The Catalyst to Do Right

For years together, I have been wanting to change someone's life in a really beneficial way, to impact them positively so that absorbing their happiness, it somehow makes you feel that you are not a bad person after all. Those are the times when those little droplets from your eyes waiting to break free when you realise you are genuinely and unfeignedly happy about something. However we just are always unable to be that little difference in a person's life, simply because we are absorbed in our little bubble with our own petty squabbles. Well, I'm no exception. Today though, however trivial my contribution is, I want to be able to be the effect of a cause worth sharing with you. Until today, I honestly had not heard of a town called Megma, situated amidst the breathtaking landscape of the Indo-Nepal border, however when I got to learn about it, I felt the need to change my perspective and probably yours too.

We are all victims of social media and this being the hour of the Elections in our country where we see around us photographs of inkmarked index- fingers having to prove the right exercised through the click of a button. Don't you however think that somewhere we are getting slack on our duty when we jolly well exercise our right? We idolize the west, right from their sense of clothing, their food, to their sitcoms, to their achievements. We stare in awe at their proficiency and literacy but have we ever "righted" something that we have always done wrong- to always set ourselves a few milestones back? The bridge to closing the gaps on the milestones, my friends as we know is good ol' Education. It is a roughed up and beaten word over centuries where now it is regarded nothing but a figment of CAT scores, expertise in Quantum physics or prowess in IFRS. Education in its true sense is a guiding light to let us see, understand, analyse and interpret this world with tools we sharpen our brains and bodies with. Most importantly, it is that catalyst, that aid, that positive vibe in another's life. We discuss politics, we discuss economies, but do we ever discuss the children in Megma who climb hills and cross boulders by foot en route their 2 Km journey to school? We see these videos of children everyday, so much that we turn a blind-eye against them. We are always superficial, but once we get to the bottom of it, the reality will hit us hard when we least expect it. These children though barren of infrastructure, of blackboards that were "black once upon a time", (as quoted by their beloved principal), of creaky tables and shaky benches, still wear the broadest of smiles in their quest to learn something new at school everyday whereas we are spoilt, pampered and sick to the thought of going to school in fancy SUVs having packed mouthwatering lunches in hot boxes. These children like those in Megma are not underprivileged. We simply chose not to give them that privilege. We constantly gloat the contributions we make to the different charities, not to forget the S.80 G exemption of the Income Tax Act that we get along with it. Don't you think it's time to ask ourselves what we derive from these "reimbursements"?

We, my literate friends are all bigots in one way or the other. We buy fancy houses, hoard the Jaguars and the Mercedes to be counted "in class" and we constantly do a cost-benefit analysis for every small thing we chance upon. We always think it is somebody else's problem, somebody else's worry, somebody else's trouble and we go on our path not giving a second thought about it. These children from Megma need the infrastructure and support from us. We are looked upon to illuminate their lives, to help them in whatever little way we can. It is important that we live up to it.

We have come across this proverb "Give a man a fish, and you'll
feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you've fed him for a lifetime." Teachers are the backbone of any country. They are selfless and undeterring from their paths of providing for our younger generation. Mr. Chandrakumar Pradhan and Ms. Neela are prime examples of the quality of love, support and their undying passion to teach these young minds. It is not common that one comes across a person saying he wants to teach children free of cost for the rest of his life. It is considered bizarre in today's world that one is so selfless. In reality, all of us cannot be selfless, but what we can do is abet him in fulfilling his dream. A half story impacts you, a complete, fulfilled happy story changes you.


All we can do is, be the catalyst and help them, to let us be the change.


This is my small role towards my attempt to do right, initiated by Tata Capital through its Half Stories- The Journey of Doing Right, knit together by IndiBlogger.