Kalyanasundaram has given a whole new definition to the word ‘charity’. He never married and took up odd part-time jobs to make ends meet as he donated every single rupee he ever earned as a librarian – even his pension of Rs.10 lakhs and award of Rs.30 crores! Read more to know the inspiring tale of the exceptional contributions made by a simple man.

How often do we take out money from our pocket to give to someone who is needy? Would you help if someone you didn’t know came to you and asked for financial aid? Maybe not, or at least you might think twice before giving away even a hundred rupees note.

We sometimes go to an NGO and donate some money or stuff and feel content that we have done our share of good deeds. We feel good about ourselves and move on with our lives.

But there are a few people, very few, who literally dedicate their lives to helping the needy. ‘Paalam’ Kalyanasundaram is one such person.

His tryst with social service was when he listened to Nehru’s plea to contribute to defense fund during Indo-China war

This 73-year old librarian has been donating all his earnings every month for 30 years to the poor. Born at Melakarivelamkulam in Tamil Nadu, Kalyanasundaram took up odd part-time jobs to earn his daily bread and butter while he donated all his savings and regular income to those in need.

With each passing day, he became clearer about his intentions to dedicate his life to the poor. He slept on railway platforms and pavements to personally experience what the poor of the country go through.

He did not keep a single rupee from his regular job and lived a very simple life. All he did with his monthly salary was donated it to children and other needy. We work because we want a comfortable lifestyle and dream of settling down with the luxuries of life. This man was different; he worked hard just so that he could earn more money to donate. He did not even get married as he wished to spend his entire income in helping the poor rather than his own family. After he retired as a librarian, he even donated his pension of Rs. 10 lakhs!

Kalyanasundaram lost his father when he was just one and his mother raised him all by herself, inspiring him to help the poor and underprivileged sections of the community. As he grew older, he inclined himself towards higher education and became more passionate about helping the tribal community.

He wanted to do his masters in Tamil but as he was the only student for that subject, college administration asked him to opt for another area of specialization. But he was determined to take up Tamil and did not give up.

His dedication impressed the founder of MTT College and he happily admitted him into his establishment and even took care of his educational expenses.

In spite of having such strong and kind motives, Kalyanasundaram faced his own share of difficulties. Having a shrill, high-pitched voice, he was troubled by this “flaw” and wanted to commit suicide. Meeting Thamizhvaanan, writer of self-improvement books changed his life and he remembered his advice, “Don’t bother about how you speak. Strive to make others speak well about you” all his life.  And he never looked back after that.

His tryst with social service came when he listened to Jawaharlal Nehru’s plea to contribute to the defense fund during the Indo-China war. “I went to Chief Minister Kamaraj and gave him my gold chain. I was probably the first student to have done such a thing,” he says. (Source)

He mostly worked around children for 45 years, and after his retirement, he thought of extending his services to others. He founded an organization called Palam that helps donors to reach out to the poor. The organization collects money and material from those willing to donate and distributes it to those who need it.

“We cannot sustain ourselves, unless we contribute to the society in some way or the other. I strongly feel if even one person does his bit towards social good, there will be some change,” he says.

A gold medalist in Library Sience and MA in Literature and History, Kalyanasundaram has received various awards and his total prize money of Rs. 30 crore has been promptly donated to those in need.

Watch Part 1 of this 3 part documentary on Kalyanasundaram here:

Brightest of the heroes are those who constantly throw light on the society without being noticed or expecting anything in return. This man’s contributions for 45 years are profound examples of how one can help the poor if one actually desires to do so.

We hope to see many such inspirational heroes in the country who are literally living their lives for good.

You can contact Paalam at 044-24402524.

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Be it the amazing Marina Beach or a view from St. Thomas Mount, an awesome dance performance at Kalakshetra or a walk in the Theosophical Society at Adyar, you must have seen Chennai and appreciated its rich culture and architecture.

Now is the time to pack your bags and head outside of the “Land of Dosas and Pongal” to explore the surrounding locales. Here is a list of some lesser known weekend getaways from Chennai which you must visit-

1. Horsley Hills

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This amazing hill station is located at an altitude of 4,100 ft. The ancient name of the hills was Yenugu Mallamma Konda and it has a very interesting story behind it. Long time back a little girl called Mallamma used to heal tribal people and was taken care of by an elephant. One day she suddenly disappeared and couldn’t be found. People thought that she was a goddess and they built a temple in her memory. Later the name was changed to Horsley hills which is named after a British officer W.D. Horsley. The serene beauty of the place with its museum and lake offers a great opportunity to explore on your own.

How to reach?

Horsley Hills is around 276 Kms from Chennai. Bangalore Airport is the nearest airport which is located at a distance of around 160 kms from the hills. In case you are going by train, the nearest railway station is Manapalle which is 43 kms from the hills. You can book a cab from there or take a public bus which will directly take you to the hills.

Where to stay?

