helps others walk. Meet Tiffany, the woman with visual disability who has a vision beyond the ordinary.
“What does it mean when people say I cannot walk by myself, I cannot travel by myself? I have a mouth to talk, I have a brain to think, I can walk, and I have a cane to find my way around. Then why can I not travel by myself? I was like a bird in a cage, not allowed to come out without an escort. But now my life has been transformed,” these words and thoughts just tumble out of an excited Tiffany Brar.
The “whys” and “why nots” that once plagued her are now helping her change the lives of other blind people. She is on a journey from complete dependency and is well on the road of independence.
Tiffany is a 26-year-old teacher, entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and she is blind. Being blind is the last piece of information you need about her because she has created many more powerful identities for herself.
Earlier, she was not trusted with the ability to take care of herself and her personal needs. She never travelled by herself. She did not even know that the ‘white cane’ existed. Tiffany’s life, until she was 18, was like that of a typical, totally dependent blind person in India. But it had to change.
As far back as Tiffany can remember, she has been blind. Born into an army family, Tiffany was schooled across India — Darjeeling, Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, and Wellington — accommodating her father’s postings. While her father, General Brar, was busy at his demanding job, it was her mother, Leslie, who was Tiffany’s backbone. She was a gentle, caring woman who strongly influenced the little girl’s early life. Leslie always felt for the poor and went out of her way to help the needy. And this gentleness is what she left with Tiffany before succumbing to a fatal illness.
Tiffany was all of 12 years when her mother passed away. Those were tough times and Tiffany had to gather her courage and learn to live life by herself. Her father was posted in Delhi but Tiffany found herself completely out of place in the big city. She loved a simple life and the high society buzz in Delhi did not settle well with her. Tiffany went back to Thiruvananthapuram, a place very close to her heart and where she lives today, to continue her schooling until 11th standard. The final year of her schooling was in Wellington, a place that gave her the strongest support in her life, Vinita Akka.
Neither the regular schools, nor the blind schools that Tiffany went to, had bothered to teach her how to handle these basic needs. She recalls that sometimes she and other blind children even wore their clothes inside out. They cared little about their physical appearance. When Vinita Akka began to take an interest in Tiffany, the seeds for change were sown. Tiffany started dressing well and began to learn to manage her day-to-day activities on her own. She persistently trained herself to change her mannerisms as well. Yet, there were many more miles to cross on the road to independence.
Tiffany could not go anywhere alone. She was always escorted by someone. The words “impossible” and “you can’t do it” continually echoed from the people around her. But Tiffany was determined that this would not continue. By the time she got a chance to break free and discover herself, she had spent 18 years of her life like this.
After completing her schooling at Wellington, Tiffany moved to Thiruvananthapuram to pursue her Bachelors in English, along with Vinita Akka who was by now like a mother to her. It was here that her life changed. Her father once took her to the Kanthari Center in Thiruvananthapuram, an organization that provides leadership training for individuals who are inclined to bring about social change. Tiffany held her father’s hand and started walking towards the Kanthari office that was under construction. That’s when Sabriye Tenberken, the co-founder of Kanthari, handed a white cane to Tiffany and urged her to walk on her own.
Her father immediately shouted, “No, you cannot walk alone here. There’s rubble and debris all around. You will fall.”
Something inside Tiffany made her push aside her father’s hand, raise her own hands and grab the white cane, unheeding of the anxious voice of her father.
Tiffany joined Kanthari as a receptionist and went on to do an entrepreneurship course at the organization. By now she was travelling all by herself. She found her way on the public roads and transport, which she otherwise wouldn’t ever have traversed without constant help. She took buses to go around the city and uninhibitedly asked people for help to cross the roads. By now, she had many friends who she would meet on her daily commute, who looked up to her with pride.
Once Tiffany felt that she was living like any other person, she wanted many like her to experience this joy. She found the inspiration to serve in Sabriye Tenberken and her husband Paul Kronenberg, the co-founders of Kanthari. Sabriye was herself blind but had made an extraordinary effort to come out of her own limitations to help other blind people.
Braille without Borders
Tiffany recognized that, like them, she too could bring about a change in the lives of the blind.
