I HATE THE INSENSITIVE SPIRIT OF MUMBAI / INDIA

“behtar toh ghulami ke din the, jab har koi apne hindustan ke baare mein marne tak ko taiyaar tha... azaadi ne dekho kaisa rang badal dala hindustan aur hindustaniyon ka!!! dukh hota hai jab garib janta ka ye haal hota hai...unka kasoor bas itna hai ki woh GARIB HAI & KOI NAHIN HAI UNKA, KOI NAHIN! KHUDA BHI NAHIN!”

If we can all walk in unison to burn candles @ TAJ & Oberoi post 26/11, I wonder why we cannot walk in unison to see the politicians taking action to save the lives of the poor? This is not majbori (compulsion)... but this is sheer insensitivity and callousness towards others' death and the other being POOR! So why should we really care? Poor are dying as it is, every single day... what is the big deal?

This insensitivity and callous nature of urban population, who have shut their eyes to everything that is not affecting them, have resulted in the rule of arrogance of the government to kill millions of poor in every single place of the nation to satiate their never ending greed... nation is being looted left, right and centre... poor are being killed by bullets, bombs and various policies in the name of economic development and nation’s progress.

We have become so insensitive towards death of the poor that we really don't care at all and everything is normal the next very day as if nothing has ever happened... we only cry when such attacks take lives of one of our own dear ones... that is the time we realize the pain, the sorrows, the helplessness and the anger... till it is the unknown poor... no one cares! That is why I hate the spirit of Mumbai / India while everyone is applauding the INSENSITIVE SPIRIT OF MUMBAI as if it is a great thing.... it is sheer stupidity and callousness towards fellow Indians... WAKE UP before such blasts starts happening in your own backyard... Does it need a terrorist attack to unite us each time?

Do we really want a change? NAA.... that is why all these things are happening... because of our resilience and closed mouth & sleeping state, the government is doing such things at will and oh so openly... looting billions and billions of dollars, and killing millions of poor everywhere and we will just shout for a day and then say - "yaar majbori hai, office toh jana padega nahin toh khana kaun khilayega?"... because poor are dying so no one cares... but when the attack was on the rich and the affluent @ The Taj, Oberoi & Leopold... the whole of Mumbai woke up to burn candles and then what? CM was sacked and so was the Home Minister and everything moved at a faster pace... however, not for too many days... when the CM & the HM were sacked, came in the new ones, who are worse than the previous ones... more bombs have blasted the streets of India and more poor innocent Indians have been killed in all such attacks.

There have been more bomb blasts under the so-called able leadership of Chidambaram: I beg to differ though, he has been responsible to create more chaos in the country than any of his predecessor.

“The attacks include the February 2010 bombing of the German Bakery in Pune; the April 2010 serial bombings at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore, the drive-by shooting at Delhi's iconic Jama Masjid in September 2010, and the December 2010 bombing at the Shitla Ghat in Varanasi, and not to forget the recent spate of lawlessness to lathi charge and firing of teargas on sleeping poor at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. Oh yes, who can forget the Telangana crisis?”

When will all these killings end? When will Indians stand on the street or in front of the Parliament to ask the arrogant ruling government when will you make our lives secure? The recent spate of Serial Bomb Blast in Mumbai has been so coolly blamed on the terrorist outfits, almost immediately, but look at the larger picture... it coincided so well with the PM’s Cabinet Reshuffle... so the media had to be fed with something sensational and something big, so that the nation’s attention will be diverted from the horrible reshuffle and all the scams and the safeguarding of the Black Money by the Finance Minister and the Prime Minister... And yes, the Congress has succeeded in doing so, as callous news anchors are shouting their hearts out, to outdo each other, to sensationalize the blast... while every other important news goes back in dustbins.

Tomorrow few Mumbaikars will don white dress to light up candles (but obvious it will not happen this time because the rich have not been killed), walk in whites and then by evening party as if nothing has happened... heart boils because we are really not ready to ask our politicians what the hell is happening in our own country... till then these things will keep on happening... killing of innocent will keep on happening and till one is not affected, people will sleep, sleep and do just nothing!

