Donating Old Clothes through Goonj

Donating old clothes to the ones who need it but can’t afford, is a noble idea. Many times we donate old clothes to the nearby maids / servants / security guards. But at times, they are not so poor to accept those. Hence, we wonder what to do with the old clothes which get discarded every year. There are some NGOs who can help us in this regard.
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Goonj is one such NGO. It runs a campaign called “Vastra Samman” - which helps the poor with old clothes donated by us. I have donated old clothes through them when I was in Mumbai. So I thought to share this with you too.

You can search the website http://www.goonj.org/collection.html to find out Collection Centers in your city. Or just visit the homepage http://www.goonj.org/ and click on “GOONJ Offices & Dropping Centres” on the left hand side menu.

There are some guidelines for donations, e.g. all donated clothes should have been pre-washed. Please go through the clothes donation Guide Lines and other details about the NGO at: http://www.goonj.org/collection.html

I hope you would make use of this facility.

- Rahul

Difficult to be Good?

Someone asked if it is difficult to be good? Does it pay more to be dishonest?

I think the answer is yes, though it is not so simple to say yes. If one is righteous and of a good character, life is difficult for one because life favors those who are ‘flexible’. Keep lots of rules to follow and values telling you not to do this and that, and you face many road-blocks and hiccups.

From famous examples, we can recall one with Gandhi ji. He was pained when he spoke the truth but his teacher didn’t listen to him and gave him punishment. Gandhi ji said that the truthful and righteous need to be more vigilant than others, in order to survive. And that’s the key. We can choose to be good and honest, but then we would have to ensure that we maintain higher level of vigilance too.

I believe that in the end, it is your clear conscience that matters most. If you have done nothing wrong, not harmed others, didn’t have evil designs to progress, then you would be a happy man/woman from your heart. It is said that clear conscience is the best pillow. Also, I believe that those who are righteous face greater problems in life and hence they also become stronger and more virtuous. I believe many people would still favor these guys over those without a backbone, i.e. without a clear conscience.

- Rahul

Poor and Dishonest?

I went to her to get my slippers mend. She was a cobbler sitting on the road side of a location on the outskirts of Hyderabad. I guessed the price for the job would be Rs 10, or maximum 15. I haven’t seen much variation in cobbler’s charges across India. It was Mumbai first where I saw lady-cobblers; otherwise the job belongs to men in much of North India. I thought the job was slightly less demanding especially when you have a reserved small shop on the foot-path, and hence the trend would be for men to have more demanding jobs and women to occupy their place – at least in the cities. Anyways, she was doing her job and something was going on in my mind. Those days I was trying to find means to do something for the poor. I wondered if I should offer her a hundred rupee note. What if she used it to buy alcohol for herself? Should I ask her if she had young children in school and then help her with something specifically for them? My chain of thoughts got a break when I heard, “Rs 25”. What? “Rupee 25 is too much. Take Rs 10; it should be fair.”

To my surprise, she protested strongly. She started explaining about the job done which I showed to her was not much. Still, I gave her Rs 20. She said she won’t leave the remaining Rs 5. Then she commented something interesting, “You people come from UP (Uttar Pradesh) to Hyderabad and want to dictate me what should be the charge?” So it was about exploiting the “outsiders”? I got angry and asked her why she was bringing “UP” in between? If she asked Rs 100 for the job, should I give it to her only because I came from outside Hyderabad? She took a backseat hearing this. By the time two other ladies had also come to the shop and they became uncomfortable, perhaps thinking if they would also be charged exorbitantly. Anyways, I left her place after saying that I won’t give more than 20 and she could do whatever she wanted. Moments before leaving, I gave her a last glance and bewildered because I saw a “fun” in her eyes. May be such demands and encounters were “regular” for her.

Should I have given in to her demand? After all, Rs 5 or Rs 25 was not a big sum! I know that most of the street vendors are poor, but am I wrong if I expect a bit of integrity from them? And her comments on “you having come from UP” definitely gave the indication that she was treating me discriminately! Also, if people like me start giving her double the usual price, won’t she start demanding the same high price from the really poor customers too? That would be really bad. Anyways, I don’t know what I learnt from the experience, because such things happen many times in all places in this world. But one thing for sure: it broke my “charity bubble”.

