PANCHAAMRITAM 275
(pancha is five in samskritam; amritam is nectar)
Amavaasya /
Kali Yugabda 5117 / Manmatha Aani 1 (June 16, 2015)
ONE
Forty three years back, when I
assumed office as the Headmaster of the government primary school, a cattle-shed
behind the Lord Murugan temple in Andarkuppam in Solavaram Panchayat Union
(Tamilnadu, Bharat) served as the school. The premises doubled as a school
during the day and cattle shed in the night. School started work at nine in the
morning. The 40 students and the two teachers followed the routine of removing
cow dung and sweeping the floor in the mornings. Children were made to sit on
wooden planks and listen to their class. The school needed a building.
Government funds were not available. Saminatha Iyer, the owner of the cattle
shed, donated Rs 100. We went door to door through the village. Every family
pitched in with paddy, tamarind, chillie, groundnut, etc., by way of donation.
We encashed every such item at the Nadar provision store. We added our own
contribution to it and gave it to G.K. Naidu, the richest agriculturist in the
village who constructed the school building with it. He said at this juncture, “I could have borne
the entire cost, but it would not have had the desired effect. Now, every
student would proudly own up the school saying ‘at least a few bricks donated
by my grandfather have gone into the building’ and would thus be keen to keep
it safe and clean”. The students did. Today it is a High School offering
quality education to 600 students. (From a Tamil book ‘TEN PLUS SEVEN EQUALS
EIGHTEEN’ authored by Lion M. Muralidharan).
TWO
Thirty
boys at SOS Youth House, SOS Children’s Village, Kochi (Kerala, Bharat),
volunteered to donate a good part of their monthly personal allowances towards
assistance for the people of Uttarakhand, who are currently suffering because
of the floods caused by the recent heavy rainfall. The boys took this
opportunity to be able to do something in return for the society which has
always helped them in one way or the other. Together, they collected a sum of
Rs 3,000. Thirteen of these boys representing the youth house together with Head
Boy Anand C S, went to the Collectorate and handed over the money to district
collector Sheikh Pareeth. He congratulated the kids for their generous act.
This contribution to the Uttarakhand relief fund made the kids realise the need
of social work and generosity towards whoever is in need of help. (A report
by Smt Nandini Krishnan in THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS (Kochi), July 14, 2013).
THREE
Shri
Chandramouli, a cop-turned-real estate dealer, came from Nagapattinam to Chennai
on to hand over a petition to the Chief Minister. He ended up helping a fellow
petitioner in dire need. While waiting for his turn in the waiting area near
the Chief Minister's special cell, he noticed an agitated old woman. She was
telling the Secretariat Security something and was not very coherent. When he
enquired, a police officer told him that the woman had come from Periyakulam
and did not have money to go home. "I was thinking: God! one more
problem," the Sub-Inspector told The Hindu . "I should go to the
Transport Minister's office and request his staff for a pass for the woman.
They may or may not oblige." That was when Mr. Chandramouli stepped in.
Without a second thought, he gave Rs. 220 to the woman. When asked what made
him do that, he said that the woman's need seemed genuine. "Tears welled
up in her eyes. Her lips were quivering and she could not speak coherently. I
have been a cop. You cannot act up such emotions," he said. The
Secretariat Security officials said that they routinely had to deal with women
in a similar situation. "They come here with a lot of faith and hope and
very little money," said another policeman. More often than not, the women
cops collect money from their colleagues to send them home. "There is no
mechanism to deal with such cases. We collect Rs. 10 or Rs. 20 from our
colleagues and send them home," says a woman constable. (A report by Shri R.K. Radhakrishnan in THE
HINDU, June 9, 2005).
FOUR
At
a time when one feels ashamed or even embarrassed because of the crimes and
misdoings shown by most news channels, Doordarshan’s News has launched a
programme that will bring out the brighter side of life. The first episode of
Good News India,which is aired every Sunday at 9.30 pm, went on air on 31 May.
The special bulletin differs from other news bulletins, as it will carry
stories, which may inspire and motivate people. The stories to be screened will
be about individuals or organizations that are doing something of value to
society and thereby setting an example for others to follow. It may be recalled
that earlier this year, Dainik Bhaskar too launched a similar initiative
wherein the newspaper said that it would refrain from printing negative news on
Mondays. (http://www.indiantelevision.com/ -- June 3, 2015).
FIVE
A
probationary officer with State Bank of India, Selvi NL Beno Zephine of Chennai
(Tamilnadu, Bharat) has a big list of well-wishers she wants to thank. Besides
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this
included Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, External Affairs Minister
Sushma Swaraj, Central Ministers Jitendra Singh (PMO) and Pon Radhakrishnan,
among others. She is a visually impaired woman from Tamil Nadu, who is all set
to become the first IFS officer. With 100 per cent visual impairment, says she
is raring to go around the globe representing India. The 25 -year-old Zephine
received orders from the Central government last week asking her to report
within 60 days. Zephine is first visually impaired IFS officer. Zephine said
she was told that the encouraging policy of the Narendra Modi's government had
helped in overcoming any possible procedural delays in her appointment. Zephine
credits her parents for what she has achieved, saying her father took her
wherever she wanted to go in pursuit of her dreams and managing to buy every
other book for this purpose. Her mother would assist her in studying the books,
sometimes reading them aloud. Zephine is now pursuing a Ph.D degree. (PTI
June 15, 2015).
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