What to say about the nation who prefers to sleep and just not ready to ask the bloody corrupt politicians why the hell my nation is being looted, bombed and innocent being killed at their will??? WHY? WHY? WHY? - It is not terrorism but the intelligent way to divert the nation from the recent CABINET RESHUFFLE, SCAMS & BLACK MONEY TRAIL!!!

And it was so easy for most of the urban population to say – “Oh, what can we do? We have to feed our families so we have no option but to go for work the next day!” We already have 10,000 readymade excuses to show our resignation and the will that we have to accept whatever is happening without demanding our rights to get protection from our own government. Ask the family who have lost someone dear, someone who earns the bread & butter for the whole family, ask the mother who has lost her son / daughter, ask the father who has lost a son / daughter or brother or sister, ask the old grandmother who has lost her last hope... who will fill all these voids in their respective lives, WHO? WHO? WHO?

The PM & the CM will declare one lakh or at the maximum 5 lakh compensation for lives lost, the probe will never reach the conclusive report and yes, no one.... I repeat NO ONE WILL EVER BE CHARGED OR PROSECUTED for all these bomb blasts and if at all, we catch a dreaded terrorist, we will feed him biryani, teach him Marathi and then if possible give him a wild card entry to the high profile stupid TV show BIG BOSS and then the callous MEDIA will splash him as the hero of the nation!

My heart really boils when the poor are being killed for no reasons at all... it is the poor who make the rich more rich... every single drop of blood is being sucked and till the last drop is sucked this vicious circle will continue with more vigour and passion to satisfy the greed of the few rich and corrupt politicians... after all, the urban India want their comfort intact and as long as they are comfortable... let the poor die, who cares really?

They will move on and go to work the next day with a fear the next bomb blast may take some more lives but as long as we are safe, why should we really care about all the killings of the poor all across the country... mujhe toh mera AC mil raha hai aur 24 ghante electricity mil raha hai... khana bhi mil raha hai... main kar bhi kya sakta hoon?

That is why at the start I wrote:

“behtar toh ghulami ke din the, jab har koi apne hindustan ke baare mein marne tak ko taiyaar tha... azaadi ne dekho kaisa rang badal dala hindustan aur hindustaniyon ka!!! dukh hota hai jab garib janta ka ye haal hota hai...unka kasoor bas itna hai ki woh GARIB HAI & KOI NAHIN HAI UNKA, KOI NAHIN! KHUDA BHI NAHIN!”

“It was better in the days when we were under the British when everyone was ready to die for the nation... see how FREEDOM has changed the colours of India and Indians!!! I am sad when the poor have to suffer this way... their only fault is that they are POOR and that there is NO ONE for them! Not even GOD!

VACCINE FOR DROUGHT: MEET THE AMAZING INVENTOR 83-YEAR-OLD BAPPA, UPLETA, RAJKOT

"I wish I had woken up from my sleep 10 years ahead,” 83-year-old, ‘BAPPA’ as he is popularly known by one and all, reminisces Premji Bhai Patel of Upleta, district Rajkot, Gujarat. Even at this age, his passion and physical demeanour was really hard to believe, when I met him in April. Incredible is his resolve and passion to save the poor farmers and provide succour to one and all by spreading greenery through his plantation drive. He is the only man among 1.2 billion Indians, who have been honoured with National Award by President APJ Kalam twice, once for Rain Water Harvesting and Conservation of Water, and the second time for planting more than 1 crore plants.

Greenery in fields even in the Summer months...

His dedication, devotion and passion to do something for the nation and the poor farmers in particular has seen him doing the unexpected by using simple technique. Action speaks louder than words, is true in Bappa’s greatness! However, this simple man recalls how it all started with a smile, “I was in Bombay and was in the Textile business and also was into explosives trading (closed it in 1977). It was in the mid 50s when a farmer from my village came to me and said there is no water in the well because of drought. I gave him some explosives and said use it. He came running to thank me and said now there is water with the depth of the well increased to another 10 feet.” The same farmer approached Bappa for three consecutive years with his water problem and each time, few sticks were given and the water level kept increasing with the depth of the well.

