Before the British came ...

Source: Friend's blog

Seize the opportunity

Just as one has to look for opportunities in various fields, so is the case with donations and social work. It is very easy to give money / things to the next person / organization / effort. But to find a "better" alternative is more difficult.

First, lets look at the opportunity part. This is a case when - you think and find a good way of giving. For example, in our area, there is a planned water cut which started yesterday. Usually, we get enough water in our homes and so there is not much need of storage. As it became clear that water might not be available for the next 2 days, everyone had all containers water-filled in their homes (to the smallest of utensils) yesterday morning. Still, today morning, some homes felt the need to get more water.

I saw a water tanker in our colony in the morning. Many of the people from the colony came with their buckets to get their supplies replenished. I thought that they would be buying water on a per bucket basis or something like that. It turned out that one family had bought the tanker for all and everyone was being encouraged to fill as much as they can / want. I asked, why this generosity? I was told that today is 'Nirjala Ekadashi'. It is believed that donating water today is considered very good. And that family seized the interesting combination of events.

Next, lets look at the cases when we identify things we should give away / donate. Generally, the tendency is that, once such things get identified, they become a sore in one's eye. They might have been with you for years together, without being used. Till they are hidden, it is alright, but not now. So, the result is that the next time the maid comes (if no other worthy candidate comes before that - such as driver, plumber etc.), everything is given to her.

I believe that the distribution of these things among people belonging to the category of helpers is very disproportionate. So, the maid would take away everything (even if it is useless to her), since we see her as the immediate person we can give the stuff to. What about the other helpers?

A couple of months back, as I completed my graduation, all people from my year started emptying their hostel rooms to leave for their homes. People had been living in their rooms for 2 years and in such situations, a lot of things get accumulated. Things that are not worth carrying the weight around start getting distributed. And the obvious choices are the sweepers who come daily to the rooms.

What about the security guards who man the hostels and institute gates? What about the delivery boys of the campus canteen? What about the people who help in the academic departments (for e.g. the guys who take care of the audio visual aids of classrooms - they have to be there whenever there is a class)? and so on. According to me, a more proportionate distribution is required.