Plan and Reach out to those in Need

Make it happen! Say a big ‘Yes’

I remember in 1995,when in New York, in the presence of the then Hon’ble Chief Minister, late Jyoti Basu, I presented the concept of Infinity-the intelligent Building, to be made in Kolkata, someone from the hall got up and said…..’YES!!!!!!’ with his fist going up in joy. Interestingly, he was an American who loved India and later met and told me (I didn’t know him) that India very badly needed a model building like the one I proposed.

That ‘Yes’ had indeed inspired me. Similarly, when I write my blogs, I do get feedbacks from those with academic interests like ‘Insightful blogs’ or Thought-Provoking blogs, but never anyone has shown that enthusiasm I found in that American decades ago and that expression ‘Yes.’ My blogs are not meant for ‘just good reading.’ They are written, from my heart, as a call to my inner soul. They are my spontaneous writings, to communicate my feelings with my target audience, so that they feel equally enthusiastic and we can time travel together. That enthusiasm of ‘Yes’ is indeed needed.

As I go deeper into the minds and lives of people who do not have basic resources in life, I suddenly find there is a crowd there, seeking publicity for social work. Political parties, the so-called CSR funders, some very good and strong NGOs, all very keen to make the same communication and make their presence felt. In India, no matter what you want to do, there will always be this crowd who will hog the limelight. My concept of ‘one to many,’ for the poor needs a strong agency in the middle. Institutional philanthropy, like the one, I am doing for the young performing artistes through Calcutta Broadway Health Insurance Card is important to connect to all strata of the society — more with the poor and needy in every sector. If you pick up the Informal Sector, one by one, most of them are vulnerable to changes in the socio-economic environment. Giving them courage to come out strong and live their own life and making it happen is the key to social work.

In our society, there are plenty of highly educated, extremely well read, decently exposed men and women, who could take the next step, but are not taking. Yes, the next step will have logistics and admin issues, but if they don’t take the next step, the participation will not happen. Just saying, sitting, listening, watching, reading, feeling, emoting with such causes, is almost a waste of time, if some of you do not take the next step. I urge all of you, who feel strongly about it, just go ahead and take the next step. In our earlier generation, we have seen our parents going to temples and performing weekly Pujas at home, to purify our souls and for the well-being of the family. That is a generation gone. If you continue doing only that, you are going backwards. Today, we must take it to the next logical step and perform on it. Just like through my blogs I try to reach out to the society and generate need-based solutions for those sections who are underprivileged and do not have access to means that we have access to.

I keep searching for that bright inner soul, that is inquisitive and will make the difference to his/her immediate environment. One that will speak with all the conviction and enthusiasm and say a BIG YES!