Retired but not out, yet. That describes our RWA Secretary Ravi. Most active, most sought after person and the most action-oriented one too.
He goes all out to help, any day and every day. Sometimes it is a tree needing pruning and he will be the one to run around to the forest department and get the work done. The park needs security and he initiates the work to extend the grill all around. Power is cut and he is the one everyone calls to check with. Once the colony borewell was installed, he took it upon himself to monitor the water situation and distribution though his own house did not need the water. Installing CCTVs to check daylight robbery, maintaining records and identifying needy persons for prudent use of funds for the less privileged, there is no limits to what he will do.
Meeting ministers or local representatives, often calling for long waiting hours, making a case for the colony’s needs, keeping abreast of the requirements, all of this calls for commitment and a sense of purpose. There is no monetary payment, no compensation for his time. Yet he manages to keep at it, ably supported by his wife Roopa who lets him be.
Why and how does he do what he does? Simply because he has grown up believing that helping others without expectation is a good thing. Working for the betterment of society is his silent motto. Tough as it is to believe, such people exist even in these times! During his days at the bank, he was known to go out of his way to help customers and others. Helping a senior with the life certificate, he would go out of his way to visit the person at home and get the certificate. Charity is another quality he has imbibed from his parents, giving away a certain percentage of the income to the needy. A true Gandhian, he avoids confrontation unless as a last resort.
No wonder he was recently awarded the ‘Gandhi Priya’ award by the Samarth Sahitya and Sankruthika Prathisthan in recognition of his selfless service. But the humble person he is, Ravi chooses not to make a big deal of it.
These are the people the world sorely needs today – to inspire others to do the same in a world that is getting isolated day by day. True spirituality lies in the recognition of unity as opposed to the idea of separation. Where even helping one’s extended family is seen as unnecessary today and often touted as a sign of being busy, people like Ravi set aside time to help total strangers.
Pardon me but talking a few minutes with Ravi made me remember a popular Malayalam film ‘Passenger’ starring the late actor, writer and director, the genius Sreenivasan.
Working in a government office, he (Satyan) does a daily commute from home to office and back in a passenger train. With a regular bunch of cronies he plays cards during this journey of an hour or more, dozing off to wake up at his stop. Into this very ordinary routine is thrown the tale of a minister accused of sexual harassment, with a journalist and her advocate husband leading the investigation.
Satyan is late at work one day and misses his regular train but takes the next available one. With no friends to accompany him, he dozes off and misses his stop. During the journey he befriends the advocate and as things subsequently go haywire, Satyan happens to see the man abducted at the station. Unlike most of us who would have shrugged off in helplessness and busy schedules, Satyan is a honest and caring person. He is deeply agitated.
The rest of the movie is all about the extent he goes to help the man he hardly knows beyond a few pleasantries exchanged. How he gets the help needed to save the journalist and her husband from the hands of hired goons makes the plot. But in the process, the viewer will be left with a few uneasy questions – how many of us would go to help someone, especially given the danger to one’s own life? How many of us would think it as our duty like Satyan does? This is a man least valued in his own home, as is evident from comments like ‘if you aren’t home nothing will happen to anyone’. Finally, his job done, he leaves without wanting to be acknowledged or thanked. An ordinary man, as he calls himself.
The mild-mannered, pleasant faced and intelligent Ravi belongs to the same creed of righteous and selfless people — ordinarily extraordinary.
Can we be inspired by them to work for a better world, where all deserve to live in peace and abundance – man and animal? Can we join the forces fighting for the voiceless, be it stray dogs, wildlife, street children or migrant labourers? If so, how about starting at home or in our neighbourhood by pitching in and helping the few toiling silently? Our duty is not to take care only of our own family but the larger family of all beings on the planet. Isn’t that what the lord says in Bhagavad Gita?
By Jaya