To equip herself better, she decided to pursue a B.Ed. in Special Education from Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya in Coimbatore. Given her own experience, she knew how other blind people were afraid to come out of their protected zones. They lacked mobility, confidence and the necessary life skills to accomplish this on their own. According to the 2001 census survey, there were 400,000 blind people in the state of Kerala.
“Where were all these blind people? Why didn’t we see them walking on our roads? I decided I must be the one to make a difference,” says Tiffany, who was, in 2012, well equipped with her education to start her project ‘Jyothirgamaya.’
The idea was the brainchild of N. Krishnaswamy, a retired police officer from Tamil Nadu, and the first of its kind in the state of Kerala.
Through Jyothirgamaya, Tiffany and her team visit the homes of many blind people in Thiruvananthapuram. They teach them Braille, computers, personal grooming, and other life skills. They are taught to use the white cane and become mobile. Jyothirgamaya organizes camps across Kerala to mobilize the blind. It also organises outdoor activities, city tours and introduces new and unfamiliar activities.
Tiffany is just 26 and has a lifetime of service ahead that she’s prepared for.
“I envision a society without any physical or psychological barriers towards the blind – a barrier free environment where the blind can walk freely, can travel, can work, think for themselves, and live proud and dignified lives like other citizens. Society thinks that we can only sing sweet songs, only become teachers and telephone operators in the bank. But we can do more. We can dance, we can fire juggle, we can do martial arts, we can become managers and directors of companies. But society is constantly interpreting what we can do and what we can’t. This has to change very soon,” says a spirited Tiffany.
She is a woman with a vision beyond the ordinary.
About the author: Ranjini Sivaswamy is a freelance writer and one of the first team members of The Better India. She comes from a mass communication background and is currently a consultant with IIM Bangalore.
Source…..Ranjini Sivaswany in http://www.the betterindia.com
Natarajan
Noontime sun near the December solstice, over the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Notice how long everyone’s shadow is.
View larger. | Midday sun on December 18, 2015 as captured by Nikolaos Pantazis in Athens, Greece.
Nikolaos Pantazis posted this photo to EarthSky Facbook. He wrote:
Midday (almost) winter solstice sun, over the Acropolis of Athens, Greece.
This photo illustrates a cool fact of nature, which is that – for us in the Northern Hemisphere – yourlongest noontime shadow comes around the time of the December solstice. That’s because, for us in this hemisphere, the sun is making its lowest arc across the sky around now.
In the Southern Hemisphere? Then look for your noontime shadow, anyway. It’s your shortest noon shadow of the year.
Source…..www.earthsky.org
Natarajan
Sanjeev Sekhar had some heart-warming experiences when he was in Chennai during the rains – incidents that broke several stereotypes and left a deep impression on him. Here is a look at 12 such people and events he came across, that changed his outlook forever.
The popular images of Chennai’s unity in the face of adversity, of various religious groups working together, and of volunteers wading through deep waters to rescue people, would have been imprinted in your mind by now – thanks to the media. But there were some occurrences that could not be covered by the media. They just rose to the challenge in small and big ways, and quite unintentionally, smashed many stereotypes in the process.
Here are some of those stories – incidents that I experienced, and people that I had the privilege of meeting, who left a deep impression on me:
Geethapriya and her core team
Geethapriya, a recent acquaintance, converted the parking area in her apartment into a food-making, packing and distribution centre and ran it with the efficiency of a world class manufacturing unit. It started off as a small operation with her friends Yogesh, Kavitha, Malli, Karthikeyan, Sangeetha, Uday and Satish – dispatching 500 basic food packets containing biscuits, buns and water on December 1. And the initiative grew immensely by the end of the week. On December 6 alone, she and her team that had increased to 30 members, made and dispatched close to 15,000 food packets including rice and roti meals. The final count for the week exceeded 30,000 meals.
The food assembly line
Geethapriya with the full team
Another lady from my neighbourhood, Miss Sareetha, converted her apartment area into a warehouse and dispatch centre. By December 5, her apartment, H110, was the byword for emergency food supplies.
With the able assistance of her core team including Raghul, Ajay and Gokulraj, Miss Sareetha ensured that supplies were not wasted or procured by hoarders.