There are limited options for accommodation here. You can check into A.P. Tourism’s Governors’ Bungalow, or the Chittoor Cooperative Society guest house. The AP Tourism’s Haritha Resort and forest guest houses in Horsley Hills are also good options.

2. Muthupet Mangroves

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The Mangroves’ lagoon and a boat ride is something you must experience. The lagoon is located 8 kms from the town of Muthupet and can only be reached by boat. Covered by forest on both sides, the site is breathtaking as you reach the point where the brackish water meets the sea. You will also witness amazing birds on the way which can be a treat to photography lovers and bird watchers.

How to reach?

Muthupet is around 348 kms from Chennai. You can take a train or bus to Thanjavur and then hire a personal cab or local transport to reach Muthupet.

Where to stay?

There are a few lodges and hotels in Muthupet. Being a small town, you might not have to go too far from the mangroves lagoon to look for an accommodation.

3. Chandragiri

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Located near Tirupati, Chandragiri is known for the famous Chandragiri fort built in the 11th century. The unique thing about this fort is its simplicity. The Raja Mahal Palace inside the fort is now used as a museum. Two small lakes nearby where you can enjoy a pleasant boat ride and the big lawns make a perfect location for a family picnic. There are many small temples near the fort but only one of them has regular prayers conducted. There is also a light and sound show in the evening which you should not miss.

How to reach there?

You can reach Tirupati by either train or bus as it is very well connected to Chennai. From there, many buses are available which will take you this fort. The distance from Chennai to Chandragiri is about 150km.

Where to stay?

Tirupati is just 12 kms from the fort and you can stay at various hotels and lodges according to your budget. You can check out cottages built by the AP Tourism Department like Sri Padmavathi Guest House which is very affordable. Also, staying at one of the temple guest houses is a very good idea. You might have to book in advance in case you are going in the festive season.  If you have some spare time you can stay at Grand World hotel which is a hotel cum themed amusement park.

4. Talakona waterfalls

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The beautiful waterfalls are located between the dense forest and abundant greenery. It is believed that the water of these falls is filled with healing powers. It is the tallest waterfall in Andhra Pradesh and is also famous for Lord Siddheswara Swamy Temple, which is located close to the waterfall. You can spot wild animals like Slender Loris, Indian Giant Squirrel, Mouse Deer, Golden Gecko, Panther, Porcupine, Chital and Sambar here. Trekking, bird watching, jungle safari, boat ride are some of the activities you can participate in.

How to reach?

The waterfalls are located at a distance of 220 kms from Chennai and 67 kms from Tirupati. You can reach Tirupati and from there take public transport.

Where to stay?

Various log huts and dormitories near the waterfalls can be a good option to check out. Seshachala Vanadarshini offers good log huts near the waterfalls at cheap prices.

5. Alamparai Fort

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This fort was built in 18th century AD by Mughals and is believed to be the only port at that time. The fort falls under State Department of Archaeology, what you can see now is just remains of the brick and limestone walls. One of the lesser known places near Chennai, the beautiful surroundings around the broken walls are something you must witness. If you climb on these ruins, you can get an amazing view of the ocean. The local villagers can also arrange for boating.

How to reach?

Located near Kadappakkam village, the fort is around 100 kms from Chennai. You can book a taxi from Chennai which will allow you to enjoy the amazing view on the way.

Where to stay?

There are no well known hotels near the fort, and as it is just 100 kms from Chennai you can make a one day trip and come back.

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WORTH (WOrkshop for Rehabilitation and Training of the Handicapped) Trust, started by the Swedish Red Cross in 1963, combines commercial and rehabilitation work in a fully self-sustaining model. It is unique as persons with different physical challenges can be seen working together. Perkins Braillers, Universal Braille Bag for children, auto parts, toilet seats, digitization of books, mobility aids, rehabilitation for hearing impaired and children with special needs and outreach programs – all these reflect WORTH at work.

Persons with disabilities are taught to be self-sufficient at WORTH

Do you remember leprosy? Do you see people with leprosy? Let us get to something more relatable. Are you aware that the number of blind people has reduced? So have people’s hearing and speech disabilities. Have you wondered why?

The number of children born with such disabilities has largely remained the same, but there is so much being done through early intervention and rehabilitation, that when these individuals grow up, they are becoming independent and self-sufficient.

The reason for this welcome change can be attributed to many factors - Government schemes, better health care and an increase in awareness.

Children with hearing disabilities being taught at the state of the art school

I, for one, have seen the change happen in my backyard, and after visiting several Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), I have realised that they are angels in disguise, working silently for the good of society.

Out of the many NGOs in India (and probably in the world, too), WORTH Trust, stands out as a one-of-its-kind, self-sufficient, welfare-oriented, change-making enterprise model. This is the story of an extraordinary organization that turns 50 on 5th September, 2014.

