Caring Claire!

While a part of the world is hell bent on treating human beings like they brutally treat animals, we have on this planet a few people who prefer to differ. Not that most of us are brutal towards the four-legged beings, but to our best we do is, sympathaize with animals. seeing a dog, a cat, a goat...suffering in the street, we feel sorry and move ahead. But just recently I came across a charming young gal, who not only felt sad for these helpless animals, but also took upon herself to treat, love and care after these living things. talking to her made me realize that one doesnt have to be different from others to bring the change, all one has to have is a difference in opinion and the gut to take charge.

Meet 22 year old Melborne born Claire Abrams, who has been living at Udaipur ever since she was a school girl. This young girl is a rare combination of the bold and the beautiful. Beautiful not only by looks but through her deeds as well, and bold because she dared to bring in a revolution, one we might just dream of. While many of us detest coming across street animals, Claire, along with her parents, runs a rescue centre, hospital and sanctuary called ‘Animal Aid Unlimited’ for the ownerless street animals of Udaipur. Shares Claire, “ my parents have always had a great compassion for these unspoken beings and this encouraged me to be a part of this mission that helps to bring relief to these suffering creatures. ” in order to heal and nurture the abandoned and sick animals Claire, along with her parents, has made efforts to learn to deal with street animals. Says Claire, “ we often wondered if people would come forward to lend a hand thus helping us cure more and more suffering animals. And gradually but surely more and more people have learnt to call us at Animal Aid to report suffering animals in the city. Such kindness and empathy go a long way to make the world a pleasurable place for these speechless creatures. Immunizing street dogs against rabies, conducting humane education programs, encouraging people of all ages including children, to respect and be kind towards the street animals thus spreading awareness on empathy towards animals are some of the silent features of Animal Aid Unlimited. One wonders how they manage to keep the animals. Clarie informs, “ we have a 88,000 Sq.ft. rented land at Badi. The place is a shelter to around 250 animals. Various animals like cows, donkeys, dogs etc, of which some suffer from different ailments and some are crippled and wounded, reside here.”

I bow to you Claire for all your sincere efforts. Good luck and god bless you!

　

Planting CHANGE!

Aashayein

 Thirteen might be an unlucky number for some, but when a bunch of engineering students decided to toil hard to bring in the desired change in the society, they took up the challenge from the word go. The number of boys were thirteen, but not once did they think it was unlucky. These boys started their journey barely two years back, when they decided to channelise their time and energy to do good for the society.” we were done with the global warming and pollution thing. We heard and spoke a lot about it, but one day, inspired by Sir APJ Aabdul Kalam’s words, which read be the change that you wish to see, we determined to show our concern in actions rather than words. It was then that after fighting all odds Aashayein - a ray of hope was born” says Gaurav Joshi. Neither strong criticism nor the dearth of resources could hinder the strong determination of these youngsters.
In their ‘

 Today Aashayein isa family of 63 youngsters and each one is truly dedicated to make the world green. With immense perseverance and dexterity these set of youngsters are indeed a ray of hope. The journey may be slow but it is surely steady. From feeding the hunger to spending quality time during weekends at orphanages and old age homes and planting innumerable trees and convincing the gentry to go green Aashayein’s contribution may be a drop in the ocean, but it is these drops that make an ocean.

You can Bcoz You Think ' YOU CAN'. :)Go Green and Go Clean’ mission Aashayein has achieved two major mile stones. Their first event was a tree plantation drive at Pantheswar temple at Chand pole (Jodhpur) where Dr. Jagruti Upadhaya and Dr Anil Chanagni were our guest of honor. here they planted more than 100 plants, out of which 72 have already grown into trees. Secondly on 19th july 2011 at Sehgadha Village in Jodhpur District the team of 50 youngsters took a leap ahead and planted exactly 1100 trees in one day at Shri hansraj ji maharaj asahram. …..a ray of hope

A golden Heart- Anurag Dube

 

 

‘Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.’ ~Samuel Ullman

 

I recently happened to come across a man, who not only kept his own spirits high, but also encouraged the old and the depressed to do so. He, a mineral water supplier, realizing the fact that how the fast paced life is affecting the senior citizens, making them feel unwanted and good for nothing, chose to help such people and bring smile on their faces.