- Rahul

Touching

Our company has an online bulletin board, or public folder, where people can ask for help regarding anything, or share something worthwhile and others would post answers, solutions or help. I read one message today which really touched my heart. I am sure you would feel the same. Here it goes:

Hi,

An Orphaned kitten needs a home. Its mother was killed by stray dogs. I took it home as it was injured and unable to take care of itself. It is 2 weeks old, very playful and cute. I have been looking after it for the past 4 days and its injuries have healed. I need to give it for adoption to a genuine animal lover who is willing to take care of it.

Colour: Black and Fawn.
Anyone who is interested in adopting this kitten can contact me on ………

Regards,
…..

(This is with kudos to the sender; he showed such a nice gesture by protecting the kitten)

Difficult to be Good?

Someone asked if it is difficult to be good? Does it pay more to be dishonest?
 

I think the answer is yes, though it is not so simple to say yes. If one is righteous and of a good character, life is difficult for one because life favors those who are ‘flexible’. Keep lots of rules to follow and values telling you not to do this and that, and you face many road-blocks and hiccups.
 

From famous examples, we can recall one with Gandhi ji. He was pained when he spoke the truth but his teacher didn’t listen to him and gave him punishment. Gandhi ji said that the truthful and righteous need to be more vigilant than others, in order to survive. And that’s the key. We can choose to be good and honest, but then we would have to ensure that we maintain higher level of vigilance too.
 

I believe that in the end, it is your clear conscience that matters most. If you have done nothing wrong, not harmed others, didn’t have evil designs to progress, then you would be a happy man/woman from your heart. It is said that clear conscience is the best pillow. Also, I believe that those who are righteous face greater problems in life and hence they also become stronger and more virtuous. I believe many people would still favor these guys over those without a backbone, i.e. without a clear conscience.

Karva Chauth and Feminists

A conversation between a feminist (Q) and a reformed-feminist (Me):

Q: You told me that yesterday was Karva Chauth and your wife kept a fast for you. Did you too keep a fast for her?

Me: Yes, but for one hour. When I came to know that she had not been able to see the moon and break her fast, though I was too hungry, I waited until she broke her fast. So in a way, I kept a fast for her too.

Q: That may be incidental. Why is it so that only women have to keep such fasts? Why don’t men keep such fasts?

Me: We have to understand how these festivals came into being in our society. Such festivals and customs are basically traditions. Traditionally men used to go to faraway places for their work or to earn money and hence such fasts would be inconvenient for them. Women stayed at home and hence could do the fasting, in order to show their love for their husbands. And hence mainly women keep fast, traditionally. Today, we still follow the same practice but if the lady is working and doesn’t find comfortable to do it, no one can force her. But still many women keep such fast as a token of their conjugal love.

Q: So men don’t need to show their love, and only women need to show?

Me: Men and women show their love in different ways and both make different gestures to show their love for each other. There is no harm in this; as a man doesn’t need to copy a woman and the vice versa, in order to prove they are equal.

Q: Should only women keep practicing such customs forever or a change would come?

Me: I would love to see men reciprocate the symbols of love or customs for their wives too. Personally I don’t like fasting for any reason and hence I may not love to maintain this custom, but there is no harm and only good if husbands keep fast for their wives too. I would be delighted to see that happening.

Q: I find such festivals like Karva Chauth very stupid! These are made only to subjugate and suppress women, and to maintain god like stature for men.

Me: I will tell you my experience. What did I feel when I came to know that my wife had kept Karva Chauth vrat (fast) for me? I felt humble. It was a nice and humbling feeling to know how much your wife loves you and that is why she has kept this fast for you. I supported her to maintain it properly. Such experiences only take mutual love to higher levels. I don’t see anything wrong but only good in such customs and festivals. May be at one time these festivals were maintained for some other reasons. But today, most of Hindu festivals still find relevance because their intent is good. Their inspiration is good. It is very essential to have a healthy and trusting relationship between a husband and his wife and such customs are nothing but gestures to strengthen them. I say that such festivals which give either of them an opportunity to show how much she/he cares for the other, are really nice.