WORTH Trust runs a business division called WORTH Industries which manufactures products ranging from Perkins Braillers to auto parts

In the early 1960s, leprosy was a dreaded disease in India, leaving those afflicted in a deformed, disabled and distraught state. Besides suffering from physical disability, such persons faced the huge burden of being socially ostracized, and even isolated from family and friends.

In response, the Swedish Red Cross (SRC) started a rehabilitation centre in Katpadi (a part of Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India) in June, 1963. Breaking away from its traditional activities, the SRC offered training in Light Engineering to persons with disabilities, including those affected by leprosy.

This lady is doing quality check on the Perkins Brailler – WORTH Industries is the only manufacturer of this machine in the world!

Gradually, sub-contract work started trickling in from major industries. Eventually, the workshop became economically viable and self-sustaining by 1975. A Trust was formed in 1976 to manage its activities. The SRC withdrew from a mode of direct action to supporting the newly formed trust. Thus was born WOrkshop for the Rehabilitation and Training of the Handicapped (WORTH) Trust.

Today, WORTH, which had been under the leadership of Antonysamy – a pioneer who has been a beacon of hope for people with disabilities – almost since inception and for about four decades, has changed guard. New blood has taken over, and with time, the organization, too, has changed. It is one of the largest producers of aids for the visually challenged, and the only producer of the world-famous Perkins Brailler, a one-of-its-kind typewriter for the blind.

​M​r. Antonysamy, the man who was there with WORTH since its inception for 4 decades till he retired at the age of 70.

The Assistive Aids product range of WORTH encompasses wheelchairs, prosthetics, mobility canes, motorised arms, tricycles, abacus, assistive geometry sets and more.

The organisation runs a transitional school for children with disabilities, taking care of blind, deaf, mute and, from recently, even mentally-challenged children. They have a dedicated Early Intervention Centre for children between ages 1-3, so as to make them self-dependent and capable citizens of tomorrow.

Kid at the transitional school at the WORTH trust campus,Katpadi.

It also runs an Outreach Program that sensitizes public about differently-abled people and how they can be rehabilitated at WORTH. The outreach program has workers posted in villages near Katpadi and Vellore where they not only sensitize, but also take into their fold, children and adults with disabilities.

To support its welfare and social empowerment programs, WORTH Trust has a business division called WORTH Industries. It is a separate business entity, which is professionally run and has been a profitable entity since inception. Operating several units at Vellore, Trichy, Pondicherry and Chennai, it specialises in automotive ancillary manufacturing and tooling. More than 70% of its employees (about 500 in number) are differently-abled.

Watch this video to know all about WORTH’s work:

We salute the organization that has been empowering and adding worth to the lives of thousands of persons with disability for 50 years.

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Like other members of this sexual minority, Padmini Prakash too faced her share of social stigma and discrimination which made her abandon her family and education. But her difficulties only helped her grow stronger as she became the first transgender TV news anchor in the country five months after the Supreme Court legally declared this community as a third gender. 

On the occasion of its 68^th Independence Day, India freed itself from another kind of gender bias when Padmini Prakash became the first transgender television news anchor in the country. The news came as a happy event that marked the success of this community five months after the court ruled that the transgender be recognised as a legal third gender.

The 31-year-old news anchor recently started working at Coimbatore-based Lotus News Channel and within a month became the face of its 7 pm special daily bulletin due to her immense popularity.

Screen capture of Padmini Prakash’s news bulletin.

Having worked as a dancer and acted in various Tamil soap operas before joining this news channel, Padmini says she now feels liberated from the burden of social stigma that she carried all her life. Like other people belonging to sexual minorities, Padmini too faced constant pressure, discrimination and harassment in the past.

She separated from her family and dropped out of college when she was a first year B.com degree student, as she could not take the stigma and pressure any longer. Being an outspoken person and always voicing her opinions as a social activist for transgender rights, it became even more difficult for her to live a peaceful life.

Her desire to do something different took her to many places and she traveled even beyond Tamil Nadu before she returned to become a Bharatnatyam dance trainer in the state.

Her first encounter with the newsroom wasn’t an easy one as she found it intimidating to take up such a high-profile role.

“I was very worried because I also had to focus on my diction and maintain a steady narrative pace to ensure that there was clarity and viewers could understand me,” Prakash told the Times of India.

But her hard work paid off and she got high praise from her employers, friends, members of transgender community and other media personalities, which was a great boost to her new start.

Always full of life, Prakash has participated in various beauty contests and won many prizes. She is now happily settled in her life with her partner  in the suburbs of Coimbatore.

In April this year, the Supreme Court of India gave its landmark judgment of declaring transgender as a legal third gender enabling them to get equal treatment in the society. This judgement opened various gates for this sexual minority and Prakash is an example of one who dared to convert this into a great opportunity.  This new rule is a ray of hope for the many transgender in the country who face discrimination and abuse on an everyday basis.

A large number of transgender came forward and declared their identity after the rule was passed. As per a count in May 2014, the number stood at 4.9 lakhs. Though the community claims to have a higher number than this, they are happy that so many people have officially accepted their identities. Apart from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan have also legally recognized the transgender.

