Gandhi was born 150 years ago this month. As we travelled the country, we found that Gandhi lives on.
An anecdote from two weeks ago: We were coming home in a cab from the airport, close to midnight. A woman in traditional garb was walking down a quiet and otherwise empty residential street, a cloth grocery bag in her hands. What struck us was that she was not walking in that hurried manner so typical of a late-night city dweller rushing to catch the last metro, just a casual pace. She was not glancing over her shoulder. It appeared that she was headed home but was not fearful for her safety. Gandhiji supposedly said that “India will have true Swaraj (will truly be free) when the women feel safe to walk in the streets of India in the midnight”. We saw this that evening. Gandhiji lives on…
Yes, we do realize that all is not rosy in the world that most people live in. Yes, the screaming headlines of the daily news do contain a kernel of facts. What we choose to focus on is the Gandhi that lives on in everyday lives, among unsung heroes and in things we take for granted that happen around us each day.
A woman that we met runs a shelter for at-risk young women. She is so passionate about her calling that she funds the shelter when needed, from the meager salary that her kind-hearted husband brings home after a long day’s work. Due to changes in the administration, there were significant delays in the shelter receiving government funds. When we asked if there was a chance that the shelter would have to close, she defiantly brought out her only ornament, a thin gold chain, looked up like a tigress guarding her cubs and said that she’d rather sell her mangalasutram than close the shelter. She cared enough about the unfortunate young women that happened to find a safe haven in the shelter that she was prepared to do what is considered the ultimate sacrifice of a married woman in India: sell her mangalasutram, given to her at her wedding. These sheltered girls and young women were not related to her and till they showed up at the doorstep, they were complete strangers! Gandhiji lives on…
We met a man that has dedicated most of his adult life to serve people that were unrelated to him. He intentionally chose to work with people that were born into the lower strata of the society, people that Gandhiji respectfully called Harijan (loved by God), traditionally the most oppressed castes. Over the past four decades, this servant leader’s efforts have led to the elimination of untouchability, availability of basic necessities of a modern life, reduction (and in some cases elimination) of corruption, uplifting of these people to self-sufficiency and a sense of pride in themselves and their heritage. He built a competent team that enthusiastically pays forward daily the benefits that they received, to their larger rural communities. Even today, they serve about 3,000 rural women entrepreneurs with impeccable paperwork to enable micro-finance loans from banks, thus making lasting changes in the lives of these families. And they do it with care, professionalism and totally free. Gandhiji lives on…
We shared with you the story of another socially-awakened person, the one that we called ‘The Boy That Could Sew’. Here we found not just one caring person, but a team of professionals that cared deeply about helping people. We met a physician that came as an intern for one year and has stayed on for five, just because of the impact that his work has on the community everyday. Then there is the software engineer who came in for a one-year assignment to create materials for outreach to the community. She loved the work so much that she made it a pre-condition to her marriage: she’d continue working (for low pay) with this team and that her future husband and in-laws should not expect that she’d earn the lucrative salary of a corporate software engineer. Luckily, the bridegroom agreed, and they are happily married, four years and counting. Here and at many other places, we met many young professionals that are committing to a life of service fully aware of the loss in their potential earnings, yet caring more about the communities that they serve. Gandhiji lives on…
A family decided to open up their home to total strangers each week for an hour of meditation followed by an hour of discussion, topped with delicious food. Nearly two decades later, the tradition continues and has blossomed into Awakin Circles the world over. Nothing expected in return for total and unconditional giving. Gandhiji lives on…
This past Friday, it was raining and the Farmers’ Market opened late. The woman farmer did not have enough sales to make change for a high denomination Rupee note (bill) that this obviously new customer presented to her. “No worries,” she said, “just pay me when you’re done shopping at the other stores”. The man asked a couple times, “are you sure?” and went on his way. It was dusk, there was a light rain, the two were obviously unfamiliar with each other. The customer could have walked away with a basket full of vegetables and no one would have been able to pin him down. While we were still shopping at the store, the man returned with the appropriate change and paid the farmer. The amount was not huge – but in real terms, it probably was all the profit that this woman farmer was going to earn that evening. Still, she trusted this unknown customer. Trust in established relationships forms the basis for business – yes, for all human interactions. But in a transactional setting, such trust – and at a scale that probably meant the farmer’s family fasting that night – such trust touched us several times all over the country. When we shared this story with a friend, he shrugged and said, sure, such interactions happen everyday. And we were all the happier to hear that! Let’s celebrate such trust among humans based solely on the human-ness, not dependent on contracts and courts. When that customer returned to pay the farmer, the word that came to mind was “Satya”… Gandhiji lives on….
EDIT:
Moments after we announced this post, a dear friend shared with us, news about a Maharashtra man with Rs 3 in his pocket that just yesterday returned Rs 40,000 lying at Bus Stop, and refused any cash reward. Gandhiji lives on…
