Charity begins with the heart

I started thinking about charity and lots of opinions that go around about it.Some say charity begins at home, some says avoid some charity ,some says do as much charity as you can.According to me,Charity begins with the heart and the most important thing in charity is the intention behind doing charity .What is the point in helping someone to just gain some advantage out of it .When i talk to people who are from NGO's ,many of them tell me how some celebrities are a part of it to gain more popularity .It shocked me as some of them i thought were genuine also figured in the list. But there are also some who genuinely do give back to the society . And then comes how we do it .Some think the more you give matters and small help /donation will not help or they feel bad about giving less. Any help , small or big is always appreciated by any organizations that run towards social causes.Once i came across a touching interview by vidya sagar who is the man behind "Udhavum Karangal" who said that one of his regular supporter is a 80 year old grandma who sends cloth napkins that are stitched by her using her old saarees. Imagine ,how thoughtful this is and at her age she is still trying to do something that she can So next time , you hesitate to help - don't -Just follow you heart and do it . As we may wonder about how our gesture will help or not -but you never know how much difference you are making to someone's life . And in terms of money , many hesitate to shell out .It is absolutely okay to think about if your money is reaching the right source . But once you are sure about the organization's good will - take it from me -you will never stop giving as many organisations who are doing the right things will affect you so much positively that you will only become better and better at giving . Two such organisations that i have come across so far are
" The United Physically Handicapped School " from coimbatore & Nalandaway from Chennai . I first learnt about "The United school for physically handicapped Children" through a good friend Srinivas .It was my 19th birthday and the very first birthday i was not around with anyone in my family .I have never woken up at the dawn of my birthday without my parents and sister around .But that year was so tragic for me that i had no choice to accept the fact that our lives have changed and hence the birthday had dawned in sadness. But this good friend wanted to compensate for all the sadness and to ensure i had a real happy birthday -he visited me with a bunch if flowers and had planned to spend the entire day with me . He then told me-Please don't mind this gift -it may make you sad ,but i want you to see this place and i am sure you are one person who will like doing things like this. And that is how it started .The ride from my home to sathyamangalam was long but i still vividly remember that birthday where i visited this school. I was only in tears from then. As there i saw a bunch of children, guess about 100 of them then -Orphans and top of it physically challenged children (Oh ! God -how can you be so cruel to create them with disabilities and top of it take away their parents) This was my gift - Srini had booked a breakfast for all of them for the occasion of my birthday and they all sang a happy birthday song for me and did a small prayer . The in charge over there asked me if i want to serve them and i happily agreed . It is not a happy feeling to visit a place like that on your birthday but i truly appreciate this gift and this birthday will remain my most memorable birthday for years to come as from then , there was no looking back for me in terms of charity . Srini told me -I brought you here and my only request is you continue supporting them . And i do just that ... for the past few years i regularly book a lunch or dinner for all of them at the school for special occasions . As it is said that "Dhanathil sirantha dhanam -ANNA DHANAM" So friends, don't ever hesitate to help someone .You don't loose much -You only gain happiness and good fortune for your life by such kind acts. May charity begin with you heart !!

To know more about this special school -Please visit http://tuphschool.org/school.html

Chetan -You Inspire!!!

I know am so late in reading his books. Guess am always late in catching up with trends. Finally got to read all his books at one go . Started in the reverse order though ...Everyone would have first read his five point someone and latest would have been two states.But i started with "Two States" . It was one hilarious book . Really like Chetan's style of writing .Very casual , easy to follow.You don't have to keep a dictionary by your side to understand some complicated words that are generally used by most of the writers. His books are like movies, thoroughly enjoyable and the characters come alive when you read them . Two states clearly brings in the picture of what happens when two families from different back ground of culture and sect come together for a wedding.It was also thought provoking to read Chetan describe how people target a person's language /region and judge them .And he offers the solution to put a full stop to these caste/sect battles-Love marriages amongst different communities..Nice to read , hope we can achieve it too. However, i did not like him narrating too much details on love making and personal stuff..Guess bedroom stuff between individuals are not for the books. It is something that happens between people in love and needs to be given its due respect.
Coming to Five point someone,as i watched three idiots even before grabbing the book i started visualizing the movie as and when reading the book. The book definitely had the pull of making it a huge success. Ryan's character stood in your mind.His questions like " How can machine reduce human effort when gym equipments only add to the effort" tells you what kind of an intelligent guy he would have been."One night at the call center " was my favorite as it inspired me the most.Chetan beautifully brings out the amercianised craziness that has changed the Indian youth in to the MTV youth to whom all the USA products are easily marketed via the culture change that a call centre life brings in. Nicely put- Indian brains getting stuck at nights catering to help and assist for some silly questions from the american brains. He made me smile when reading about the god part. Being not such a huge believer of the defined God's existence, i liked the way he conveyed the essence on how all of us need to self reflect and the awakening has to come from within to pursue our dreams. The GOD's call happens like a awakening call for all the six characters who appear in the story who then go on to make the changes that they wanted to . Totally CHETAN BAGAT is a writer to be watched out for. He connects to you as an author who inspires you to think on his opinions and this way am sure he can do so much for the society by writing a lot of good stuff /subjects. Chetan -You Rock ! Pls keep writing !!