With Padmini’s recent success, we hope to see many more people from this community coming forward and realising their dreams.

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Chitresh Tatha from Chennai has proved that age is just a number and it is never too early to find your passion. He started sailing in 2009 and today he is the youngest sailor from India at the Asian Games 2014. Inspired by his sister, Tatha has been extensively practicing to grab a medal at the Games. Let’s learn more about the little champ!

We dream of becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a pilot, an actor and so many different things when we are growing up and in our adolescent years. With the passage of time and changing priorities, our dreams change too.

But Chitresh Tatha has a different story to tell. He is just 12 and has already figured it all out. This young lad from Tamil Nadu is the youngest sailor from India to participate in the recently commenced Asian Games at Incheon, South Korea.

Tatha is a national champion in the ‘Optimist’ category, which is a small, single-handed sailing dinghy used by children up to the age of 15. Being one of the most popular categories, there are over 1,50,000 boats registered in this class.

A passion for sailing has taken this grade 7 student from Chennai’s Bhavan’s Rajaji Vidyashram school to countries like the UK, Malaysia, Turkey, Ireland, France, Bahrain, the Netherlands and Malta.

12-year-old Chitresh Tatha is the youngest sailor at the Asian Games 2014.

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He started sailing when he was just eight years old and has been training extensively under the Yachting Association of India’s chief national coach Pete Conway and assistant coach Umesh Naiksatam.

“I began sailing in 2009 and it came naturally to me. I love being on the water. It gives me great joy,” he told the New Indian Express.

He first developed an interest in the sport when he saw his sister Meghna sailing in the Laser Radial category and thought of giving the sport a try himself. Since then, he has never looked back and even won the gold medal in the India International Regatta (Under-12) in 2013.

The young genius makes sure that he practices six hours every day and hasn’t even been to school for six months now.

“I’m making up for the missed hours at school by studying at home. Thankfully my teachers have been very supportive and that’s helped me focus on sailing completely”, Chitresh told The Times of India.

An ambitious boy, Chitresh aims to grab a medal for the country in the ongoing games. He revealed his plans to The New Indian Express, “India has never won a [sailing] medal in the Asiad, but I’d like to change that. A podium finish would be perfect.” Selected after winning 8 out of 15 races and grabbing one of the top five positions in the remaining races, Tatha wants to make the most of this opportunity at the Asian Games.

Tatha proves that age is just a number and you are never too young to find your passion. We wish good luck to this young sailor and hope to see him succeed at the Asian Games and beyond.

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Kani was forced to drop out of school when she was young. Today, she works as a domestic helper but is seeing a new ray of hope as her employer Gita is enabling her to read and write. Many women like Kani in Chennai are on their way to literacy, all thanks to their wonderful employers. Read about Kani and Gita’s life-changing journey.

It seems as if all the housework has been completed. The home looks spic and span with an almost gleaming finish to its ambience. As I walk in, I see that the clothes have been hung out, and the utensils are neatly stacked and left to dry under the mid-morning sun.

This looks like the average Indian household, I tell myself, not quite prepared for the surprise that was about to hit me a few minutes later. Somewhere from inside the house, I hear voices repeating basic spellings in English, interspersed by a few lines in Tamil by way of explanations for the meanings of some of the words.

Education has always been Kani’s dream. After Kani finishes with her work, Gita, her employer, sits down with her and they study together. (Credit: Kirthi Jayakumar\WFS)

As I make my way in, a heart warming scene unfolds before my eyes. The household helper, whose name I later learn is Kani, is poring over a notebook, pen in hand, while her employer, Gita, is teaching her. “Every day, after Kani finishes all the work, we sit down and study together. Education has always been her dream,” explains Gita.

Meanwhile, Kani is busy learning the vowels, pronouncing the many sounds they make and trying out new words for size. “I come from a village, and my family always believed that only boys should be educated. My sister and I were forced to drop out of school when we were barely in Class Six, while my brother is now on his way to becoming an engineer,” Kani reveals.

By teaching her basic English and Maths, with plans to include other subjects like Science, History and Geography later, Gita hopes to give Kani a shot at achieving her dreams.

“Of course, without a regular curriculum, one cannot quite expect to put her through the regular courses, although it is definitely achievable. I just hope to be able to bring her one step closer to being literate,” says Gita. She adds that if Kani is up to it, she would love to train her in using the computer and becoming tech-savvy, “This way, she could undertake some vocational training in time.”

The move sounds certainly inspiring and I am left with a feeling that there is definitely room to hope for change. Kani’s own story, though, reflects a rather painful undercurrent.

“Education in my village was almost a joke. We would go to a school where there were hardly any teachers. The few that were there wouldn’t show up – and when they did, we hardly learnt anything. I remember that if any of us in the class would so much as slightly annoy the teacher, she would drive us out and make us kneel down at the centre of the field outside under the noonday sun. The heat would singe our knees, and we’d often end up with wounds from the hard and uneven ground we were kneeling on,” she recalls.