Q: What about the stupid stories behind these festivals? Many of them can’t be real.

Me: Look at the inspirations and intentions behind them. I feel most of the stories and legends in Hinduism are great stories told in symbolism. Their content may belong to a different era or a different world, but their intentions are really benefitting and their messages are still very much relevant for our present generations. Dashahra is celebrated as a victory of good over evil; Diwali is celebrated as destroying darkness of ignorance by light of knowledge; Holika is burnt as a symbol of burning our desires; and then so many festivals symbolically make us respect our nature and mother earth – and I believe all these festivals give us a very relevant message for our generation too. This is why these festivals have survived for centuries. They are connected with the roots of our culture and social fiber. If a festival requires you to worship your parents as bhagwan – I see only good in it. For a festival of Raksha-bandhan, will you see it as a symbol of establishing female weakness (because she is asking her brother to protect her), or will you see it as an expression of bonding between siblings? I will prefer the later.

Q: So you recommend such old customs to continue for future generations too?

Me: Why now? If we understand their true intentions and can see that they are harmless and would only result in a healthier society, there is no harm in maintaining them forever.
Post Script: I called myself a “reformed-feminist” because once I thought I was a feminist and then I feel I grew up. In the spirit of becoming a feminist one doesn’t need to become as biased as male-chauvinists are. And if feminism makes you see violence at places where there is only love, we should better choose be happy without it.

- Rahul

Jootha?

An interesting conversation in Big Boss caught my interest. Salman Khan asked Manoj Tiwari why he disagreed to inmates eating from each-others’ dishes. He asked if Manoj found something wrong in the practice. I became curious. Indian/Hindu culture is unique in many aspects and Indians/Hindus maintain the highest aspects of ‘personal hygiene’ (as different from public one). And we have this concept of not eating other’s jootha – a word for which there is no English translation available at all! I support this practice – it’s anyone guess that eating someone else’s jootha may result in disease contraction – as jootha would contain traces of saliva; and contamination - we never know if the other person had properly washed hands or not. Salman Khan may not be knowing the background, or maybe he was casual (or tricky?) in his question. Anyways, so what did Manoj reply?

Manoj Tiwari’s reply was something like this: “I have no problems as such but I think we should not eat from someone’s plate until we know him/her properly.” He went on, “Also, I protested against them tasting the food in kitchen itself before it was served, which I found to be improper (unhygienic).” Interesting answer! It doesn’t offend anyone (which a lecture on culture or hygienic benefits would have done), and yet it is precise at the same time! I think such an art of speech really makes one very popular. And it is not everyone’s cup of tea.

- Rahul

How is the Weather?

It was Friday evening; around 6.30 PM. I came out on the balcony of our food-court, with a cup of tea in hand. There were clouds in the sky and the sun had almost set – giving the sky a distinct shade. The weather was poignant. About half of the office windows were lit. People were leaving for their homes. Some were sitting on the beautiful green lawn and talking. Some were going in the gym and employee care center. A housekeeping person was carrying away a trash-bin. A thought came to my mind. Did the same sky and the same environment appear equal to all of us? I think, certainly not. Some would be rushing to their homes looking forward to the weekend adventures. Some groups would have planned for Friday released movies. Some would have decided to stay back in the campus and enjoy games of TT or snooker. On the other hand, for some guys a tough day would have ended. For some, the end of the day would still be long to come even at 6 PM. Some singles would have been scared to go back to their lonely apartments. Some others would have problems to solve; crises to mitigate. Some would be worried about the already exhausted salary for the month. I am sure when each one of them would look at the same sky – they would feel differently. Each would feel the weather differently. Bottom-line: What we feel about the outside depends on what is going on in our inside.

- Rahul

New Five Star Ad

I hope you saw the new Five Star chocolate ad. The ad shows two guys Suresh and Ramesh who have a temporary loss of memory because they are having 5 Star. The ad seems to be popular.

