This is a collection of inspiring and motivational short
stories which I have posted on my Facebook page. Every story gives a distinctly
positive message. Enjoy reading the volume #8 of this collection.
1.
As small children, we all went to one-day excursion trips to
museums, Zoo parks and historical monuments during our school days. The
memories of these trips remain etched in our minds for a long time.
However, we rarely hear of ‘senior citizens’ going for an
organized excursion.
Recently, a group of 53 senior citizens, including 34 women
and 19 men, all above 60 years of age, was taken to the campus of a private
college of education on a trip organized by BJP Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai
Khanna, who has adopted a village Adamwal in Punjab, for development under PM's
Adarsh Sansad Yojana.
And they all had lots of fun.
They were taken to computer labs of the institute and asked
to name a place they wished to see. The oldest among them, 100-year-old Taro
wondered if he could see the birthplace of Baba Nanak in Pakistan. "I
always wished to see the place, but could never do so," he added.
As students opened Nankana Sahib Gurdwara in Pakistan on Google Earth, Taro
kneeled before the computer to pay obeisance.
It raised curiosity in Parkash Ram, 82, who asked if he
could see Lahore where he was born. As images of Lahore flashed on the screen,
he identified an old area. He said he had visited it often and memories of his
teenage life before migrating to India in 1947 were refreshed.
Students credited 'Google Baba' for the miracle.
Next, they were shown the college gymnasium. Channa, 75, worked out on all the
machines. "I have been hearing a lot from youngsters about the gym, but
had never been to any. I always wanted to see how people exercised on them. It
was a long cherished dream," he said.
Khanna was very happy to see the joyous expressions on the faces of the senior
citizens. He said, "I had planned this trip as I thought that just
improving the amenities or infrastructure was not enough. These elderly people
should see something new and I wanted them to have an interaction with young
people."
Later, it was the students' turn to ask them questions about their experiences.
The visitors shared what they had seen in schools decades ago and what they saw
now. The elders urged students to prefer joint families. As the visit ended
with a sumptuous lunch, an old woman remarked, "It feels as if I am
feasting at a grandchild's marriage."
True … old age is but a reflection of childhood.
One becomes a dependent again and derives happiness from
relatively inexpensive things.
The pure happiness…!
2.
We all have heard of inspiring stories about how ‘not giving
up’ has helped some people to achieve success. The prominent stories in this
category are of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Alva Edison, Walt Disney … and so on.
However, in our day-to-day life too, we can see people
around us who have attained success after many failures. One such person is
Jamil Shah.
He ran away from his home in Bihar at the age of 10, because
he did not have money to buy a pen.
He sold mobile covers at VT station in Mumbai for his
survival.
He was duped of his entire savings of Rs.25,000/-.
He did odd jobs in Bangalore.
One day his friend took him to a ‘Salsa dance class’. He
loved it.
He thought of making ‘dancing shoes’, which were only
imported then … in year 2000.
After some failures, he could make good dancing shoes.
Today, he is the most
sought after dancing-shoe-supplier to the Bollywood. So much so, Hritik Roshan
and Priyanka Chopra have worn his shoes. He has his own workshop in Dharavi.
Well, success does not always come from expected route at
expected time, like the city buses. One has to keep exploring those moments …
with hidden messages, and capitalize on the gut feeling.
Of course, the other essential ingredients like hard work,
sincerity, honesty, passion and self-belief are required as well, to script a
success story.
3.
We all have heard the famous proverb, ‘Where there is a
will, there is a way’. The residents of Domlur stage II in Bangalore proved
this recently.
It so happened that a large plot of land, measuring 14,000
square feet, at the junction of 3rd and 4th main, was in a state of sheer
neglect. The civic authorities did not bother to keep it clean, and the
unscrupulous builders threw construction waste and debris all over the place.
The residents association requested the concerned authorities several times to
develop the plot as a children’s park / playground, but no one paid any
attention.
Finally, vexed up with the indifferent attitude of
authorities, they asked the authorities for approval to develop the plot
without any assistance from the government. Reluctantly, the authorities gave
them the approval.
And that triggered a sort of mass movement among all the
residents. Every one, young and old, pitched in with his contribution. Some
paid money, some spent hours at the site supervising the construction works.
After working tirelessly for 45 days and spending around 6
lakh rupees, the plot was converted into a beautiful children’s playground with
slides, swings and see-saw.
Even the authorities themselves are surprised to see the
development happen at such incredible pace.
This incident proves five fundamental proverbs, which all of
us have heard several times before …
There is a strength in unity
Where there is a will, there is a way
God helps them, who help themselves
Most difficult tasks can be achieved with focus and
determination
And lastly,
Self-belief is necessary to achieve anything in life.
4.
When the livelihood is difficult, life becomes cheap.
Well, that is what we can infer from the fact that, out of
45 Indian nurses currently working in Yemen’s Mabar area, only 10 are willing
to return to India.
Are the remaining 35 nurses not afraid of death? They are.
However, they are worried more about how to survive without
work if they come back to India.
So, they have shown their willingness to stay put in the
strife-torn area with high risk. They are well aware of the dangerous
consequences of their decision.
So, how do we describe their decision to stay back?
Adventurous? Practical? Reckless? Pessimistic or Optimistic?