Kani’s story reveals why many girls of her age end up with very low literacy skills despite having done some years of schooling. In the few instances where trained staff is shown on the payroll, they were not in actual attendance, with schools themselves sometimes remaining closed.

School education in India, especially for girls, has had its share of challenges. Through much of the country’s post-independence history, schooling was seen as a developmental goal rather than as a right. Things have changed over the last few years.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (education for all children at the elementary level) and programmes under the Right to Education Act have helped to achieve almost universal coverage of school education, but most of the enrolment seems to have taken place in private schools. This indicates a significant shift in attitudes – parents are now beginning to perceive a dividend in investing in their children’s education. But such a realisation has come too late for women like Kani.

To come back to her story, Kani was married when she was still quite young. She doesn’t know her actual age but she looks to be her early twenties. Marriage put an end to any hopes she may have had to continue her schooling.

“When I got married and moved to Chennai, people told me that there were opportunities to study in the city, sometimes for free. But that never happened. Between running the home and earning enough to keep home fires burning, I had no time to even find out if such opportunities existed,” says she.

Today, she feels the possibility of being able to read and write has been kindled anew. “Now, with a few minutes spent learning each day, it is becoming progressively easier to access education,” she smiles. Earlier, Kani would take her homework back home so that she was prepared for the next day’s studies.

But her husband got wind of what she was up to and expressed his displeasure. In fact, as Gita elaborates, Kani’s husband paid her a visit one afternoon to state that he was unhappy about his wife’s studies. “It first started with him asking me why I was sending her back home a little later than usual.When I told her that she was learning how to read and write, he challenged me in an instant and asked me why she would have to learn to do either,” Gita reveals.

According to Kani, her husband would mockingly ask her if she had any grand plans of “becoming an officer”. Given this reaction, Kani resolved to complete her homework in her employer’s home, and try and be as discreet as possible about her attempts to educate herself.

A look into Kani’s notebook. (Credit: Kirthi Jayakumar\WFS)

As time has gone by, however, there has been a change of attitude. Kani is now quite fluent in reading and writing, and can manage small sums of addition and subtraction. Her husband has realised the advantages this has for the family.

“When my husband saw how it made things easier for him since I could now deal with household finances and even read to him, he became less hostile about my studies. As for me, it felt so nice to be able to read and write – what were just shapes and symbols for me earlier, now actually made sense,” Kani explains.

Gita, it appears, is not the only one who has taken to such teaching; and there are many more Kanis too in the city of Chennai. Says Kani: “Once I was reciting my day’s lessons to myself while waiting for the water tanker to come to our neighbourhood, and one of my friends asked me what I was doing. When I revealed my experiences to her, I discovered that she too was taking lessons from her employer. Slowly we discovered that there were many more like us who were making full use of the opportunities to learn that came their way.”

These are young women who are discovering new pathways to the future for themselves, with some help from sympathetic employers willing to invest some time in their lives with, of course, some application of mind on their own part.

The “each one teach one” approach has indeed the potential to change many lives. Kani believes her future looks a lot brighter now and Gita is determined to help her reach the next rung in the ladder of change.

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Here is how women in Chennai came together and raised their voices to fight for their rights after losing their homes a decade ago to the tsunami. From jointly owning their new house with their husbands to learning about RTI and empowering themselves, these women have come out of the tragedy together.

Even today, a decade after the tsunami struck in 2004, she remembers the fateful day clearly. Within seconds, giant waves turned 55-year-old Swapna Sundari’s world upside down. The gushing water crashed into her hut in Nochinagar located near the Marina beach in Chennai and had she not grabbed her five-year-old grandson by his hair, he would have been swept away.

The next few days were spent in fear, in nearby makeshift shelters, along with hundreds of others whose homes were destroyed by the tsunami. As the days stretched into months, and months into years, there were many moments when Sundari and other tsunami-affected families despaired that they might never be able to shift out of the temporary shelters.

The gleaming pink coloured tenements in Nochinagar are a testimony to the coastal women’s unwavering struggle, who cooked food in the middle of the road to protest against delay in delivering on housing and formed a human chain to force withdrawal of the proposal to construct a bridge across the villages on the Marina stretch. (Credit: Swapna Majumdar\WFS)

It was only in January 2014 that the travails of 628 families of Nochinagar finally came to an end. After nine years of braving several hardships, including deprivation of financial assistance during the initial stage of the rescue and relief operations, their stiff resistance to government’s bids to shift them away from the seashore paid off. Finally, 501 non-fishing Dalit families including Sundari’s and 127 families from the fishing community moved into their new two-room flats constructed on the same land where they resided and earned their livelihood before the tsunami struck. These in-situ flats have been made by the Tamil Nadu government under its Emergency Tsunami Recovery Project.

