Dear Friends,
This is an email from a good friend of mine who doesnt stop with words - he acts in whatever way it is possible for him to. His house in Bangalore is not connected to grid - he runs the entire house on solar power. People like him should be the role models for us and our children. . . .
Regards
Rams.
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Email from Mr.Chocklingam, Bangalore. I have always felt strongly about the absence of social security in our country.
In spite of our government, we still have the millions who go hungry because they do not have a chance. They have given up their possessions for our factories, dams, highways and all else that make up our development, civilization etc.
Why aren't these displaced and those who were not placed to fend for themselves by birth, be given the basics?
In our history we have read about
chatrams where the traveler rests for the nights and the temple
mandapams where the elderly and not so able rest during the heat of the day or stretch their tired legs for the night.
The temples and chatrams fed them too.
It is this, that charmed me, and left an immeasurable goodness deep inside me when I visited Shimoga, Sringeri and the Horanadu Annapoorneshwari temple a few days back.
We stayed with a Brahmin Family in their ancestral house in their 17 acre farm.
They treated our taxi driver the same way that they did us; as Athithi (guest).
This driver ate with us and used the same toilet as we did.
We had our lunch at the Annapoorneshwari temple after the darshan and were struck by the fact that there were about 200 during darshan and about a thousand for the lunch.
One could see all kinds of people irrespective of community religion or class partaking food together.
We were served food not as charity but with care and supervision, with the three courses of sambar, rasam and majjige not to forget the payasam.
This is the tradition you find in Darmathala, Kadri, Udupi, Kollur, Sringeri etc.
This sounds magical to me because these are not sponsored by the Government but are community initiatives.
Why cant we do this in our neighbourhoods?
My friend Shiv asked me if we mind doing it in a Madrasa for girls. Why not? Given the opportunity, We should grab it.
We have taken this forward in Coimbatore and Nachandupatti, where Sivanadian Chettiar was born, under the aegis of his trust.
The Coimbatore initiative is through a local temple where the daily prasadam is given in larger quantity as a start. It costs about Rs.300 per day.
In Nachandu patti the plan is to feed the elderly who are not able to cook a meal by themselves and hence the local "mess" is engaged to deliver the meals to the elderly at their homes every noon. This will cost us about Rs.350 a day.
We have taken on a budget that we can afford and one could suit a plan to one's budget.
This could also be a collective initiative.
I would like this to happen in Bangalore as well with some help.
In these hard times when a lot of displacement and dislocation is taking place these efforts will go a long way in the lives of millions. If a few hundred of us who have earned off this society can use this
give-back-time, we can consider ours, a civilised society for being civil is to put the other person first in your considerations.
The
Vedas ask us to consider following persons as father,
One who has given this
jeeva (life),
One who has given
Vidya (Knowledge),
One who has given the motivation or encouragement and
One who has given
anna (food).
If one who has fed me is to be my father, then he cannot take money for that.
That is perhaps why we never had hotels in this country untill the British brought with themselves the
Public houses and restaurants.
Best,
Chocku