Bappa revealed, that farmer changed his life once for all. He left his business in Bombay at the age of 56 years (he says, "I took voluntary retirement from service to devout my life for the sake of poor farmers") to pursue in what he believed strongly, increasing the ground water table of the area. From 1962 to 1968, he was talking to villagers about rain water harvesting and conservation of water and how they could refill their respective wells with simple technique. However, people including his best friends thought he was a fool to talk all this nonsense. “It was tough because people thought I was mad. No one believed me and my own friends were making fun of me,” he recalls the early years of struggle. It did not deter the spirit of Bappa, who knew 'if I can do it, so can others'. So he started work from his own well with great success. When he made his house in 1973, he dug three feet of soil to fill it with pebbles and sand around his house compound, the simple technique to harvest rain water in an effective manner.

At the backdrop 2000 Neem Trees planted by Bappa...

“Whenever it used to rain heavily, while you can see everywhere water logging, my house compound was completely dry because water was soaked by the sand to push inside the ground and the water in the well became sweet too!" This unusual thing (for others) was noticed by many of his friends, friends who had made fun of him earlier. In 1983 he left Bombay once for all to start work in his village. “It took me three long years finally to convince one fool like me in a village, who believed in what I said. And since then, we have never looked back,” recalls Bappa. Slowly farmers gathered to share his vision and those who did not join in, felt left out, when the united farmers were reaping fruits of the check dams by irrigating their fields to get three crop cycles yearly. In 1987, Gujarat was under severe drought – Depha Kaal (drought year in Gujarati) and Premji Bhai Patel developed the VACCINE FOR DROUGHT!

Premji Bhai Patel - BAPPA ... The Visionary Man of Upleta

He says with great confidence, “If we can tap even 15 inches of rain water every year, no one will face water problem in India and even in the driest region, it rains more than 15 inches per year. Planting trees to increase the green cover is the most important aspect to get more rain in any region. I wondered how to save trees and realized Babul did not require much water and is considered a useless tree, which villagers can use as firewood – the fuel to cook. This way, other green trees will be saved from being chopped off for firewood. So I bought 45 tonnes (collected from all India seeds traders) of babul seeds and planted everywhere.” Bappa is responsible for creating the babul revolution in a way in India. He must have planted more than 5 crore (billion) trees but he was awarded by the President of India for planting just 1 crore, which itself is a record in its self!

BAPPA means Father figure in Gujarati language... for villagers he is their father fugure

He remembers with fondness, “Kalam sir was very interested to meet the person who had planted 1 crore plants, so when I was called upon to meet him in person... he was shocked to see me. Shocked, because he had earlier awarded me for water conservation projects and was very happy to meet me again! He spend more than 30 minutes trying to understand how I managed to plant so many trees. I told him, I invented a seed gun, which is used to throw seeds far away in all direction to achieve this (Bappa used to travel on the highway from midnight 0000 hrs till 5 in the morning to plant the seeds with his two dedicated staff). I feel really honoured, for the President is a very busy man and he spent 30 long minutes with an old man like me to understand the technique. APJ Kalam sahab is truly a gem of a person!” His passion even at this age is incredible and unparallel in all aspects.

Check Dams have solved the problems of irrigation for the farmers of Saurastra Region...

When I visited Bappa, he kept tab on my journey and kept guiding me like a loving doting grandfather would. He even got angry for delaying my arrival but I was shocked to see him standing right in front of the door (even before the door of the bus was opened) to receive his long lost grandson. Touching his feet was like returning home to meet the grandpa... it was the most wonderful moment of the whole trip... from 4.30 pm to 7.30 pm he took me to various villages and showed me various check dams, 2000 Neem tree plantation with his new technique of using minimum water and sharing every little nuances of rain water harvesting and water conservation. The passion at this age was giving me the inspiration of the lifetime. I didn’t even see him yawning even once from 4.30 pm to 1.30 am till we went to sleep. AMAZING!