This is a huge milestone for the Nochinagar coastal community. But much of this would not have been possible had it not been for the women’s active participation to reclaim their traditional land and livelihoods. They have played a vital role in the campaign to realise homestead rights. Whether it was to resort to cooking food in the middle of the road to protest against delay in delivering on housing or to form a human chain to force withdrawal of the proposal to construct a bridge across the villages on the Marina stretch, the women showed the heart and the tenacity to claim their rights.

The gleaming pink coloured tenements in Nochinagar are a testimony to the coastal women’s unwavering struggle. However, it hasn’t been easy. From running pillar to post for getting the tsunami relief sanctioned to sitting in front of the Collectorate with their eyes blindfolded in protest of the state’s bids to evict them from their land, they have done it all. But what has made their efforts worthwhile is being able to get the flat allotted in the joint name of husband and wife, a big change from the earlier policy of giving it in the name of the male member.

The first impact of this joint ownership has been the lessening of domestic violence. According to Sundari, women are beginning to understand that they no longer need to fear being thrown out of their houses and this awareness has boosted their confidence. “Earlier, women were afraid of complaining against their husbands. But now they are ready to approach the police for help,” she says.

Sundari, who accompanied the first woman from her community to file a complaint at the local police station, shares that the cooperation of the police made a big difference. “They called the husband and warned him of strict action if he did not allow his wife to stay in the house. This helped to sober him up and even the disagreements between them have decreased. This case has given the other women courage to stand up for their rights,” reveals Sundari.

Another critical change the movement brought about was ensuring each flat comes with an attached toilet. Incidentally, tenements built at the government’s relocation site, where several families had been shifted soon after the tsunami, are one-room flats with a common toilet for two families. The very fact that the Nochinagar community has been able to bring about a design change in their housing has inspired residents of the adjacent fishing community living in Nochikuppan. Now, they have agreed to move out and let the government make new houses to replace their existing dilapidated tenements. Earlier, they were afraid if they moved they would be deprived of their land and be relocated to a site far away from the sea.

Although the struggle for Nochinagar residents has been a long one, Sundari says it would not have been possible without the support of ActionAid, a civil society organisation, and its four partners working together as the Forum for Securing Lives and Livelihoods Rights of Coastal Communities (FLLRC). When ActionAid began working with the urban coastal communities in Chennai in 2004, it found that government efforts at relief and rehabilitation were not reaching the marginalised and poor communities. So the FLLRC was created to help build community resilience.

“Our partners Arunodhaya, Udavi, C-DOT and NAWO were already working with the communities in these coastal districts. The aim of bringing them together under the FLLRC was to tap their individual expertise to collectively strengthen our campaign to empower the coastal communities,” explains Sunitha Rao, FLLRC programme manager at ActionAid.

As per an estimate, women engaged in fishing related activities constitute 55 per cent of the workforce in Tamil Nadu and 65 per cent at the national level. So, one of the strategies adopted was to empower them to become agents of change. The Forum identified articulate women and built their capacity to inform and inspire action.

According to Sundari, women are beginning to understand that they no longer need to fear being thrown out of their houses and this awareness has boosted their confidence. (Credit: Swapna Majumdar\WFS)

Additionally, as the FLLRC raised awareness on government policies and schemes related to land and housing it also pushed for coastal women, traditionally kept out of decision-making bodies, to be given equal opportunities to participate in the movement.

The coastal women’s federation was one such initiative undertaken by FLLRC that gave women from both the fishing and non-fishing community a chance to emerge from the shadows. Another important step was their induction in the Coastal Communities Protection Movement (CCPM). “Initially, the men were opposed to the idea. We explained to them how women were equally, if not more, affected by disaster. It took some time in convincing them but finally they agreed,” recalls Virgil D’Sami, Executive Director, Arunodhaya.

The women also formed a significant part of the group trained by ActionAid to use the Right to Information (RTI) Act. In fact, for Sundari, the RTI training turned out to be the most important lesson of her life.

It was when she used it to access information on the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board’s housing project for the coastal communities that she found out how the government had planned to deprive them of their traditional land.

“We got to know that the TNSCB planned to relocate the non-fishing community to Thoraipakkam and Semmenchery, areas far away from the coast. Their plan was to provide housing near the coast only to the fishing community. Our predominant livelihood activities are related to fishing and we need to stay close to the coast. Why should we be discriminated against?” remarks Sundari, who belongs to the non-fishing Dalit community.

As other Dalit women came to know of this, more than 500 of them came together to complain. Then their protests grew louder with other Dalit community leaders joining hands, which led to the formation of the Chennai Dalit People’s Federation (CDPF). Sundari, who was elected president of the Chennai Coastal Dalit Women’s Federation, led the campaign to expose the bid to divide the fishing and non-fishing communities. When the TNSCB realised that the storm of protest was unlikely to end, the segregation process was dropped.

