Begging - To Encourage or Not to Encourage

I was travelling by train from Chennai to Mumbai last week. The weather was pleasant - it had recently rained in Chennai - I was thoroughly enjoying this travel break. In every station that the train halted, there was a different scene; the people, the anxious faces, the vendors and the beauty of the place by itself. It felt good to go through so many different visuals in few hours of travel.

We reached Renigunta, nearby the infamous Tirumala Tirupathi temple. Our train halted for a good 15 minutes and I was savouring the happenings outside. I saw an old lady come out of the waiting room with a young mentally-challenged girl of about 14 towing behind her. Both looked shabby with unkempt hair. It was clear that they had a job to do - beg. Beg the people for money and food. I suddenly felt totally helpless and seeing them that way bothered me a lot. My mood changed. I felt sorry for them one side and furiously bitter the other. 

They entered our coach and started begging - some people gave food, others pittance. I am strictly against  begging but I did not have the temerity to ask them anything or advice them on a better life, a better world. I played a mute spectator that day. I did feel horrible.They passed me to continue their dehumanizing task and I felt terribly sad for them. 

Out of helplessness, I looked out the window and saw a fiftyish man walk briskly down the platform. With salt-and-pepper hair, a decent crumpled checked shirt and a lungi, he had a staff for support and a rag bag. May be I was the only person who was staring at him from our train and he noticed that. He changed course, feigned a forced walk and stood right outside my window; arms in supplication, begging for money. I was stumped. There he was - a hale and healthy man, who can walk and talk fine (positively not a differently-abled person) and he resorted to begging. I simply ignored him, he looked at me with his penetrative eyes for a second and he walked away. Then came another lady, an old couple and many other beggars - tall, fat, thin, strong and weak, traipsing around the platform. It was an unbelievably sore sight.

Whatever happened to these people to stoop so low? I agree that they do not have good education, may be a place that they can call home or probably no one to care for. But does it mean that they are left with no choice but to seek alms? Have they lost their will power to rise and shine in life? Or just to do something other than begging? I strongly believe that even the lamest fool has some talent left within him - something unique to be put to good use. Where is the missing link? How do they get respect?

I strongly advocate to my friends not to encourage them by giving money, rather showing them in black and white as to how they lead a pathetic life, not out of being submissive to others but by their own choices. They need to know that they can lead a respected life, that they can earn money just like the fortunate others. I sincerely wish that I pluck up courage some day and confront them for good.

Every person is human and deserves a clean and refined life. I look forward to a world which appreciates this profundity and gives a fresh lease of life to hapless people, pulling them out of their misery. 

Visit to Mangammapet village, Arakkonam

I recently took part in a Health Awareness Program held in Mangammapet, Arakonnam. Organised by Boanerges Welfare Trust, it was a first-timer for myself and my two friends. We invited a pastor and a nurse to come along with us. There started our 3 hour journey from Velachery to Park followed by Central to Arakonnam. It was indeed tedious but we were excited and looking forward to the program. 

We reached Arakonnam by around 10:30 hrs, took a share auto and directly went to the church. I liked the village. There were a good number of people at the periphery but as we ventured into the village the count dwindled - it showed. We did not see more than 4 or 5 men; obviously they had gone to work. Groups of women sat under huge trees gossiping, with children goofing around. Most of them lived in huts amidst a sparse sprinkling of solid brick buildings.We reached the church - it was small, cosy and neat. Empty plots all around, a cemetery some 100m away, fresh green trees, cows grazing nearby and rocks heaped at random to lay the road - it was every bit the rural scene.

A women crowd of around 20 assembled in the church and we started the program. It was basic and simple. One of my friends educated them about daily hygiene and fielded questions. We came to know that there was a bout of viral fever around and women expected some medical relief. Our nurse was very helpful and she patiently checked those who were ill and prescribed medicines. Alongside, women who had woes poured them out to the pastor who ever so soothingly prayed for them, giving them advice. I was happy to see an old man (the only man!) with a crop of silver hair come in for a checkup. I was a bit gutted because we expected to spread awareness of chewing tobacco, consuming alcohol and smoking cigars to men and we just had one old man that day. Nevertheless, it was fruitful. We visited two families and prayed for them. 

