I stood for a Cause

I come form a  middle class family.Like many other boys and girls form middle class families I have been taught right form childhood to respect values in life. One such important value taught to us is to always support a just cause. From our grandparents and parents we have been hearing stories from the mythology where good always prevails over evil. Even our festivals like Deepawali and Holi signify the triumph of good over evil. But  somewhere down the line on  several occasions for one reason or another we compromise with our principles in life.

After completing schooling , I took admission in one of the prestigious colleges of Delhi University in North Campus. Like many others from middle class families as long as I was in school I was under the close watch of my parents and teachers. At every step I was guided as what to do and what not to do ; what is right and what is wrong. On entering college all restrictions were suddenly gone. Now I was on my own.

Ours was a co-ed college. Till my school life I had had not much interaction with those from the opposite sex. So I was a bit hesitant and became very conscious while talking with the other girls .  One of the girls in the class was named Namita. She stood out from the others  perhaps because of her looks as well as demure nature.We would take the same U special on the way back home but I never mustered enough courage to talk to her. One day she had to sit next to me in the bus. The proximity to each other provided an opportunity to start a  conversation.  During the one hour journey to our respective stoppages we did not realise how time flew by. From that day Namita and I became good friends. A day would not pass without meeting each other. We  never realised when this friendship turned into true love. When vacations came while others felt happy but we felt morose.

Time flew by and finally we passed out from college. I got a job in a reputed company in Bombay. While my career took me away from Namita our relationship continued. We would chat for long durations every day. One day I realised that it was time for us to become life partners and I proposed to Namita. I expected a very positive response from her but to my dismay she kept quiet. Finally she said that she came from a lower caste. I was for a moment taken aback.

I belong to a Brahmin family. Although I lived in a big city the caste system has continued to influence our lives. Despite great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi by setting examples have advocated against the caste system we have found it difficult to emerge from the shackles of the caste system. Consequently marriages would be from within the same caste. So when Namita  confessed that she belonged to a lower caste my heart sank. While I  as a person was not particular as to which community or caste my life partner belonged my main reason for the dismay was the resistence that I would encounter at home and amongst relatives. I had to decide whether to give up Namita for the social norms of my family and community or to face them for the cause of my true love.I did not have courage to face my family. So while I decided to tell my  family about Namita I hid the fact about her caste from them. My family did not have any problem if she belonged to the same caste.

 I could not sleep the whole night and next day confessed to Namita that I had lied to my family. Namita was not prepared to start a life together whose foundation was based on a lie. I realised my mistake and felt small before her and apologised for my conduct. I resolved to stand in support of my true love come what may. As expected, there was a lot of resistence from all around but both Namita and I stood our ground.

We finally got married in a Court before the marriage registrar. None of our relatives attended our marriage ceremony. We never regretted our decision to get married to each other. While we were the pioneers in our family seeing how happy we were with each other  many  others from our families took to inter-caste marriages.

 This post is a part of Kinley 2014 TVC by indiblogger

Toilet for Babli..Build Public Toilets

In rural areas of India our seventy pecent of the population go for open defeciation including women.  Ironically, while pradha system still prevails amongst  significant segment of the population women have to per........... go to open places to relieve themselves.  Most of the time they prefer to go before to go in the dark before Sunrise or Sun set.  When they are most vulenerable to crime viz. molestation and rape.

            Open defeciation not only exposes their to anti social elements but also surprises than several diseases like diarheria, gastro infectional disease, Choleara etc.  In fact a study has shown that one of the Primary reasons for stunted growth is open defeciation.

            On a mass scale open defeciation besides compromising on hygene also is responsible for polluting our water bodies and open spaces..

Unfortunately , absence of girl’s toilets in schools is one of the important reasons for large number of girls dropping out of schools,, particularly in the rural areas. Even where such toilets exist due to their lack of maintenance their condition is pathetic.

In view of such a dismal situation in most parts of our Country does it mean we continue with this deplorable situation . Well all hope is not lost. The Government has taken up setting up of public toilets , particularly for women all over the country as a priority item on its agena as a part of its Swacch Bharat Abhyan . In fact all over the World significant research work is being carried out on proper designs and optimum use of water which is scarce in many parts of the World. It is heartening to note that the Defence Research Development Organisation has developed a technology called the Biodigester technology which has done away with the need for connecting toilet units with sewer lines for discharge of effluents. The biodigester technology uses bacteria extracted from cattle dung for treatment of discharge from toilet units which converts the discharge into non toxic water that could be used for horticulture purpose or even recycled. The technology is already being used in railway coaches and its popularity  is fast gaining momentum.