Once we reached home, everything was arranged for my bath already and then we went to have dinner at a nearby restaurant, while talking all the time about rain water harvesting and plantation. Unlike other NGOs, Bappa’s Vruksha Prem Seva Trust has just two and a half staff. I was surprised, so he revealed, “I have two dedicated staff and at this age, I am the half!” His sense of humour was outstanding!

From 9.30 pm to 1.30 pm, he was talking about his happy and bitter experiences about achieving the unexpected... it is sad to know that near about 3.70 crores is still pending with the Government Office of Gujarat... he minces no bones to say, “The new official wants a kickback of 15 %, which I am not ready to give to him all my life. Let the money remain with the government. I have spent enough money of my own since the last 27 years... maybe if I had bought gold by all that money that I had invested on check dams and plants, I would have had more than 6 kilos of gold... imagine how much money it would be worth now (laughs). But I am content that God has given me enough to live a simple life, and living for others is the joy that I shall always cherish.”

The next day, Bappa woke me up with a hot cup of tea and said, “I can only make tea and rice. Come on young man, let us have breakfast.” After bath, Bappa took me to his office and the simplicity of this young man is truly so infectious and loving. He said, “I always keep an Atlas and a Dictionary with me, so that when I see (on TV) or read (in newspapers) about any happenings, I immediately refer to the Atlas to see where it happened (he showed me in a fraction of a second opening the huge World Atlas Fukushima, Japan) and when a new word crops up, I find out its meaning. Knowledge is very important.” Baapa’s kindness is known to all schools, where he gifts World Atlas and Dictionary worth thousands of rupees every year.

My loving grandfather and grandmother - Mr. and Mrs, Premji Bhai Patel 

I shared some beautiful moments with Bappa’s wife, my loving granny (he calls her his Home Minister), who is love personified. Later, we had lunch and with their blessings I left Upleta with a promise to meet my loving grandfather and grandmother soon. Bappa always travel all over India when he reads about any water conservation projects being done in an effective manner by any individuals like him. The dedication, the devotion and the passion to live for others of BAPPA is truly-truly worth sincere SALUTE from every single Indian and citizen of the world. I feel blessed to meet him and share two lovely days of great learning.

Below are some information I collected from:

http://cgwb.gov.in/documents/papers/incidpapers/Paper%209%20-%20Patel.pdf

Vruksha Prem Seva Trust has implemented Ministry of Rural Development sponsored 30 watershed Projects covering since1995 in talukas of Jamkandorana and Gondal in Rajkot district. A total of 25,000 - 30,000 hectares land has been brought under the watershed development programme. These projects involved construction of 21600 check dams covering 15,000 ha land benefiting around 5500 families. The Trust also undertook the construction of 500 underground tanks for rain water harvesting in 30 villages. The community owned and managed watershed intervention carried out using indigenous and low cost technology has been replicated in 16 more villages. The community participation in the project had positive impact on creating ownership for the project and this is evident in beneficiaries generously donating a part of their land to increase the width of the existing check dams for enhancing their water storage capacity. The paper focuses on the need for community participation using indigenous and low cost technologies in watershed management programs.

The Vruksh Prem Seva Trust was started by well-known environmentalist Shri Premjibhai Patel in 1968 in the backward area of the Upleta taluka, Rajkot district, Gujarat. He had the burgeoning natural vigor to work for conservation of nature that made him quit his government service to usher in his noble idea of mitigating water scarcity through watershed development. The Vruksh Prem Seva Trust, under his leadership, has been instrumental in launching a campaign for ground water augmentation through well recharge. The most phenomenal achievement has been the initiation of the community contribution for well recharging activity which was as high as 65%.