Is it not ironical that people go to any extent to ensure
their monthly income?
Life is precious … we only live once.
However, the sanctity of life is devalued with every such
decision where prominence is given to the livelihood than the life itself.
5.
Ever heard of a bank, where the customers deposit a fixed
amount of money every Tuesday? The bank uses this money only to give loans to
these customers in their hours of need, at very low rate of interest.
Well, this bank is in Southern Bihar’s Gaya district and the
customers are … beggars. They deposit twenty rupees every Tuesday. The bank has
so far disbursed loans of rupees eight thousand.
What is interesting is that there is a manager, treasurer,
secretary and an agent to run and manage the bank. The prime reason why they
started this bank is that no other bank was willing to open their accounts, for
various reasons including lack of proper address, social status etc.
These beggars have shown to everyone what it means to trust
and have faith in others. They have demonstrated that new ventures can start
without consultants and not every innovation need to be technical. They have
proved that having ‘values and ethics’ is not a prerogative of literates and
well-off members of the society.
Truly … a lot to learn from these noble souls who
channelized their lives on a positive and secure path through a perfectly
co-operative model.
6.
It is always inspiring to see a group working collectively
for a social cause. More so, if the group comprises of determined rural women.
Recently, 123 women from Navapada village in Indore formed a
group called ‘Neeli Gang’ under the leadership of Teju bai. Their mission is to
dissuade men from drinking alcohol. Inspired by the ‘Gulabi Gang’, these women
too wear plan blue sarees as their uniform, and carry sticks with them. Any
person found in an inebriated condition is fined Rs. 500 and a repeated offender
is beaten up with the sticks. Men have taken this group very seriously and are
giving up drinking.
In a society, whenever people do not act responsibly, such
groups will continue to form to bring in the results, which no law can.
Hail Teju Bai …!
7.
Has anyone seen God? Does God ever appear in the form in
which we pray him?
Well, these days, the labourers in Doha, Qatar are seeing
God in two brothers, Shadab and Nisab. Shadab has been in Qatar since last 13
years. They hail from New Delhi and own a restaurant called ‘Zaika’ in
Industrial area of Qatar.
They noticed that many of the labourers are not always paid
salaries on time and struggle for their survival. Therefore, since last month,
they have put up a signboard outside their restaurant mentioning that if
someone is hungry and does not have money, he can eat free. Every day, they get
some customers who avail this facility. The feeling of gratitude and blessing
is visible on their face as they walk out of the restaurant without paying the
bill.
These brothers may not be doing a commercially right thing,
but surely, what they are doing ranks very high in humanity, altruism,
philanthropy and social service.
For the labourers, they are no lesser than messengers of God
…!
8.
It took a high level of inquisitiveness for Newton to think
why the apple fell down, and he invented the theory of gravitation.
In today’s world, the inquisitiveness can be easily
substituted with infinite amount of knowledge available on Internet. Almost
everyone today has unlimited access to Internet. Yet, very few browse websites
for learning something new.
Well, except Twenty –year-old Himanshu Garg from Agra.
From Internet, he has learnt various scientific theories and
made amazing inventions like anti-collision train system, a fire alarm, an
anti-theft system and a universal remote control system to operate electronic
devices. More recently, he created a safety device that does not allow a bike to
start unless the rider wears a helmet.
The state government has already rewarded him for his
inventions. He is sure to go places in near future.
Himanshu has demonstrated that today the knowledge is within
everyone’s reach. What is required is only the desire to learn …!
9.
Among all types of social service, the one, which saves
lives of people, shall probably rank the highest. And no one better to
demonstrate this than 34-year-old fisherman, Raju Joshi from Navi Mumbai.
He has saved 17 precious lives in the past three years, of
people who had jumped from the Vashi Creek Bridge attempting suicide. He has
become so popular for saving lives, that the Vashi fire service department
seeks his help whenever they receive an emergency call informing someone drowning
in the creek. Within few minutes, he reaches the spot and saves the life … and
he does not charge anything for this.
Often, the relatives of the saved person offer him money, but he refuses
to take it. After all, life is an experience … it cannot be measured in
monetary terms.
He says that he experiences a deep sense of satisfaction
whenever he saves a life. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation recently
felicitated him for his selfless service to humanity.
Indeed, people like Raju Joshi make us believe that there is
still humanity left in this world.
10.
How often do we hear our ‘inner voice’ and do things
accordingly? Sometimes, the ‘inner voice’ may urge us to take an unconventional
path. But not many would show the courage to follow that uncharted path.
Well, Manoj Naidu, 41, from Raipur has done that.
He quit his good job as Metallurgical engineer in Qatar
steel three years ago … to do farming on his family’s 50-acre agricultural land
in Mahasamund. He had returned from Qatar to take care of his old parents, and
over a short time, converted the barren land into lush green farms. He finds
immense satisfaction and tremendous scope in farming. Today, the vegetables
grown in his field are sold in UP, Bihar, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
He stays in the fields from 6 am to 6 pm managing 50 to 150
labourers as per the season, and is quite satisfied with his work.
True … doing what we like is freedom and liking what we do
is happiness.
Apparently, he is enjoying freedom, and experiencing
happiness as well.
***
Coming Soon Volume #9
