27 Sept 2015

As I Volunteer

Mother Teresa of Calcutta - Three reasons for not to volunteer in her charities

“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” 

- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta 


Mother Teresa was born on August 27, 1910 in Macedonia and was baptized as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu(name given by parents). She came to a country in 1930s which was totally strange to her, India, a country which was under a colonial rule & poverty ridden. She made this country her home and  for the next 60 years she served the people of India and many other nations till she left us in 1997, more you can read briefly about her in here
                                She has been inspirational figure for me for all my little life, that I have lived. But you would be wondering that then why I am asking you not to volunteer in her charities. Wait, before I tell you those three reasons, i have to tell you about my experience as a volunteer at one of the places of Missionary of Charity, as it form the basis of the title & my conclusion about her charities. 
                                I volunteered at "Prem Daan" for three days. It is a place for the oldest & poorest of the poor man & woman. Approximately 350, both aged men & women live here.To serve as volunteer,as mother said you need only "Hearts to love & hands to serve". For more details on how to register yourself as a volunteer, click here. Volunteers are required to work their for around 4 hours, from 8:00 hrs to 12:00 hrs. 
             On my first day, I reached there before 8:00 hrs, and I was the first to reach there(more volunteers joined later). The place is divided in to three houses/places, one for sisters, one for woman & one for man(male volunteers work in the man house and female in woman house). As I entered into the house where aged men live, I got scared. I was scared to see so many differently able & very old people at a place brought from the streets of the city. I got nervous. 
                 Just to tell you that how a day is like for everyone staying there is that they all get up at around 4:00 clock in the morning. Helpers who work there give bath to everyone(most of them cannot do any work themselves, they are cared like small babies). When I reached there around 8:00 am, i found them sitting under a shed outside all clean & tidy. Every day, the premise is being cleaned & washed. All their clothes, bed sheets , towels etc are being washed daily with the help of sisters & helpers. Then at 10:00 clock, they are served tea & biscuits and lunch around 11:30 am before they retire to their bed. 
                   On my first day, as I said i was very nervous. Soon, I was joined by two other volunteers, one from Japan, who was around 30 years old & one from Europe, he was above 60.They had been working there for some days. As i talked to them about the place, i started feeling at home. I completed that day by doing chores like serving tea & lunch, cleaning place, making beds etc. I did not go back and worked their for all day.Moreover, I felt so good that I went there for the next two days and helped them in regular chores like the first day.   

Fellow Volunteers 

The guys in the blue are from China and the one in the center is from Japan, his name is Yu. I know what are you thinking, chinese & japanese together, but this is true and they got along very well. Yu wants to become an entrepreneur, and simultaneously wants to invest in India. He was a very lively volunteer. Always excited & eager to help everyone there. I forgot to ask the name of the other two , they came there just for a day, very friendly people. We had lunch together and from there we went in different directions.
You are not allowed to take any photos inside the premises, so i could not take any pictures of the place. Some other pictures i could take.


Place(a tomb) where body of Mother Teresa rests in Mother House 
                                          

My experience

On the first day, as I was working there. The sisters brought a man from the streets. The man was very old and in great pain. It seemed from his health that he had not ate for many months. He was all skeleton. He was given treatment and food but he died after two hours. 
We all busy in our lives, sitting in our high storied offices talks about changing world, toy with idea of settling on mars but cannot not save fellow human beings who do not die from the diseases but because we have abandoned them on streets, denied them love, care, dignity & food. 
Yes it is a sad story but the good thing was that in his dying moments he was brought there and then he died peacefully unlike on the street. 
These three days that i spent there have been a life changing experience. I experienced love, divine love, love that is selfless, pure & without any expectations. Volunteers, helpers & sisters take care of all the old age people from most important needs like nature call to their medicines. Some who cannot eat by themselves are being fed with love. Those who cannot walk are being carried with care. These are the people who have been abandoned by humans but adopted by humanity. These people have been neglected and left by the society but are being given a dignified life to live till they leave this world.They are being loved there and you would be surprise to know that they reciprocate your love by loving you back, by smiling back at you, by blessing you & by wishing you well.                                         
As I spent three days, 12 hours, i experienced a plethora of emotions, from sadness to joy, love to pain and from humans to humanity. This is a place where everyone are love and cared by one another. I will not be able to neglect & ignore the homeless again.   