For the women of Chennai’s coastal community, the journey to claim their rights over land and livelihoods has been life changing. While the sword of displacement still hangs, they are now wiser and better prepared to deal with the capriciousness of not just the weather but also the government.

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From counselling them to reuniting the families, Global Network for Equality is helping the children of prisoners live a better life. Taking a scientific approach, GNE has made significant improvements in the lives of these innocent kids and is giving them opportunities that are sorely missing in their present circumstances. Read all about their work here.

Let us assume you know a 6-year-old child whose parents fight occasionally, especially when the man is drunk. One day, life changes. The father comes home drunk and angry. He suspects his wife of adultery. He kills her. The next day or a few days later, the police find him. He is arrested. The court rules that he is guilty of the murder of his wife and gives him life imprisonment.

I want you to remember the child forgotten in this story. What happened to that child? Mother killed, father in prison. Is he an orphan? Who will take care of him now? What about his education? His healthcare? And the trauma of losing both the parents in such a tragic manner?

Was it the child’s fault that his parents fought? Was it the child’s fault that the father killed the mother? Was it the child’s fault that he/she was born to this particular family?

These are the innocent children of prisoners—lost in the system, for no fault of their own.

The children are left without any support.

A Tirunelveli-based NGO Global Network for Equality (GNE) has taken up their cause. Working outwards from Palayamkottai Central Jail in Tamil Nadu, they have methodically outreached 205 children of prisoners spread over three districts. GNE is headed by K.R. Raja, a psychiatric social worker. He is supported closely by his friend and board member Aravindan Sundar. There are many others who support the team in various capacities.

Before I explain the process of outreach, let us look at why GNE focuses on this issue. According to a research study they conducted, more children are separated from their parents due to crime than divorce. Children of prisoners are likely to suffer three times more mental health problems than average and seven times more likely to commit crimes than average.

Often jeered and taunted by peers and relatives for being children of a murderer, with neither parent to turn to, the children internalize pain, confusion and anger and become social isolates. GNE strives to break this cycle of violence and crime by providing support for basic necessities, education and counselling.

With no proper education and attention, these kids are lost in the world for no fault of theirs.

Since a parent is living, these children are not legally orphans and hence cannot find space in orphanages. Sometimes a relative, often a grandparent, may take them in. But these families are extremely poor.

In an interview, Aravindan spoke about how the concept of GNE emerged. Raja and Aravindan, after reading a newspaper report, traveled to Pondicherry to visit the family of a prisoner. They were aghast to find that the children lived with a very old grandmother who ironed clothes to support them. Her abdomen was marked and bruised by the ironing table and her hands could hardly hold the iron firmly. With very little money, the children were suffering from severe malnutrition.

The duo asked themselves—what did these innocent children do to suffer this? In response, they formed Global Network for Equality to provide equal access to education, resources and a good future to these children.

Not all children are victims of domestic violence. Some parents are imprisoned for caste-related violence. In such cases, the children live with their mother who is often unable to support them independently. Many families roll beedis all day for a pittance to make a living. The mother does odd jobs to try and feed the kids. Added to the livelihood woes, the labelling of the family as that of a criminal affects their social networks and mental health.

Children with relatives.

In cases of domestic violence, the children lose their mother to murder but they also lose their father to prison. GNE encourages fathers to re-establish relations with their children and take responsibility to provide for them, in whatever way they can, from within the prison.

This return of relationship also helps prisoners to take cognizance of their offence and leads to deep-seated reform and transformation. The hope is that at the end of the prison term, the families are healed enough to reunite and relive as reformed and productive citizens. GNE has documented successful case studies where the fathers have returned home as completely reformed individuals, willing to provide and care for their families.

Earlier this year (2014), GNE team travelled 2,833 kms through the most interior parts of three districts in Tamil Nadu to assess the living conditions of families of the prisoners lodged in Palayamkottai Central Jail. They located in total 205 children who needed educational scholarship, amongst other things. The breakdown is as follows:

In Tirunelveli District, 44 families – 40 boys & 49 girls = 89 children required scholarship.
In Tuticorin District, 41 families – 43 boys & 40 girls = 83 children required scholarship
In Kanyakumari District, 18 families – 17 boys & 16 girls = 33 children required scholarship.

In August this year, the enterprising GNE team raised the money required for this academic year. Now, they are moving in to support other needs for the children and to supervise the academic process.

Child with his grandmother.

It is perhaps this methodical and well-documented process that sets this NGO apart. Many NGOs do not approach an issue scientifically—choose target groups, clinically assess living conditions, raise funds as per needs, disburse funds and monitor effectiveness, evaluate program plan effectiveness and refine as needed, document every step and provide reports to interested parties and funders. GNE is extraordinarily methodical and transparent. I have known of their work for more than a year now. I must confess to a certain admiration for this NGO.

GNE team hopes to replicate the Tirunelveli model in other Jails in India like: Hotwar Central Prison (Ranchi- Jharkhand), Chanchalguda Central Prison (Hyderabad- Andhra Pradesh), and Imphal Central Prison (Manipur).