Premji Bhai is also a fast learner. While the government has been deliberating upon the merits of the semicircular check dam design, Premji Bhai tested it and also replicated it with some location specific improvements. Innovations in check dam designs have become almost a rule with him, rather than an exception. Till date he has built 1,500 check dams for which he has given the complete financial support and 400 other dams for which he has provided the cement. He has also been instrumental in laying out 50,000 feet of pipelines for recharging underground wells. Even at 70, he does this work with fantastic levels of enthusiasm and zeal.

THE NEW OLD WORLD OF INDIA: MELGHAT; District: AMRAVATI; Region: VIDARBHA; State: MAHARASTRA; INDIA – PART IV

The next day, Chandrakant and I drove on his motorcycle through the hilly terrains and jungles of Melghat... the lovely woods, trees all around, the pureness of air, farmers ploughing fields, women busy filling water from wells and hand pumps – all seemed so-so wonderful and the untouched beauty, in spite of all the miseries, sorrows and hardships – the Korku Tribe are a content lot living life in a completely different world all together... so much part of the world and yet... with no electricity, no drinking water, no health centres, no proper school, no roads, no greed to loot the jungle... they in fact, are protecting the nature to the best of my knowledge and in a much better way than any educated person (who seems to know all) in the world.

Every village has one Godly structure like this...

They worship nature instead of the worldly religious Gods... they pray in a unique way as Chandu explained me about the yearly religious festival... the village priest would climb at the top of the platform with offerings and pray while villagers will be singing and dancing all around... mystifying indeed but the respect for nature is here to see and experience... they only use that much of woods and fruits from the jungles, water from natural stream and wells that is sufficient for the family to survive... there is absolutely no wastage and accumulation of anything one can see... when you enter a villagers home made of wood, bamboo mats, mud and cow dung... all one can see in the house are few utensils to prepare food, a swing made of old clothes for babies to sleep and farming tools... Chandu informed me that when the family sits to eat, all their pets are also sitting together with the family members to have food... pets are family members... I certainly would like to experience staying with the villagers in my next visit for sure.

Dr. Priyadarsh, his Mother, Chandu & me...

The long drive through the beautiful hilly terrain was treacherous but so soothing (as I was the pillion rider) while capturing the sights in my camera. At Katkumbh, Chandrakant took me to introduce to another amazing young doctor, named Dr. Priyadarsh Vijay Ture. Dr. Ture’s dedication surely is praiseworthy because he decided to devote his services for the poor tribal villagers rather than work in some multi-speciality hospitals in cities. His dedicated service as the Medical Officer of PHC Katkumbh since April 2009 has saved many precious lives in the region from dangerous snake and deadly insect bites and other diseases.... round-the-clock this young doctor is at service as he lives in the hospital premise itself. Even though I was meeting him for the very first time, the instant bonding was really amazing! We were served nice breakfast by his loving mother and even shared few lovely moments with his few friends and family members. I wonder at times, how many unknown houses and beautiful homes have kept my share of food ready for me? Truly feel blessed for this unknown journey of destiny that Sai Baba has chalked out in such a way.

The amazing beauty of nature in Melghat...

Leaving Chilati with so many memorable moments and lovely interaction with so many villagers and children... I will definitely be visiting these remote villages more to provide whatever we can in near future once the Trust is registered... because ultimately, every project’s implementation needs huge funds to support and see thing get executed in perfection for the benefits of the poor villagers. Chandu dropped me at Paratwada bus station and after lunch, we parted with a promise to see more of each other in near future at the Dhadak Mohim, starting from July 20^th for three long months. Yes, I will be joining the dedicated force of Melghat Maitri along with Dr. Ture’s friends and volunteers from all over Maharastra and yes, few students from the US of A...

... concluding part!