The H110 team
Both these ladies and their respective teams had a formal account and audit process for all foods distributed and areas that they went to. One can only imagine the countless number of affected people who benefited from their actions.
Raghul, Ajay and Gokulraj have always embraced adventure and the great outdoors. As fitness and cycling enthusiasts, they love pushing their limits. But they never thought that their passion would be tested for a greater purpose.
On December 1, when it dawned upon them that the rains had turned into a disaster of epic proportions, they swiftly set out to rescue stranded people. Their physical prowess was aided by their native intelligence as they prepared a makeshift raft and reached stranded citizens. When searching for food sources, a Facebook post led them to apartment H110 and Miss Sareetha. The rest is history.
Over the span of that dreadful week, this untiring team coordinated rescue and relief operations from H110 using cycles, boats and old school swimming. In trying conditions, this team passed the Iron Man test with flying colours.
Without thinking about their profits and losses, star rated restaurants, small scale hotels, and even road side food vendors opened their kitchens to provide tonnes of free food. Business can sometimes be about something other than profits.
On December 5, I was desperately running short of fuel and cash in hand. I managed to find a working ATM and stood last in a long line. Two friendly middle-aged men standing in front of me noticed the stuff in my car and asked general questions about what I was doing. I was the last to enter the ATM and was lucky enough to be able to withdraw cash. On stepping out, I found that they were still there. “In case the ATM had run out, we thought we will give you a Rs. 1,000 each. That should at least get you enough fuel to keep running,” they said. So much for the stereotypical penny-pinching middle-class uncle who cares only about his filter coffee and arm chair political analysis – they stood out like bosses that day.
My office had a fair bit of water logging. Many computers and documents were damaged. With the worst not yet over, the whole office team turned up on December 5, and painstakingly cleaned the office to salvage the remaining computers. If it wasn’t for them, we would not have been able to resume work immediately. Some of them had been impacted directly by the rains, and I didn’t expect anyone to turn up. Yet they did. Loyalty counts for a lot more than privileged backgrounds and fancy degrees. Such stalwarts as colleagues and employees are a blessing to any organization.
Vel Arumugam, a gentleman from Erode, purchased 1,000 blankets and rode an overnight bus to Chennai, sitting in the driver’s cabin due to lack of seats. I got his contact through a relief WhatsApp group and was lucky to receive 100 blankets. I had never met this person before. Talk about trust and kindness from a total stranger.
He, along with Miss Vijayalakshmi, India’s first lady chess grandmaster, conducted relief operations in the city. The phrase ‘Young Indian’ has received a negative twist in the last few weeks due to a political scandal. Take a look at these people mentioned above – this is the ‘Young India’ we must celebrate, project and harness.
The situation worsened by the morning of December 6. I stopped for a tea break at my favourite haunt – the ubiquitous Cheta Chai Shop. A bunch of burly looking guys were fervently discussing relief operations that they were planning for the day. I identified them as the local biker gang.
Over the years, I had always wondered (admittedly in a mildly condescending manner) whether they had a real job. All they ever seemed to do was go on road trips or endlessly sip tea and smoke cigarettes for hours together. Knowing that any contact could be useful at that point, I reached out to them and exchanged information.
An hour later, my car that was loaded with food, blew a tyre. And one phone call later, the very same team came to my aid, loaded their SUV with all the food and zipped off to the target area, Siruseri that was 80 km away from their planned destination. So the tough guys, Lakshminarayanan, Ajith, Bharath and Rajashekar – “jobless” or not, sure have a heart of gold. When the chips were down, these men turned out to be rebels with a cause.
Ramya, a media personality and actor, constantly worked the phones and used her contacts and popularity to collect endless food supplies and water. Was she covered by the media? No. Did she take advantage of the situation to make it a photo – op? No. She just did what she had to and truly wanted to do. No frills, no scenes.
An NRI friend took a day off from work to collect and filter information received through various social networks, and kept ground level volunteers posted on genuine distress calls. Another US based friend organized blankets and mosquito coils and had them dispatched to Chennai from a city in North India. Yes, they left for greener pastures. But that didn’t stop caring for their first home.