 

It is said that when strong will power, supported by confidence and faith in oneself, team together then bringing out the desired change is inevitable. Anurag Dube, a 43 year old resident of Udaipur, an M.sc and MBA by qualification, has taken upon himself to defy and look after those senior citizens of this city, who are left uncared to fall prey to depression. Reveals Anurag, “ I have always had a soft- corner for the aged gentry. More so for those who are left uncared for.” Anurag, along with his bunch of registered members and trustees who support the cause, provides various services like visiting the lonely when needed, helping them cheer up, depositing various monthly bills like, water, electricity, telephone and also taking them for medical check ups. Anurag organizes meetings among the like minded senior citizens. He adds, “ owing to the nuclear family culture and high pay packages, that create the undesired gap among generations, many senior citizens are found neglected. It has been my dream to support such people and make them spend the last few years of their life happily. I have barely put a step forward and am now i look forward to exploring different horizons in terms of caring for the senior citizens.”

 

Hats off to Anurag Dube , the man with a golden heart. I understand guys that not many of us will ever do such a thing, but can we not, from our so called busy lives, spare a few minutes per week to spend with to talk to the older members of the family, thus learning from their experiences and helping them take pride in everything that they have done all through the years.  

　

Story behind 'Sir D. R. Mehta'

By Namita S Kalla

Most of us on this planet sweat blood in order to follow an ambition that drives us towards success and self-satisfaction. But not many have the audacity to deal with delicate issues that are concerned with the poor and the downtrodden. It is true that only a few fortunate and valiant persons choose the path that is jammed with misery. Such people intrude the miseries of the poor and work towards clearing the despair with their sincere efforts. Mr. Devendra Raj Mehta, a retired IAS officer is one such man, a man of essence.

Born in June 1937 at Jodhpur, Mr.Devendra completed his schooling from Sardar School Jodhpur and later finished his graduation in Arts. He further studied law from the Rajasthan University, Jaipur and went on to join the Royal Institute of Public Administration, London and Alfred Sloan School of Management, Boston (USA). Calling himself a failed Lawyer (while we would prefer to say a failed liar) he became the IAS in the year1961 and took up diverse responsible positions at both the State and the Central government. He has served as the collector of Barmer, Sikar and Jaisalmer and has also been the secretary of the State government positions in industries and mines. He remained the secretary to the state chief minister twice. During his tenure with the state government, Devendra was also appointed the Anti body Commissioner of Rajasthan to implement the novel scheme of the upliftment of the deprived. He also served as the Relief Commissioner of Rajasthan.

His other accomplishments include working as the Joint Secretary, Controller of Capital Issues and Additional Secretary, Banking in the ministry of Finance, the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports in the capacity of the Director General of the Foreign Trade during the time when the fundamental changes were introduced in the Exim policy of the
country under the first financial reforms exercise in the country. In1992, he was appointed the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. It was then that the banking reforms were introduced to ensure the financial consolidation of the Indian banks. Further, in 1995, he took the charge as the Chairman of the Security and
Exchange Board of India (SEBI). It was during his term that a swing
of reformative actions were introduced in the SEBI, which included
important policy changes and about 40 regulations in order to make the
Indian Capital Market the superior in the world.

In 1969, when Mr. Devendra was the collector of Jaiselmer and was returning from a draught relief distribution, he met with a serious accident, the one that almost cost him his leg. As destiny had it Devendra’s leg wasn’t surgically removed but the pain and inconvenience that he felt during that period made him realize the plight of the amputees. He then made up his mind to set up an NGO that would provide the artificial limbs/calipers to the physically challenged, especially those who are underprivileged. After countless efforts his vision cracked in the year 1975 with the name Bhagwan Mahaveer Vikland Sahayata Samiti, Jaipur.