THE NEW OLD WORLD OF INDIA: MELGHAT; District: AMRAVATI; Region: VIDARBHA; State: MAHARASTRA; INDIA - PART III

Chandrakant Jagdale of Melghat Maitri was a great company (with tons of information and stories to share) and so was the inquisitive MSW student Shrikant from Satara... the moment I waited for, the most during my stay at Chilati, was the time to go for sleep on the lovely ranch like wild amazing bed made of pure teakwood logs... unpolished and seasoned purely in jungle... Oh... I simply cannot tell you how beautiful and amazing was the sense to see the vast sky with infinite stars twinkling, dark clouds and bright moon playing hide & seek amidst the cool breeze and the silence of the jungle.... filled with sounds of frogs requesting the rain god and the sound of cricket!!!

The lovely bed under the sky

I would love to go back soon to Chilati to spend few more days to interact and explore all the 15 villages in the remote areas and study the problems of the Korku tribe... God willing, that will happen soon. The next day, Chandu took me to Rui Pathar village, which is considered to be a model village... Melghat Maitri had done some of the most amazing works in this village along with an amazing old American man named Harvey Toub... we interacted with couple of villagers and I came to know not long ago, women had to walk down the steep ghats to fetch drinking water from the only well... the treacherous terrain and the slippery way down really made me wonder how on the earth the women and the children (girls) used to carry water from the well up to their respective house all these years... every single day even when it rains heavily...

The Solar Unit @ Rui Pathar Village - Chandrakant standing with a villager

Chandrakant informed me that when they saw the ordeal, they decided to do something and with the help of the American, who visited then in 2008, first laid the foundation for Solar energy to light up the village... now the question came how this energy should benefit the villagers to save them from the daily ordeal. The 70 year-old American Harvey Toub raised the required funds for the whole project with technical assistance to establish Solar Energy unit to generate enough power so that water can be pumped from down to a water tank, from where villagers can collect drinking water with ease. Chandrakant informed that the willing support of the villagers and the vision of Harvey Toub (he left for heaven only recently) saw the unexpected being achieved. Instead of lighting up the whole houses of the village, the Solar Energy was used in an effective manner to solve the major problem and the streets were lighted to great happiness and benefit of the villagers of Rui Pathar.

I am really glad and grateful that through Ajay Saklani I met such wonderful people in Chandrakant, Madhu and Ram of Melghat Maitri during the journey of destiny... who have been doing exemplary work without really worrying about being written about their good work in the media. My goal, along with helping the poor villagers, is to highlight such inspiring stories to reach out to the world. Untold stories of inspiring people who have devoted their lives to see few more smiles on the faces of the poor are rare to be read in today’s media... but then, few good devoted people really don’t care about being written because they believe in doing things with their heart intact at the right place.

God bless the noble soul of Harvey Toub and also good work by Melghat Maitri... I sincerely salute you all from the bottom of my heart!

Cuidate :)

... to be continued...

THE NINTH BEAUTIFUL DOESN’T WISH TO BE CALLED AN...

Angels are visibly invisible!

Only those who are lucky or blessed can feel their presence by their side. Those who are more lucky and blessed do get to meet them in person, just like you meet another human being in your daily life. Angels are visibly invisible and I feel so-so honoured and blessed for being surrounded by so many beautiful angels... each one of them have flown from absolutely nowhere, when I look back in time.

Their invisibility makes their presence in our daily lives so visible that no naked eye can tell who is an angel in disguise of your life. The journey of destiny that started last year have seen beautiful angels flying from all over the place to lend their strong and kind support to the movement, strengthening the base to move one step at a time. One such individual, who has been following the journey of destiny since an early time, became my NINTH BEAUTIFUL... his only sincere request is that I shouldn’t use the word ‘angel’ for him... to respect his request, I am not using the word in this post. But for me he will always remain an ....

I really wonder what I should write about such a kind person, who has been there all along to lend his support and help for the movement. Appropriate words have not been invented for such an individual so I feel today when I am writing about him. The only thing I can say to him through this post is... thank you, thank you so-so very-very much for everything you have done to support the movement from the early days... truly-truly grateful for your kindness and compassion!

