I ended my last post with what do we believe strongly in our urge to build the nation. To eliminate the dismal statistics that present itself as follows
41% of Indian children dont study upto class 5 , compared to 25% in Burkina Faso
65% Indian Adult Literacy rate compared to 68% in Uganda
We rank below 100 in the Human Development Index
We cant provide the basics of water, electricity and food to number that is the size of UK and US put together.
I used the word 'we' because we are part of India. We cant blame the system. We see poverty on the street but waste food. Sometimes we feel city poverty is self inflicted , so take that road trip from Mumbai . Instead of Lavasa go to Latur to see what a real farm looks like. One Starbucks coffee can feed a family for 2 days.
Yes there are many 'what an idea sirjee' moments like keeping a free refrigerator outside a hotel for people to eat leftover food. There are missions and foundations who are institutionalizing such approaches connecting donors to the needy or providing vocational training to people without access to education and finding them employment.
But those moments are so far and few between. Thats because not many of us have had that moment where we see the futility of the goals we set for ourselves. Even if we see it and have the urge , the magnitude of the task is overwhelming and you move on to the next goal or destination.
We all get that Nudge. But we want to remove poverty by sitting on an armchair. Monetary contribution is easy, contribution of time is difficult, change is possible at a micro level but macro level transformation is elusive. And most of us dont have a front seat view on what is really needed because we have never spent 1 week doing something. Yes people take the first step by volunteering, some take a step by sabbaticals and then decide whats next.
This is the Nudge worthy moment from the movie Swades. Swades gave us back Shahrukh the actor who was held hostage by Chopra-Johar camp.The original peddler of the NRI dream was back from NASA to help his loved ones in India. In the village he sees the poverty and decides to make a difference by bringing electricity to the village using his engineering degree to good use.
Earnest direction by Ashutosh Gowariker helped us focus on tender emotional moments.
The other scene I really like in the movie, is the scene where the electricity in the village lights up the bulb in a poor villagers home. There are wrinkles on her face , there is some hope but not much, she is more surprised than happy or almost emotionless. Of course they deserve better.
41% of Indian children dont study upto class 5 , compared to 25% in Burkina Faso
65% Indian Adult Literacy rate compared to 68% in Uganda
We rank below 100 in the Human Development Index
We cant provide the basics of water, electricity and food to number that is the size of UK and US put together.
I used the word 'we' because we are part of India. We cant blame the system. We see poverty on the street but waste food. Sometimes we feel city poverty is self inflicted , so take that road trip from Mumbai . Instead of Lavasa go to Latur to see what a real farm looks like. One Starbucks coffee can feed a family for 2 days.
But those moments are so far and few between. Thats because not many of us have had that moment where we see the futility of the goals we set for ourselves. Even if we see it and have the urge , the magnitude of the task is overwhelming and you move on to the next goal or destination.
We all get that Nudge. But we want to remove poverty by sitting on an armchair. Monetary contribution is easy, contribution of time is difficult, change is possible at a micro level but macro level transformation is elusive. And most of us dont have a front seat view on what is really needed because we have never spent 1 week doing something. Yes people take the first step by volunteering, some take a step by sabbaticals and then decide whats next.
This is the Nudge worthy moment from the movie Swades. Swades gave us back Shahrukh the actor who was held hostage by Chopra-Johar camp.The original peddler of the NRI dream was back from NASA to help his loved ones in India. In the village he sees the poverty and decides to make a difference by bringing electricity to the village using his engineering degree to good use.
Earnest direction by Ashutosh Gowariker helped us focus on tender emotional moments.
The other scene I really like in the movie, is the scene where the electricity in the village lights up the bulb in a poor villagers home. There are wrinkles on her face , there is some hope but not much, she is more surprised than happy or almost emotionless. Of course they deserve better.
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