India Unseen

This page brings to light people and projects in the nooks and corners of India. It mostly has links to posts on this blog, and sometimes just notes written right here, at the end of this page. 

There are many reasons why I quit my job to do what I am doing (trying to do). It was something I had always wanted to do, though it took me 7 years to come out of the IT web – I was not frustrated with the IT world and was infact in love with what I was doing, so it was like choosing between two loves.

One of the other major reasons was also that I was tired of people cribbing about the country, OUR country, OUR India. I wanted to explore and show people the positive side of India which is never shown anywhere, ofcourse also because those working in that direction do not chase media and recognition.

But I had the last straw when I was browsing channels recently and one of the channels airing dramatized interpretations of the crimes in the country said something on the lines of ‘Look what the youth of the country are upto’ !?! I mean, really???? This is what the youth of our country are upto – heinous crimes?  I am not saying there are none, there are definitely more than just a few, but what about so many of them who are working for the betterment of the nation? Who would shed light on them?

Would we not do better by showing people positive things rather? Being aware of the happenings around is definitely important, but to the extreme that we start labelling the nation as ‘THIS IS WHAT MY COUNTRY IS LIKE‘ – How good is that?I have tried to put things on the blog as and when I see positives around, meet people who are giving it their all for one good cause (which thankfully is like almost everyday in my area of work), but thought of putting down all the links here as and when I write a post. I might also add a few snippets right here when I don’t make it as whole post.

I want people to see that part of India which is unseen and also do their bit, rather than cribbing about it all the time. I believe that the country can change (which only means a change in ourselves; nation is but a subtotal of all of us, right?) and so do many of them who are working towards it. Then, why not all of us?

• She’s a changemaker!
• All in a day .. Inspiration much?
• Swaccha Mangaluru
• What one inspired man can do
• For the farmers
• Educating child beggars and ragpickers in the slums of Delhi
• Saving Sparrows – SharmaJi’s love and commitment to the cause
• The other side of things
• Amazing organizations working for the differently-abled
• Megakitchens of India – feeding the needy
• Footballing for a cause
• Belief in the power of goodness
• For his love of stray animals
• Tales of amazing change makers from Uttarakhand and many more
• Stranger Who? We have always heard complaints that nobody smiles back in India, how we need to be scared of going alone on the roads and so on! What do you then say when strangers go all out in lending a helping hand?
• Against all odds! – When a single picture speaks more than what many words can
• Relief work in Uttarakhand 
• An eye-opening, heart-warming experience at Kashmir – Ekal Vidyalaya
• A letter from a soldier
• The revival of the weaving tradition at Dubbaka 
• Holi celebrations in a slum – many lessons learnt
• A platform for the needy kids to showcase their talent
• Shivaji Spoorthi Kendra, Srisailam
• A home away from home
• Inspiration all around us
• Youth day celebrations in a basti
• Who said they cannot see things?
• Caring for the HIV-affected kids and the shepherd boys
• Lessons from the leprosy-affected
• Our Veer Jawans, again
• Rays of hope
• The power of RTI
• Grounded
• Clearing some misconceptions
• Running a school for children of migrant construction workers  
• Working for the destitute patients
• Sports competitions for the tribals – Vanavasi Kalyan Parishad
• That one moment in Kargil
• Our Veer Jawans
• Prajwala – Fighting against sex slavery
• Model villages of India
  • Ralegaon Siddhi
  • Hiware Bazaar
  • Baripada
• A goose-bump inducing experience from a home for mentally challenged
• Older and Stronger
• The passion with which people work towards the cause they believe in
• Gulabi’s Mom
• What ‘will’ can do!
• Vaidehi Ashram for destitute girls, Hyderabad 
• Wondrous women
• Just another humbling experience
• The future of India, in able hands
• Bringing into light a few people working for a cause, from all over India
• An enlightening experience with the tribals in the Araku valley – 1
  • Araku – 2
  • Araku – 3
• A man who decided to go green in every single way
• Independence day celebrations with the tribals and people working for them in Bhadrachalam, Andhra Pradesh
• Rays of hope

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# Note3 – 4/3/2015 – During our Bengaluru-Rameswaram-Kanyakumari road trip

Travelling miraculously takes you to mysterious places! Like we ended up going to this place (Vivekananda Kudil – kudil is kuteer/hut) today because we just happened to be able to read and understand the word ‘Vivekananda’ on the road. After dilly-dallying if our *big* car would pass through that *small* lane, we are so glad we made it; or rather Swami Vivekananda himself led us there. From building 300 houses for the poor and cyclone-afflicted to sheltering many widows, destitutes etc.. to working with rape victims to ensure the guilty were punished, this now 70-year young Swami Pranavanandaji has done it all. The way he says that is the way to lead life (worshipping God in man) and that he is not at all afraid of death, but it is vice-versa (he has come face-to-face with death many times due to his work), with that simple smile on his face, made this trip much more fruitful. Yet so humble, so down-to-earth, you should see him to believe it.

# Note2 – 14/03/2014

Two experiences that reaffirmed my faith in humanity and belief in good today. Whenever I share tit-bits from the field, majority of them tell me that it is only because of the circle I am moving in. And the world is still big and bad outside my shell.

1) A lady met with an accident when she fell down from a two-wheeler when Su and I were travelling to work today. She was right in front of us, so close that Su had to apply brakes so suddenly that even we could have fallen down. We ofcourse got down to take her aside and nurse her, but 4 more unknown faces did so too. Not just to be curious onlookers; one rushed to note down the number of the vehicle, another went in search of water, yet another in search of first-aid while one more just stood their holding all our belongings, mine and her’s, while I was treating her with first-aid before we could take her to the hospital. Reminded me of a TV show, trailers of which spoke about how people always (almost) ignored those who met with accidents. Not one of them asked her irritating questions, all of them behaved so decently and then proceeded on their way asking Su and me if we wanted them to stay with us.

2) Met a very very big on-screen personality today. Don’t want to take names yet, but how grounded he was really surprised me. No airs about himself, came to the meeting right on time, excused himself even for the few-mins delay, and actually gave us quality hearing about what we do.

Swami Vivekananda narrates a story of 2 frogs, one of which lives in its own sweet well, and refuses to believe when the other frog from the sea talks about how magnificent the sea is. May be we need to open our eyes and see that there are more sweet wells outside other than ours’ too!?!

# Note1 – 23/06/2013

Yesterday, I got to visit a house in Nizamabad. The house was probably smaller than even just the kitchens in our homes. I had to pass through a graveyard to get there with just enough space between two burials. All the houses were within the yard. And in this house, there were 3 girls, 2 done with their Masters in Commerce and another one pursuing a Masters too. The father is an attendant at a nearby bank. The mother is a home-maker and has just started a family business. All the 3 girls are engaged in Seva activities and their parents are happy with that too.

And still we talk about girls not being looked after properly, not being educated, India being this and that and what not. Am not saying we have no such bad examples, but then we are not all negative too! I get to meet such people almost every single day in nooks and corners. 

Why then do we keep sharing and re-sharing every other negative story thrown our way?!? How many of us share positive stories? How many of us can look over the negatives or rather try to work on them rather than just crib about them!?!