Folks from Bangalore used their access to control rooms in Bangalore and Chennai to disseminate verified information to ground level volunteers. Is Bangalore a cooler city than Chennai? Is Karnataka selfish for its stand on the Cauvery issue? Well, I don’t know about all that. On a citizen level, our neighbours were there for us when we needed them the most.
Michael Hubert is an elderly man who runs an NGO for children. The flood waters inundated his house and he had to shift base to stay safe. In spite of his own situation, Mr. Hubert, who walks with the aid of crutches due to a recent spinal surgery, headed out to offer solace and relief materials to victims who had lost it all. More than the relief material itself, it was the human touch provided by a man who clearly wasn’t keeping well himself, that moved people. When it came to looking out for lesser privileged people, Mr Hubert literally walked the talk.
Finally, every WhatsApp group had turned into an info-centre. There were repetitions and outdated posts too, but these were outnumbered by the timely leads on availability of supplies and the overall result was positive. We can wish away social media for all its evils, but when tragedy struck, the memes and gossip posts gave way to conduits for a higher purpose.
I chose to highlight these incidents and people as they are from various walks of lives, professions, strata of society, geographical locations, age groups and time zones. Take these incidents and people and multiply them a few thousand folds – you will get the answer as to how Chennai fought back. It is ironical that our parliament was having a debate on the idea of India. If the Delhi-centric media had turned their cameras this way a little earlier, the visuals would’ve given that debate some answers. When the state machinery was floundering and sincere efforts were being politicized and derailed by party hoodlums, it was these citizens who gave life to that machinery. Every one of them turned into a nut, bolt, cog and gear, working synchronously to keep the machinery going.
Now that the city is limping back to normalcy, I am sure we will get back to our bickering ways, highlighting our differences and playing blame games. We are humans. And that’s just how humans are. To expect a permanent Utopian society is a foolishly romantic notion. But the events of that week hinted at the possibility of such a selfless society. For now, we can take great comfort in knowing that such a possibility exists.
Kudos to the people near and far who created this possibility.
– Sanjeev Sekhar
Source…..www.rediff.com
Natarajan
Dr Ganesh Rakh has delivered 436 baby girls free of charge. The son of a coolie and housemaid, he wanted to be a wrestler as a child, but his mother encouraged him to study hard and get a proper job.
The doctor wants to change the mindset of a ‘boy-obsessed’ society. A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com spoke to the doctor with a heart.
When I was a child I wanted to become a wrestler. My father was a coolie and my mother used to work as a housemaid washing people’s vessels in their home.
My mother said that if I became a wrestler I would eat up all the food in the house and there would be no food left for others. She also said that I would end up as a coolie like my father. Instead I should study and get a proper job.
I studied and became a doctor.
I have been a doctor for the past 15 years. In the early days I used to treat patients in their homes in the day and work in a private hospital in the night. Even when I was in college, I used to work the night shift in hospitals.
In 2007, I started the Medicare hospital. For the last four years we have not charged a fee when a girl child is born in this hospital. We have delivered 436 girl children through this scheme.
When a new-born girl child needs intensive care, we provide that too without charge.
Parents are obsessed with boys. They come to me and say they want a boy. I tell them ‘God decides.’ They don’t realise that doctors cannot do anything about the sex of the baby. They go to babas (godmen).
Pregnant mothers are so tense because relatives say give us a baby boy. In the delivery room if it is a boy they forget all the pain. If it’s a girl they start crying about the pain. Relatives celebrate when it is a boy; they ignore the mother if it is a girl.
When its time to pay the hospital bill, they will happily pay if it is a boy but grumble if it’s a girl. So I decided to celebrate the girl child and not charge for the delivery.
When a girl child is born we distribute cakes and sweets to all the patients in the hospital.
What is surprising is even when it is the first child, they want a boy. Even literate and rich people want a boy first. They feel that if they have a boy first they don’t have to worry about later children.
A few patients who deliver girls insist on paying. We tell them to give that money to other girl children born in our hospital who need the money.
A few twins have been born in our hospital. When both are girls we don’t charge anything. If one baby is a boy, we charge 50%.