The then one room NGO has now matured into a largest organization with 19 pan India centers for the handicapped around the world and the number of its beneficiaries has crossed about a million. It provides artificial limbs/calipers, other aids and
devices like hand operated tri cycles, wheelchairs, crutches etc.
besides the financial and other required support for self-employment.
The association of the organization with the maker of the famous Jaipur
Foot proved so commendable that it improved the expediency
and popularity of Jaipur Foot across the globe and this recognition
led to a burst in fixing of the Jaipur Foot from a scanty 50 between
the period of 1968 to 1975 to a monstrous 10000 in next seven years and
now, under the sponsorship of this organization around 20000 odd limbs are fitted every year.

His altruistic work continues even today when he has reached the age of 73. Today, he is more like a kid who toils hard to keep his kite moving in the sky, irrespective of all the hurdles. It is his never say die attitude that enables him to meet around 100 patients everyday. He patiently lends his ear to them and discusses their financial and social conditions and helps them in every way he can. It is his will to help others that keeps him moving ahead and moving strongly.

For the strength and concern that he offers to the poor he has been endorsed with an assortment of awards and honors. A few of which include the celebrated Padma Bhushan award in the year 2008, the Satpal Mittal award, CNBC
award for Social Enterprise, the Diwali Bahan award by Dalai Lama, the
Indian for Collective Action award in San Francisco, the esteemed
Tech Museum Innovation award at Silicon Valley (USA) in 2007 and etcetra.

There is a flood of experiences, each amazing than the other, that the man shared with me in the two hours that  I spent with him. Some day I shall share those with you! :)

Meeting a greater Human!

When my editor asked me to interview this particular individual, she added a note saying, “ He is a busy man. Good if he agrees to shell out a few words.” I, without wasting a minute called him and expressed my desire to interview him. “ Can I call you after sometime” the soft voice came from the other side. And while I waited for him to revert, I did a bit of my homework on him. After what I learnt about him, I wasn’t game for a telephonic interview. ‘ a tete- a tete it is!’ I told myself.
I din’t have to wait much. The man was kind enough to call back ASAP. I put forth my idea of meeting him. “ I‘ll be busy all day.” he said. And after a quick pause he came back, “ can you see me around 6.30 pm?” I couldn’t be glad.
I was there outside is gate long before 6.30, to meet the man, whom I had read a lot about during my home work, and to see him in flesh and blood.
While I waited in his neatly manicured garden, pouring my mind with innumerable questions, I saw a man approaching the gate. Coming back from his evening walk he was sweating a lot, but dint look tired. “ Hello Namita!” he said, “ I guess I am a little late.”
We settled in his well decorated drawing room. And he sat there talking to me about everything from his childhood to his marriage to his wife, the influence of his surroundings on him, and on how he developed compassion for the lesser children of god.
And as we talked neither of us realized how time passed by. Where, during the day, I was hoping I would be blessed if ‘Sir D.R Mehta’ the man behind the famous Jaipur foot, shared half-n-hour of his precious time, and here I was talking to him for almost 2 hrs now. ( How my family panicked, bcoz I kept the phone on silent, is a different story. Will share it with you guys some other day.)

I came out with an ear to ear smile on my face. To know what I learnt about him that day, read my next blog! J

Back, even if it's not with a bang!

Okay! So, in life we tend to do things that, initially we are apprehensive of. To me, blogging is just one of them. I did create a few accounts, but lacked the 3 necessary C’s, concentration, contribution and consistency. In the past few years I ‘ve noticed that everyone, from Mr. Bacchan to the Bhaiyaji next door, has taken to blogging. And each one is doing a good job. It was one person, Abhinav Bhatt, whom I met(online) by chance, who encouraged me to start blogging. (He too was a blogger, a good one at that.) but as I said I lacked the 3 C’s and couldn’t keep my pace in the world of Blogosphere.
　
Once again, my mind is pregnant ( almost 9 months. ;)) with the thought of Blogging. Well! Here I am trying my hands on this almost ubiquitous thing. As of now I am armed with all the 3’C’s. Here I go……not to stop!