Sai Baba bless you always!

Cuidate :)

I am still waiting for my TENTH BEAUTIFUL ANGEL to arrive... I know Sai Baba will send one very soon as the long wait has been long enough now...

... to be continued...

THERE’S AN ANGEL

When the chips are down

The goings rough

Individuals break down

To curse their fate

Not knowing what to do next

Feeling all alone

Individuals sulk in solitude

Knowing well, even his shadow has deserted too!

Lifting up his low morale

Showing him number of open doors

All these while

An invisible angel assists him

With the chips all down

Individuals live in complete darkness

Far away from the world

In the big, small world

The angel treads swiftly

Showing the trickle of light

Brightening his dark world

A will to live enlivens the individual

Overcoming obstacles with new confidence

Life starts to roll once again

With the will to strive

The individual excels with a new vigour

Smile takes over the frowns

As failures turn steadily into success

The angel moves aside

As individuals walk again in lost pride

To thank the invisible angel

There are a very few individuals

Maybe difficult but it’s true

There’s an angel always by your side

Johnny D    

17^th November 2007  

52 YEAR-OLD FARMER, TWICE SARPANCH COMMITS SUICIDE DUE TO FAULTY UNION & STATE GOVERNMENTS’ POLICIES

As per the reports published in the daily The Hitavada dated 2^nd July 2011, a progressive farmer Subhash Baliram Kharode (52 yrs) from village Raundala hanged self near Vasantrao Naik Vidyalaya due to the policies of the Union and the State Governments. Police recovered the dying declaration of the deceased farmer on a stamp paper blaming the government for faulty policies.

Late Subhash Baliram Kharode was elected twice as Village Sarpanch (Head) and had successfully implemented “Jalswarjya Scheme” at the village. As per the report, the deceased was worried and tense about negligible rates being fixed by the government for agriculture produce. He hanged self and his body was found hanging from a neem tree near the school. He declared on the stamp paper that he took the drastic step due to the wrong policies of governments and that the governments of the Union and the State are responsible for his suicide.

The deceased leaves behind a son and a daughter to mourn his demise. One wonders, if the police will take up the case against the Union and the State Governments to provide justice to the deceased farmer... will the PM of India & the CM of Maharastra stand on the trial for murder of a farmer?

MEET THE AMAZING EIGHTH ANGEL

As I had mentioned in my last post, I am here to tell you about this young amazing angel, my EIGHTH BEAUTIFUL ANGEL... Meet Ankit Tulsyan!

From the previous post (The SEVENTH ANGEL):

Through Swapnil Barai, I came in contact with a very bright young guy named Ankit Tulsyan from Pune. His enthusiasm to help the cause and movement or any social relevant causes was really infectious... mails were exchanged and soon we were interacting over phone. His support meant a great source of encouragement and that whenever it will be required, he will always be there. I could see right through his voice that this was not merely an assurance (as most would give) but he meant every single word he was saying. We had great interaction over phones and he led me to many contacts during this journey. There is more to this young man... which I shall write very soon...

I still remember the way he sounded the first time we spoke... what enthusiasm and what all he plans to better the society at large... honestly, I have never met someone so young and so much enthusiasm to do everything possible to better lives of the poor. He works for Thermax in Pune and I have met twice so far and do often keep in touch over phone. And when I met him for the very first time in Pune last year... the night seemed short for our discussion on various issues, from farmers’ suicide to problems in the villages to urban problems... it sure was one of the most interesting sessions I have ever had with someone who was so keen and passionate to be part of the movement. He has lent me great support and many contacts as I had mentioned previously.

Ankit has also started an amazing enterprise to bring all the passionate youth in a nouvelle way:

Renaissance – India (http://www.renaissance-india.org/) : The Organization envisions building a unified collaborative platform involving youth and the different development stakeholders so as to prevent repetitive and fragmented effort. The sole mission is rejuvenating Rural India!