As in the beginning of the post, i told you that in the end i will give you my three reasons that why you should not volunteer in one the Missionaries of Charity. Here, they are :
  • If you do not want to experience how some people care about each other selflessly, do not go there. 
  • If you do not want to see yourself, that how humanity is still alive & growing, do not go there.
  • & If you do not want to have one of the most memorable & touchable moments of your life, do not go there  
I could give you only three reasons. The rest of the reasons are for you to find out when you go and spread & experience love there. I hope your list will be greater than mine.  
Noble prize acceptance speech by Mother Teresa 


  

20 Sept 2015

As I Observe

This is what is stopping Indian Politics from progressing!

 Lessons to learn from the USA Presidential Campaign


In India, elections are like every day occasions. Being the largest democracy you have elections from villages to States to National level.The most important part of an any elections are debates whether they are on national television between candidates or representatives of parties or among people. At present the nation is busy with the Bihar elections. Every day you witness some form of diatribe,rhetoric, packages etc. being thrown at people of Bihar but no debates. 
                                 You will see and hear everything and anything on national televisions (which they advertise as debate hour) but no substantial policies or counter policies, vision or approaches by the candidates. Even some parties have not declared their Chief Minister candidate to Bihar voters. And they do not know who will lead them, if that party wins.

(For those who are new to USA politics, first read little background about USA politics provided at the end of this post)Contrasting to the elections in India, USA is also witnessing an active and fiery primary presidential campaign, for which elections are scheduled in 2016. Over the last few weeks I have been watching the debates & campaigns, primarily of Republican party. All the republican candidates are competing,contesting & debating among themselves on issues ranging from Immigration, National Security, Economy, Foreign Policies and many more.

There are some lessons which Indian political class should learn and Indian voters should ask for, if we want to see a more responsible and serious politics in the country. 

Lesson 1Declare the candidate for the topmost position 
In USA, the voters know who is going to lead them. They can judge the candidates on the basis of their past actions & behaviors. The Indian elections system are such that where you cannot declare all your cabinet before elections because of various reasons(coalition) but the least you can do is declare the name of the prospective PM/CM nominee. By this an individual responsibility gets attached to the person and will be held liable for her/is inaction on the promises. 

Lesson 2: Conduct Debates at all levels of election
The debates are an integral part of any election. You not only get to know the view points of the candidates but you can actually compare and evaluate them. In India, on the name of debates what you hear is cacophony, mudslinging & diatribes. The candidates try to run away from debates as they are not able to present any view point on important issues ranging from  Education, Healthcare, Taxes, Security to Employment.

Lesson 3: Publish Policy/Approach papers
These may not be much relevant to the majority of the voters but they are very important for the intellectual class of the society. In USA every aspiring candidate, publishes her/is approach for a major issue and fight them on facts & figures. But in India, what you have is a Manifesto, which only changes in color & aesthetics over the elections. The Manifesto contains the same general things and has not moved above "Roti, Kapda, Makan" as still politicians have not been able to provide this to masses.

We as citizens have to take the responsibility of demanding a better standard of elections from our political class, if we really want the politics of this country to change and improve for the better.    

Watch latest debates on USA presidential campaign : 
   






(A little background - There are two main parties, Republican & Democrats. President Obama belongs to Democrats. The next presidential elections are scheduled for year 2016. At present all the candidates (Republican & Democrats) are contesting and competing among themselves, from which a nominee will be voted by each party people. Then, the two(it can be more than two if there is any Independent too) candidates, one from Democrat & one from Republican will fight it out in the national elections, and one will be elected as a president).

(Comment & Share, if you agree/disagree with my observation)