Now 5 Star’s popularity is near immortal. 5 Star brand has always been in the Indian market, from the time you remember. And Cadbury’s always gave it enough focus along with Dairy Milk. No other chocolate brand could dethrone 5 Star from its position. So two questions come to our mind: (1) Was there a need to spend money on 5 Star ads when it has always been doing good and everyone knows it? (2) How is the ad?

First, the need for an ad campaign: I think 5 Star was more popular in the lower segment (its price positioning) and people also connected it with the view that 5-Star should come for only Rupees 5. This ad campaign takes the brand further up the segment and hence was definitely needed. Also, it targets adults, instead of the conventional segment of children as chocolate consumers, which is in line with the overall Cadbury’s strategy.

Then how is the ad? The ad reminded me of another ad of a Pan Masala. In fact this 5 Star ad would qualify to be called a gross copy of the later. In that ad, two long-lost brothers meet but they are not able to recognize each other because they are just having “Goa Pan Masala”. The voice-over says, “Dekho Bhai ko Bhai dekh na paya; ye hai Goa ke swad ki mayaa..” I hope you would can recall. The agency for 5 Star could have been more creative. But I think despite the duplication, this ad campaign would be successful.

What do you say?

- Rahul

Please Vote for Anuradha Koirala

CNN has selected 10 individuals as Top 10 CNN Heroes out of which it would select one as the “2010 CNN Hero of the Year”. You can vote to select one.

There is only one Indian who features on the list – Narayanan Krishnan who quit as a chef with a five star chain to feed poor and destitute. I voted for Krishnan. But I saw that we could vote for more than one!

And I voted for Anuradha Koirala. I found her work and life more valuable than anyone else.

Read here: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/04/29/cnnheroes.koirala.nepal/

Even if we feel proud to be Indian, we should support her cause, because it is India where most of sex-trafficking victims are transported to (Report said 10,000-15,000 of them are trafficked to India every year); or through India to other countries including Middle-east.

Do vote for Anuradha Koirala: http://heroes.cnn.com/vote.aspx

Let us free our earth from evil human-trafficking.

- Rahul

P.S. You can even think about supporting her NGO: http://www.maitinepal.org/pages.php?option=Support

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Paper Weights and Our Life

In his novel “Bachelor of Arts”, RK Narayan portrays a very interesting father-son relationship. One episode is really heart touching. The son (who was a BA) was not agreeing to marriage and he rejected all proposals that came to him. His parents had grown old and wanted him to get married as soon as possible, maybe also because good prospects won’t always wait. One hot afternoon, his father comes to his office. After asking how things are going on, he tells about the purpose of his visit. He tells hesitantly that the boy’s mother was forcing him to talk to him about a particular marriage proposal. The son keeps silence and doesn’t tell anything. Then the father leaves his office; goes downstairs and start walking towards his home. After some time, the son wonders if his father would take his silence as his approval. So he goes downstairs and follows his father. While he is walking behind his father to stop him to talk, he notices that his father has become old. He is no longer the same young and energetic father whose picture he had in his mind. He stops his father and tells a straight “no” to that as well as all future proposals. Father tries not to appear disappointed and asks his son to forget about the proposal and be happy. Then he tells his son which goes something like this, “I noticed in your office that some of your papers were about to fly due to the running fan. Remind me in the evening, I will give you some paper-weights that I have kept in a trunk.” Then he carries on.

This was such a touching incident. The father didn’t want anything but only the wellbeing of his son. And he had a father’s heart to notice and care for even the slightest of his inconveniences. If a small paper-weight could help his son, he would try to provide it too. But did the son really care for his old parents? In his decision of not marrying, was not he denying his parents a lot of happiness and also a proper care? Didn’t his old parents deserve the happiness of seeing a bahu in their home? The son ultimately agrees to the marriage, much to the delight of his parents.

When we marry, we don’t marry only for ourselves. We bring someone to become part of our family. We marry for our mother, for our father, for our home and for our family. Extend it further and we can see that we do so many other things not for our own individual sake but for the wellbeing of a whole lot of others too. And this is a stark realization which we, the youngsters, often forget.