At such a young age, if this man has a vision to unite the youth to strengthen the rural India, imagine how passionately he must be thinking about his beloved nation. For this great effort, I salute this young man from the bottom of my heart for his amazing endeavour! In spite of being a busy professional, Ankit is always networking with the like-minded people to strength his core group and interacting with well-known social activists and worker all over India and abroad.

Well, when I approached him with my mail, he was too happy to be part of the movement and without any hesitation said – “Sure brother!” I really have no words (even though I have written so much) to tell Ankit what it means to have someone like him supporting the movement with so much passion. I am sure in coming years, we all will see this young man raise to a higher platform with his visionary ideas doing a lot for the nation. Thank you so much Ankit for being my EIGHTH BEAUTIFUL ANGEL... truly, I am grateful to you for your kind support and all the help... Sai Baba bless you always!

Cuidate :)

... to be continued...

नन्हा सा बीज

(ON REQUEST: English translation is given below the Original for Global Readers)

नन्हा सा बीज,

खिलता है छोटे से अंकुर में...

हौसला तो देख इसका 'डी',

बरसों तक खड़ा रहता है शान से...  

--- स्वरचित ---

A tiny seed,

sprouts into a little plant...

Look at the courage 'd',

It stands tall for ages majestically...

Johnny D

27th June 2011

MEET THE YOUNG SEVENTH ANGEL

Through Swapnil Barai, I came in contact with a very bright young guy named Ankit Tulsyan from Pune. His enthusiasm to help the cause and movement or any social relevant causes was really infectious... mails were exchanged and soon we were interacting over phone. His support meant a great source of encouragement and that whenever it will be required, he will always be there. I could see right through his voice that this was not merely an assurance (as most would give) but he meant every single word he was saying. We had great interaction over phones and he led me to many contacts during this journey. There is more to this young man... which I shall write very soon...

I visited Pune last year to have a one-to-one session with Ankit to talk about the “11 District Vidarbha Run” to spread awareness among villagers and raise funds for the movement (it has been postponed for the time being) and it is here I was introduced to another interesting young chemical engineer named Nikunj Jain... I still remember very distinctively that Nikunj was a very silent listener and eager to know more about my movement. Both the young professionals (Ankit & Nikunj) were very-very enthusiastic to do something for the poor villagers... they listened patiently, shared their ideas and promised whatever help they could, they will lend when time comes.

It surely was a very long night discussing all about the movement and what the future plans would be with the two... their enthusiasm was really amazing in many aspects and I am glad to share beautiful interaction with both of them. While, I was on and off in contact with Ankit through mails, SMS and mails... I didn’t hear anything from Nikunj... After many months later, one fine day, I received a call from Nikunj informing me that he has joined IOCL and is now based in Baroda (Vadodra)... we got connected on Facebook and were since then in regular touch.

When I visited Gujarat recently in April, I travelled to Baroda to meet Nikunj. It was a very short meeting but it was lovely to meet again after many months. Ankit couldn’t join us, even though he is also in Gujarat on official visit. When I approached Nikunj with the mail to be one of the angels, his mail with the BIG YES really touched me! He was very happy to be part of the movement and said – “Johnny I will be glad!”

What is interesting to note for the world about this young angel is that he wants to do and knows that the countrymen needs the support of each and every individual. The will to do at such a young age is truly commendable of Nikunj... trust me, it is indeed a great sacrifice for all these young beautiful angels, who have come forward to support me. I am really proud of all of them because they are aware of the ground situation and want to see the change for the poor villagers to become self-reliant in near future. Most of them do often tell me that wish they could take the bold step to leave everything and follow their heart... but, they have their own responsibilities towards their immediate family. However, they have not stopped to do whatever they can in their capacity and they are doing it silently.

I am really proud of all such youngsters who are doing a lot in their own capacity wherever they are. I wish to tell this young beautiful angel that I am grateful to know him and his kind support and help will surely go a very long way. Thank you so very much Nikunj... Sai Baba bless you always!

Cuidate :)

... to be continued...