When I wrote my recent post titled ‘The Thrill’ I never expected to encounter someone who would perfectly prove the point I was trying to make.
She’s young, she’s charming, she’s educated and she comes from a very well-to-do family. It was her mom’s birthday last Sunday and it would be quite normal to expect her to be in a D&G or DKNY Tee, Levis jeans, sporting a Gucci bag and shopping for a gift or with friends trying to organise a party at a happening place.
She was with a few friends alright but doing exactly what she was not supposed to and the joy on her face was unmistakable. She was working on a Sunday, garnering support for an institution which helps senior citizens who either have no one to turn to or still worse, have been abandoned by their kith and kin.
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon for me but a busy one for her. She wanted to do her best coz her effort that day was to be dedicated to her mom on her birthday.
The moment Komal started speaking I could sense the genuineness in what she was saying. My reaction to such institutions and people has over time been clouded by the things I have read and heard about them. In most cases these turn out to be fronts which are created for embezzling funds from innocent citizens. I was willing to hear her out but not before subjecting her to some scathing remarks. I told her that I find working for an NGO becoming more of a fashion statement than a social service these days. I also wanted to know how long she will continue to do this work and how much of what she does actually reaches the people. Bottom-line was that I wanted to ensure it was not just the case of a pretty face charming her way into garnering some charity.
I asked what prompted her to take up work with the institution. She endearingly replied by saying that she already had two earning members in her family and this allowed her the luxury of taking up such a job. Komal also mentioned that she had learnt a lot by seeing the way her parents treat her grandparents.
If this sounds like a testimonial for Komal, you bet it is. We need more young people like her to work for the cause of senior citizens. We seem to live in times when we religiously do pooja to our cars and machines on Dussehra and shamelessly forget to worship those who gave us birth and sacrificed their joys just so that we have a good future.
In the coming weeks I will endeavor to fix up a meeting between Komal and Nihira (an accomplished singer and my Spanish teacher) to try and organize a small musical evening at the old age home Komal works with. Nihira has already agreed to sing for this worthy cause and I need to coordinate with Komal the possibility and logistics of such an event. When this happens be sure to read a post about it. Adios for now.
She’s young, she’s charming, she’s educated and she comes from a very well-to-do family. It was her mom’s birthday last Sunday and it would be quite normal to expect her to be in a D&G or DKNY Tee, Levis jeans, sporting a Gucci bag and shopping for a gift or with friends trying to organise a party at a happening place.
She was with a few friends alright but doing exactly what she was not supposed to and the joy on her face was unmistakable. She was working on a Sunday, garnering support for an institution which helps senior citizens who either have no one to turn to or still worse, have been abandoned by their kith and kin.
It was a lazy Sunday afternoon for me but a busy one for her. She wanted to do her best coz her effort that day was to be dedicated to her mom on her birthday.
The moment Komal started speaking I could sense the genuineness in what she was saying. My reaction to such institutions and people has over time been clouded by the things I have read and heard about them. In most cases these turn out to be fronts which are created for embezzling funds from innocent citizens. I was willing to hear her out but not before subjecting her to some scathing remarks. I told her that I find working for an NGO becoming more of a fashion statement than a social service these days. I also wanted to know how long she will continue to do this work and how much of what she does actually reaches the people. Bottom-line was that I wanted to ensure it was not just the case of a pretty face charming her way into garnering some charity.
I asked what prompted her to take up work with the institution. She endearingly replied by saying that she already had two earning members in her family and this allowed her the luxury of taking up such a job. Komal also mentioned that she had learnt a lot by seeing the way her parents treat her grandparents.
If this sounds like a testimonial for Komal, you bet it is. We need more young people like her to work for the cause of senior citizens. We seem to live in times when we religiously do pooja to our cars and machines on Dussehra and shamelessly forget to worship those who gave us birth and sacrificed their joys just so that we have a good future.
In the coming weeks I will endeavor to fix up a meeting between Komal and Nihira (an accomplished singer and my Spanish teacher) to try and organize a small musical evening at the old age home Komal works with. Nihira has already agreed to sing for this worthy cause and I need to coordinate with Komal the possibility and logistics of such an event. When this happens be sure to read a post about it. Adios for now.
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