#MyGivingStoryIndia

I feel proud to be associated with a NGO struggling hard to preserve our traditional Bhajan (which is disappearing since the Bollywood remix music is catching heartstrings of youngsters) & to encourage experts in this field by organization of Bhajan Competition since my childhood i.e. last 23 years. A bhajan literally means "sharing" & has no prescribed form, or set rules, is in free form, normally lyrical and based on melodic ragas. Bhajan texts are often didactic and autobiographical. The former suggest idealized behaviors for bhaktas (devotees) to imitate, while the latter cite examples from the lives of famous bhaktas such as Mirabai. Sometimes, deities such as Krishna or Rāma are the subject of bhajan texts, with stories from their lives as examples for devotees. It belongs to a genre of music & arts that developed with Bhakti movement. Ideas from scriptures, legendary epics, the teachings of saints & loving devotion to a deity are the typical subjects of bhajans. The saints of the Bhakti movement are credited with pioneering many forms of bhajans, but bhajans have been widely composed anonymously & shared as a musical & arts tradition.. Some Bhajan songs are centuries old, popular on a pan-regional basis, passed down as a community tradition, while others are newly composed. Everyone in Hindu tradition is free to compose a Bhajan with whatever ideas or in praise of any deity of their wish, but since they are sung, they typically follow meters of classical Indian music, the raga and the tala to go with the musical instruments. Bhajans have been influenced at various times by the teachings of saints such as Chaitanya, Haridas, Tulsidas, Soordas, Mira, and Kabir, whose songs are still sung today. They form a part of contemporary Hinduism. I will request you to give helping had to this NGO who has clear vision for welfare of our society as a whole.

I was blessed to have witnessed first hand the birthing of my child. There is nothing in my life that has measured up to the intensity of it, so much as to make it a truly divine experience. Our daughter Inaya was born at home (In London the medical system encourages home deliveries) amongst fantastic medical facilities setup for us. We realize we are lucky to have the choice and the resources to make it safe right through the delivery and provide the best for our children in their first and very important years. Today, Our daughter is a healthy & charming three-year-old. I do realize that not all pregnant women, babies and children around the world are as lucky. In my own hometown in Mumbai, only 50% of women receive antenatal care and one in four children are malnourished. I have always been keen to contribute to the health of the underprivileged and that is when I came across SNEHA. A remarkable organization founded by doctors and pediatricians, SNEHA works with 2 lakh marginalized people every year. SNEHA offers health education and counseling to pregnant women and mothers of young children and improves government systems, to deliver better quality services to women and children. It has helped over 52,000 pregnant women with high-risk complications to deliver safely through its referral networks and has screened over 42,500 children for malnutrition. I have run a couple of marathons to raise funds for SNEHA and it has been immensely satisfying to contribute to such a great cause. On a personal level, I have spent time with their dedicated staff who go about doing their work in a selfless, motivated manner. I would be immensely obliged if you could ‘give’ to SNEHA, however small the amount, so that they can continue their incredible work and reach and support many more women and children in realizing good health and potential. Just like my Inaya, all children deserve a healthy and well-nourished childhood! You can donate here: https://www.smallchange.ngo/ngos/sneha/

We are the members of AJSA (Anchalika Jana Seva Anusthan ) celebrating Daan Utsav at Govindpur primary school of Sonepur district Odisha on the third day of #DaanUtsav. We have chosen this school because this school have 5 classes with a single teacher. And our members of AJSA happily joined in the school to spare some time with school children and provide them some knowledge on cleanliness and how the students can maintain their health and hygiene as well as their family members. Besides the students gathered the knowledge on environment protection and the benefits of plantation form our team members. Our operational area is coming under western Odisha the most backword tribal prone KBK regions of Odisha, India. And the tribal population have the least access of all regular services like pure drinking water health services and education facilities. Despite establishment of Govt. school buildings & temporary huts where schools run in verandas of households. The teachers are not regular due to lack of proper monitoring particularly girls education is in a dilapidated stage. No Government employee’s usually visit to those villages to improve the livelihood condition of poorest of poor sections. In a result, a 10th grade students can’t spell the spelling of Elephant. In this context AJSA Odisha started its initiative of Bridge School to combat against the situation of poor education. With the initiative of “Bridge School”programme, now around 1600 tribal children, migrant, SC & ST and Child Labour are getting basic education and the new perspective of education in the tribal villages of Bangomunda, Balangir and the scenario of the Bridge School areas has been changed. We are giving more emphasis to educate the girl child and school dropout/child labours of the tribal communities and bringing them to the forefront of the development.

I completed my education by selling flowers & garlands due to financial crises of my family. As such, I used to support such students. I got opportunity to visit Pragat Vidya Mandir, Village Ramgad, Taluka Malvan, Dist. Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, India with the NGO viz. VIJAY KRIDA MANDAL to felicitate the student viz. Ms. Pratibha Parab (who was being supported by this NGO under Educational Sponsorship Scheme from 5th to 10th Std.) for securing 94.20 % marks in S. S. C. Examination & first rank in school. Total 3 students of this school secured more than 90 % marks in S. S. C. Examination. I feel proud that my contribution is going for the needy & talented students who perhaps could not avail this facility. I would like to appeal all to donate for this noble cause of Educational Sponsorship Program for students of rural areas.

The episode that I recall doesn’t involve passing of any material goods but more of wisdom. This is a conversation that I had with a village elderly in Kesave village, Barauni, Bihar during my post-graduation at Institute of Rural Management Anand. I was in deep anguish over the corruption that I observed in the village institutions. Rajnarayan Singh, our host in the village would talk to us every day about our experiences and observations. That day he heard my outburst and said something, which has stayed with me as a talisman. He said, the roots of corruption are very deep; if you go to fight it you may feel exhausted and discouraged after some time. What you could do is plant a seed of integrity next to it and nurture it with all the energy, conviction and love that you can muster. One day your sapling will also grow into an equally mighty and robust tree, the benefits of which humanity and society shall reap. Working on migration and labour issues when India is seeking faster growth rates and higher FDI by relaxing labour protection norms has not been easy. Our endeavor to find voice, visibility, dignity and safety for migrant workers is our little seed that we hope will grow and guide us on a more rewarding path.