Addressed to: The College going youth of today!

What did you do this Christmas?

Celebrated a quiet Saturday thankful that today is not college and slept till 1 in the afternoon? Or perhaps you went out for a movie with your girlfriend/boyfriend and celebrated with a beautiful dinner after. Some of you actually had a grand Christmas tree and revelled with family and friends and gifts and chocolates and plum-cake (and maybe beer).

And if you are in college, I am sure some of you were copying assignments. Just kidding! It was during vacations, remember? But my point is it was a mildly special day NOT very different from most ones you spend.

What did I do? Well, not much actually. It was a bright sunny day (for a supposedly ‘winter’ Christmas) and I (and a few friends of mine) spent some hours with under-privileged kids. We played games, danced to Bollywood music, sang hindi songs, ate cake and samosas with them and gifted them some books and woollen caps. I played photographer and clicked some amazing pictures with resplendent innocence simply bursting out of them.

There is something magical when small children remember your name and come to you with wide-eyes and an enigmatic smile beckoning you to come along and join them. To dance away your worries and simply relish living. And how by just ‘being there’, you made a difference.

Did we change anything that day? Not much. The books and stationery gifted will last perhaps a year. The woollen clothing, two more. But it was the gift of time and love that helped change a part of us (and a part of them, as they grow up, for the better). We did change something.

Throughout my four years in the college, I’ve been blessed to be part of initiatives and outings that have seeked to bring in change, however big or small. Many of them bore fruit because of and during my association with college clubs like ChESA/ISTE.

Last year’s Chemozàle (our annual fest) was coloured in shades of green with biodegradable bags, kulhads for chaai, khaadi kurtas and lakhs of used-A4-page-bound notebooks distributed among children. And to top it all a “Tree Plantation campaign” which was carried out to nullify all the carbon emitted during the event.
 
These actions, at the very least, speak in blatant bold – the power we, the educated youth, have. That we have the intellect and the right set of values to bring in changes around us. That we are smarter than our predecessors. That we don’t accept things at face value.

You live in the biggest democracy of the world. You study in one of the Top 25 colleges of your country. You live in a state where the  public is getting richer by the day because of a booming economy and unsurpassed opportunities.

Your family can afford your education knowing you’ll earn more in the first year of your job than the aggregate fees they paid for all four years. You have the independence to choose your own future.

But it matters on your perspective and on your actions.

You may cry out loud about how corrupt our government and the police force are. I agree. I did three rounds of the Sarkhej Police Station in Ahmedabad and even paid a bribe (Not much though! Bargained on the price ;-) ) to get my Passport Verification done.

You may say that enormous amounts of cash stashed in Swiss banks by corrupt Indians is depriving the 30+ billion below poverty line junta of our country basic food and amenities. Those, to throw in a fact, the BPL population of our country paid more than 850 crore rupees as bribe for ration items in 2007. Or that the 2G scam with 1.77 lakh crore rupees disappearing is tantamount to what is already known – “That the Government is not doing anything”. That, to use a Rang De Basanti dialogue, “Yahaan kuch badalne waala nahi hai”.

But let’s step back for a second, shall we? Before thinking on such a massive scale (which is important to know and grasp), are there any grass root level changes that we – during our “Engineering” years – can bring? We need to look at things from where we are and find ways to usher in change. And I do not mean just “social change”.

Let me illustrate.

During my first year, Nirma University (my alma mater) had a ‘Saaksharta Abhiyaan’ where students would gather on Sundays in college and go to villages nearby. We’d collect the children of the village and make them basic reading/writing/arithmetic skills (in Gujarati of course). Was it massive? No. But it was a small way to better the lives of some children.

I remember trying to teach ‘Ka’..‘Kha’ to a little girl with dishevelled hair and rough palms (probably because of the household work she was forced to at such a tended age). And how every syllable that she got made my heart jump.

The movement was disbanded soon after. No one bothered to go back. To tell you the truth, neither did I. If we had kept at it for say two years, who knows how much might have been achieved. But this was something in our hands and we had the ‘power’ to change things. It is beautiful how IIMA students teach the children of the families who live outside the walls of the revered institution. They have made it a legacy – a community service movement called “PRAYAAS” – and every incoming batch wholeheartedly participates in this endeavour.

Hence, if education is a burning issue – in addition to the Government bettering the 1.25 million primary schools in the country – we too can make a difference. College clubs by bringing in loads of people (even if it is just for Certificates in the beginning) and organizing regular community services activities – cleanliness campaigns, teaching rural kids, fund collections for tsunami/floods/earthquakes, donating money and time to NGOs, volunteering with movements like ‘Teach India’ – all this is possible and it is empowerment.

There are so many issues that need held. That need aid. Maybe research funding for Cancer and AIDS. Maybe food and shelter in tsunami affected areas. Maybe blankets and warm clothing to the homeless. Maybe some of your time at old age homes or orphanages.

There are so many pressing issues.

And since there are so many of them, you know what YOU should do? Anything!

Choose any of them and contribute. Just don’t sit there mumbling. You’ll have made a difference – however small – and changed lives.

We are too equipped in shaping our future to do things on a large-scale. But if you believe you have the passion to make changes and have the patience to see things through, the satisfaction gained is unmatched.