While the biodigester technology would take care of the effluent treatment the reqirement for lighting inside the toilet units could easily be meet through solar panels set up atop the toilet units. In a tropical country like India it is unfortunate that research on optimum use of solar energy has lagged behind.

There have been reports that even in many households where toilet units exists people particularly the men folk prefer to go for open defecation because of their age old habits. Thus while constructing toilets on a large scale is absolutely  essential at the same time an attitudinal change is required to change toilet habits through efforts of Gram Panchayat and NGOs.

One eagerly awaits the day when there would be toilets for one and all therby keeping our open spaces clean, our water bodies unpolluted and our population healthy.  

Domex, HUL’s flagship sanitation brand, currently runs the Domex Toilet Academy (DTA) programme. Domex Toilet Academy was launched on 19th November 2013. It aims to become a sustainable and long-term solution to provide sanitation that benefits the local community and helps stimulate the local economy. The Toilet Academy makes toilets accessible and affordable, while promoting the benefits of clean toilets & good hygiene. Our effort has resulted in bringing the change in the villages of Maharashtra and Orissa and we aim to build 24000 toilets by 2015 in rural areas faced with the problem of open defecation.

The Unilever Foundation and Domex have joined forces with UNICEF to help improve access to basic sanitation for hundreds of thousands of people in areas that need it most. By supporting UNICEF’s Community Approaches to Total Sanitation (CATS) programme, the Unilever Foundation and Domex aim to improve the health and well-being of those in need and create sustainable approaches to improved sanitation through programmes that promote good hygiene practices, improve the health and well-being of communities, help create demand for access to toilets and raise awareness of the sanitation crisis. As part of this partnership, Domex is giving its consumers the opportunity to help improve access to basic sanitation through contributing 5% of its proceeds from the sale of specially marked bottles of Domex to support UNICEF’s CATS programmes

ou can bring about the change in the lives of millions of kids, thereby showing your support for the Domex Initiative. All you need to do is “click” on the “Contribute Tab” on www.domex.in and Domex will contribute Rs.5 on your behalf to eradicate open defecation, thereby helping kids like Babli live a dignified life.

This post is a part of http://www.domex.in/

A healthy child makes a happy family

A healthy child is a gift from God. He not only keeps himself happy but his family also. The health of a child plays a great role in deciding the mood of the child. In this post I am going to narrate an incident about my aunt who is blessed with a beautiful and cute angel named  Mihika, who has just started attending school. The first month in her school went off very well. She made friends and was good in class activities. As time passed by, Mihika started disliking her school. She started getting cranky and dull. Her class performance also fell down badly. Her mother complaint that most of the time Mihika had been found sleeping and depressed. Her parents tried to find out the reason behind  her lackadaisical attitude but she didn’t disclose. Her parents had been called by her class teacher to know about the matter.  Mihika’s parents tried a lot to cheer her up but it didn’t help much. They were going through a very rough patch because of Mihika’s health. Mihika was getting weak day by day.

One day Mihika’s teacher called her parents and gave a number of a well known Pediatrician. Mihika’s parents without giving any second thought took Mihika to the doctor. After examining and counseling Mihika for an hour. The doctor called her parents inside the room. The doctor discloses the reason behind Mihika’s lethargic attitude.

She said Mihika has not been taking her meal properly. The Tiffin her  mother packed every day for Mihika’s school has been thrown by Mihika into the garbage. As Mihika was not having a healthy diet, this has resulted in making her an anemic. Her parents were shocked and tensed.  Mihika’s mother started shedding tears from her eyes.  Her mother also confessed that she had not been taking her meals properly even at home and this makes her mother worried. They decided to plan a proper diet for Mihika and she was advised by the doctor to eat green and leafy vegetables and vegetables which are rich in vitamins. She was also advised to take two glasses of milk daily.

One of the great things children could have which would increase their immunity is Dabur Chyawanprash. The herbs like ambla, ashwagandha etc helps in fighting harmful germs like virus and bacteria.  Her mother was also advised by the doctor to find some innovative methods in cooking so that it would make the food look more attractive and tasteful.

Mihika’s mother followed all the advises given by the doctor and now Mihika is a happy and healthy child. Her performance in the class has also improved. She has been doing well in her studies and has become more active than before. She makes sure she finishes her  tiffin ever day. This has brought happiness back in her parents life.

 This post is a part of https://www.liveveda.com/daburchyawanprash/