Can we lead our life without the love and care of our parents and family? Then, is not it natural for us to take them into consideration before we make any important decision? I think our relationships are like the paper-weights in our life; they protect us from instability and keep us grounded. Otherwise we may become as tall as the proverbial date-tree; despite its height it doesn’t provide even a little shade to others.

Let us remember the paper-weights.

- Rahul

Love of the Birds

There was a blue bird and there was a green bird. Both lived on different trees. They didn’t know about each other. They ate in different fields and floated in different directions. When they grew up, their parents got them married with each other. Blue bird was very happy to find a companion. Green bird, who was a female, liked the blue bird too. They built a small nest separate on a different tree. After some time, green bird gave birth to three small baby birds. Two of them were green and one of them was blue. They were all so happy.

One day there was a big storm. The birds got into their nests and prayed for the storm to pass without any harm. But it became harsher and harsher. Suddenly, the branch of the tree on which they had their nest broke down. After that, when the blue bird opened his eyes, he saw everything ruined. Trees were uprooted and everything was scattered out of place. He searched for the green bird and their children. She was not in sight. He kept on flying and searching. Suddenly, he found something. Above another Peepal tree which was not uprooted, his green bird had taken shelter in a broken nest of some other bird. Babies were fine too! Green bird also became so happy seeing blue bird safe.

In the days to come, something changed in their relationship. Blue bird got the feeling that the green bird didn’t love him enough. After all, when the storm had come, she had taken shelter in the Peepal tree along with their babies, but had not worried to find him out! He had to find and reach her. What if he was in danger? Would she care to worry about him? This thinking kept consuming his inside and he became more and more introvert. The green bird was too busy taking care of her babies. She couldn’t note what was in his mind. But she did notice that something was building up.

Now the blue bird started coming home without bringing much of food. When green bird asked, he said that she could also go and bring something for children herself - bringing food was not entirely his responsibility. Green bird was pained hearing this. Gradually, both became distanced…

Now the children had grown up a bit and started going away to play. One evening, again the blue bird returned home and just went to his bed. He didn’t talk to the green bird at all. Green bird realized that something was serious. She went to the blue bird, touched his feathers and pecked at his cheeks. She also started massaging his legs. She saw that he had gone weak. Tears came to her eyes…

Blue bird was not touched seeing the tears though. “Sorry”, said the green bird. Blue bird asked, “Why sorry”? Green bird said, “I see that I have not been taking proper care of you recently. You have become so thin.” Now blue bird couldn’t hold himself and told her that he thought she no longer loved him. She tried to explain that she had been busy with kids, which was the truth, but he didn’t listen. Then he mentioned about the incident on the day storm had come.

Green bird then realized where it all started. She said, “Do you know why I went after the babies and not after you?”

“It was because those were ‘your’ babies.”

Blue bird was speechless.

“Do you think I don’t love you? I love you so much that I can sacrifice my relationship for the sake of your children - after all they are symbols of ‘our’ love. If they live, our love would be immortal.”

She went on, “I knew that day that you would survive. I was sure that you will find me and our children. There wasn’t a slightest doubt. This is the strength of my love towards you…”

The blue bird was awestruck. He didn’t know what to say. His heart was beating so fast. And a pain was building up inside him, for the mistake he had made.

“I am sorry.” No matter how dumb guys are, they still can say a “sorry”.

And make everything alright again…

- Rahul

Happy Durga Puja!

Got to read three amazing articles to make our Durga Puja special:
 

Divine Mother Everywhere – Recall During Durga Puja
 

https://living.oneindia.in/yoga-spirituality/anecdotes/2010/divine-mother-durga-puja-141010.html
 

Durga Puja – The Manifestation Of Durga
 

https://living.oneindia.in/yoga-spirituality/faith-mysticism/2010/durga-puja-the-manifestation-of-durga-141010.html
 

Navaratri Worship of The Divine Mother And Significance
 

https://living.oneindia.in/yoga-spirituality/faith-mysticism/2010/navaratri-worship-divine-mother-081010.html