Being human.

I have been gathering unused cloths from kith and kin from the past few weeks, so that we can donate them to the poor and needy of the City. We choose 12th Dec 2010 for donating these cloths, Sunday is usually a day for celebrating, merriment and get together however this Sunday we choose to steal some time for these people. Calcutta is a place for the rich and poor, this city is like a fortress and we all seek protection here, we all should have a feeling of oneness. I don’t want to talk abut the government or the charity institutes, I’d or rather we’d love to see what we can do for our beloved city.

I got up 5 in the morn, packed all these clothes in separate bags; for kids, for men & for women. Imran & umair came to our place at 6 in the morning, we set off on the bikes, scanning the footpaths, in Calcutta the homeless usually sleep on these footpaths. I always remember Mahatma Gandhi ji’s talisman when ever I am sad or depressed. I quote…

 "I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?
Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."

-         One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought.

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               This boy lives on the footpath with his mother, he has no house to stay.

                                             This old man has spent all his life on the footpath.