We charges are Rs 10,000 for a normal delivery and Rs 25,000 for a Caesarean section.
When a girl child is born, we make the mother cut a cake. We distribute the cake and sweets to all the patients and relatives in the hospital. We also give bouquets to the mother and close relatives. We spend about Rs 2,000 per child on this.
This is a 50 bed hospital. There are 35 people working here, which includes doctors and support staff. I personally work very hard. We don’t have too much money to pay the extra staff. For the last six months, I have been doing night duty here.
I don’t know whether it is because of the free for girl child scheme or otherwise, but lots of deliveries are happening in our hospital. Sometimes 5 children are born here in one day.
When a patient asks us what baby she will deliver, we always say it will be a girl.
I know the national sex ratio is 914 females to 1,000 males. Only if everyone starts working like me can we make a difference to this. I cannot alone make a difference.
Everyone should celebrate a girl child. Celebrate your own girl child and automatically you will respect all girls. Crime against girls will decline. Crime starts in the mind.
Several panchayat leaders call me to speak in their villages. I go there as part of our campaign to ‘Save the girl child.’
I have met many doctors and told them not to charge for the delivery of a girl child, at least one a month. I encourage them and so far 6,000 doctors have supported me.
If every doctor in the country delivers one girl child free, lakhs of baby girls will be benefited.
A UN report in 2012 says that a girl child up to 5 years is 75% more likely to die than a boy in India. I have experienced this first hand. We have a neo-natal intensive care unit for babies.
For boys the parents will tell us to save the child till the last minute. When it is a girl they prefer to take the child home after sometime. They don’t try their best.
I have never contacted the government, any institution or individual for donations. For government funds you have to prepare lots of documents, so I have never applied.
I am not an accountant, I am a doctor. I am not an expert in collecting funds. If it comes good, if not we will continue with the work we are doing now. We will be able to do more work if funds come, if not we will do what we are doing now.
I work for almost 17 hours a day. I see 50 to 100 patients in the out patients department every day. I have to earn enough to support my girl child campaign. All my staff work very hard. I also work the night shift so that I don’t have to pay another doctor salary.
I live with my parents, my two brothers and their wives. I have a nine year old girl.
When I want to relax I play with my daughter. I teach her wrestling too. Spending time with my family is the only way I like to relax. I take my family with me when I go out for the ‘Save the girl child’ campaign.
I don’t take a weekly holiday. The last time I took a vacation was four years ago. I went to Kerala for a week with my family.
I have seen that educated people are the same when it comes to wanting a male child. Literacy makes no difference. I have observed that in tribal areas the sex ratio is better. The mindset has to change.
For things to change, society must learn to celebrate the girl child. They must realise that a girl child is as good as a boy child. They must not differentiate.
The government is running many campaigns to save the girl child, but its focus is on government hospitals. Female foeticide happens in private hospitals. Private hospitals must be encouraged to join the save the girl child campaign.
Only 5% pregnant mothers go to government hospitals. 95% go to private hospitals. The focus should be on private hospitals and private doctors.
6,000 doctors have promised me that they will deliver one baby girl free. Some have promised to deliver 5 baby girls free. Whether they are going to do it once a month or once a year, I don’t know. But every little bit helps. What is important is that these doctors will never support female foeticide.
A Ganesh Nadar / Rediff.com
Source……www.rediff.com
Natarajan
What does it mean when you say God descends as an Avatar?God out of His love, affection and compassion, comes down to the level of a human being and arouses the Divine Consciousness in humankind. When God finds that many people are desperately searching outside of themselves for God, He makes you aware of God within yourself. God is in fact the core in everyone. This chance, to realize God within, has been granted to you as a reward for merit acquired by you in many previous lives, so as to reach the highest goal of merging with the absolute. Every bird needs two wings to fly; a cart needs two wheels to be pulled along. To journey towards the highest goal, you need both faith and steadfastness – spiritual learning (vidya) and penance(tapas). Bhagavad Gita states, Knowledge of the Self (Atma Vidya) is the holiest. Knowledge (Vidya) shows the way, and the penance (tapas) makes you reach the goal. Both are necessary to attain the Ultimate.
Take off with Natarajan 