There was a train to catch and we bid the villagers adieu. Promising to visit them again, we left Arakkonam with warm hearts.

We made good friends; young and old. It was enlightening for all of us. Having experienced the innocence of villagers and their living conditions, I honestly wish that every human reaches out to the under-privileged and offers them intellectual support. 

How 750words.com Helps

I love writing and one of my fervent wishes is to become a bestselling author. 

Sometime back I Googled for stuff that would help me write a novel and I stumbled upon this wonderful competition that is "NaNoWriMo", short for National Novel Writing Month. It is open to anyone who wants to don the writing gloves - the crux is to finish a 50,000 worded novel in a month; honestly a tough task. Yet deeply challenging! A writer should approximately squeeze 1667 words per day and that is where it is quite the meany. I can usually write between 800-900 words a day, twice the number is a feat for me. I definitely needed some start and some push.

Either I tend to run out of ideas or I run out of words. Both ways are bad for a writer and I had to polish my writing to better myself in the literary realm. That is when I discovered 750words.com.

It is a useful site started by Buster Benson (I am ever so grateful to you!) for any blossoming writer, especially ones straining to leap out of the writer's block. You log in, write a minimum of 750 words a day, stick to that routine and feel awesomely glad that you are able to hit that mark every day. The most fantastic thing about this site is the fancy algorithm which categorizes the mood of writing - happy, anxious, upset, affectionate; the mindset - were we negative, positive, introvert, extrovert, certain or uncertain while writing; the rating - PG if your writing carries abusive language and the most frequently used words. It also calculates the total time taken to write, the words per minute and the number of distractions (here a distraction is 3 minutes of non-writing). You have the option to share your writing or keep it just to yourself. 

I am totally chuffed with this serendipitous finding. If you are looking for something to test your writing prowess do try http://www.750words.com/ - it helps a ton, you will not be gutted!

Travelling That Is Bliss

I totally dig travelling and do not mind shelling out fat bucks there. To be in a different place other than home, to see fresh faces and make new friends, taste authentic ethnic cuisine, to buy souvenirs, to immerse in the sheer beauty of a never-before-seen landscape and to click myriad photographs - nothing can get as exciting as this. 

I personally find travel getaways refreshing, relaxing and exhilarating. Not to mention that it broadens my horizon and widens my thought base. 

• There are different people out there to rendezvous - tall and short, black, white and brown, grim and smiling, proud and ever-giving. 
• There are gazillion places to venture to - the breathtaking expanse of flora and fauna just does not suffice the human mind. 
• Likewise, I consider it a silly sin when one restricts himself/herself to her cuisine. If caged within those four walls, one might insanely miss the fantastic varieties of delectable food options. 
• Seeing the same old stuff can pull us into the abyss of boredom. Travelling kicks hard those mundane frames from daily life. It bursts open vivid, vibrant sceneries; the perfect treat for sore eyes! 
• Being an avid photographer (still very very amateur at that!), I do not miss any opportunity to wield my camera and point & shoot at nature, people and other awesome stuff that catch my eye.

Having travelled quite a lot around India, my thirst to foray further is unquenchable. It is two different things - travelling with friends and with family. Each has its own share of enjoyment and free rein that I have come to adore. It is utterly amazing to drift to places every now and then.

Like the famous saying goes - "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." - Saint Augustine of Hippo.

Confessions of a Food-aholic

I have been living for close to 3 decades. There are many things that I like, love, adore and that I am crazy about. It is only recently that I discovered myself as an insane foodie and an exotic eating machine who loves to experiment in the kitchen and wolf down as and when I please. My mom says I hardly spend time in the kitchen (that is coz you are there mom, and gran too!:P). Whenever I get the time I try cooking something different. The results are not grandiose, most of the times. Come on, I just experiment! Yet I absolutely feel the unbreakable bond between me and that delicious thing on the plate. It fills my tummy, makes me happy, brings back that long-forgotten smile back on my face and I feel complete. Food completes me. Tom Cruise, hear this!

I have heard people say, "All You Need Is Love". But I say, the best thing that can ever happen to a person is authentic, relishing, mind-boggling, awesome, lip-smacking, salivating, scrumptious food. 

I say, "All You Need Is Food".