A crime-free society is not the sole responsibility of the Government or the Law and Order system alone. It is the responsibility of each one of us. Education, health and social belonging alone will ensure that. If you want to know more or support their work, here is their contact info:

Email: gnequality@gmail.com
On Facebook: www.fb.com/gnequality
Twitter: @gnequality
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/GNEQUALITY

Please Note: All the photographs are blurred to protect the identity of these kids.

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Did you ever imagine that a doll could help people recover from a natural calamity? What’s more, did you know that she cannot be bought, only gifted? Meet Tsunamika, the daughter of the tsunami, who turns 10 today and has been enabling 100 tsunami affected women in Tamil Nadu to get back on their feet.

Little Tsunamika is now 10. In her short life so far, she has helped heal the hearts of of women and children in the villages of coastal Tamil Nadu, set in motion a gift economy that enables many impoverished women to eke out a decent living, and spread the message of trust, empathy and goodwill across the globe.

That’s not all – not only does her story figure in the state school curricula but there is a whole book on her journey that has been translated into several languages and has also received UNESCO recognition.

Quite a few accomplishments for a 10-year-old, wouldn’t you say? Tsunamika is truly extraordinary, and it’s not just her various achievements that set her apart.

Fact is, Tsunamika, a child of the tsunami, is a doll!

Today, over six million Tsunamikas have entered the world and can be spotted in diverse places across 80 countries.

She is the innovative creation of Pondicherry-based designer Uma Prajapati, who came up with the idea while she was working with children affected by the natural disaster. Living in the relief camps set up by volunteers from Auroville, they were deeply disturbed by the devastation they had witnessed and so Prajapati’s task was to think of activities that would not only keep them engaged but also channelise their energies into something positive.

At the time most of them were directionless and in trauma, while their mothers, in a state of shock, were unable to take out time to be with them and guide them through their pain.

Prajapati had a eureka moment when she remembered the simple doll that a young intern, Prema Viswanathan, had fashioned from scraps of textile and waste material during her stint at Upasana, the textile design studio founded by Prajapati, a few years back.

“Doll-making as a trauma counselling activity happened after a lot of reflection. Everybody likes a doll. People had lost faith in life; I thought that a doll was the thing that could rekindle emotion in them. I used it as a kind of tool, intuitively believing it would do the magic,” shares the designer who is a National School of Fashion Design (NIFT) graduate.

Incidentally, Prajapati could identify with the acute sense of loss the children and their families were feeling because just four months prior to the tsunami that struck the day after Christmas in 2004, she, too, had lost her all in a fire that burnt her home to ashes.

Uma Prajapati, designer of Tsunamika doll came up with the idea while she was working with children affected by the Tsunami.

In fact, when she offered her services as a volunteer in the camp she herself was living in a one-room guest house generously offered to her by Ursula, an elderly Aurovilian from Germany.

At the camp, Prajapati introduced the kids to doll-making and very soon they were hooked to it. Some time later, even their mothers, who had too much to come to terms with emotionally, got drawn in as well. Besides taking away their loved ones, the killer waves had taken away the livelihoods of these fisherfolk and reduced them to victims living on dole.

“It had become a socio-economic catastrophe and the survivors were falling into a crisis that compounded the trauma of loss with a crisis in their sense of self-esteem and confidence,” remarks Prajapati.

The designer and her talented team at Upasana – Vidya, Meenakshi, Vimal and Manoj – realised that trauma counselling was no longer enough. They had to figure out a respectable livelihood for these fisherwomen and wondered if doll-making could generate income for them.

They decided to pay the fisherwomen for every doll they made even though the team hadn’t yet decided on what to do with the dolls that were piling up rapidly.

Tsunamika, a rag doll is being hand crafted for 10 years by fisherwomen who survived Tsunami and were living in several relief camps in Auroville, Puducherry.

Nevertheless, the doll making process was simplified and standardised into modules, and this was taught to nearly 600 fisherwomen, who, in turn, trained more women from seven coastal villages in the area. Around 200 of them wanted to make doll making their profession.

Initially, Prajapati was gifting away the dolls to whoever visited her Upasana Studio, telling them about the dolls that were hand-crafted by the tsunami survivors. Some people suggested that the dolls be sold to generate income for the fisherwomen, while a few others started making donations to support the cause.

“It was then that Manoj had an inspiring vision of the doll going around the world. He penned his vision in the form of a beautiful poem where the doll was called ‘Tsunamika’. When I read it, I knew our doll’s name had to be Tsunamika,” she reveals.

Prajapati decided not to sell the dolls and instead to let her go around the world as gifts with people making donations if they wished, because Tsunamika represented something priceless, with deep emotional value; a symbol of hope with a healing presence. To many this decision would come across as a leap of faith but, as it turns out, her conviction has paid off.

Meanwhile, Seshadri Mohanti, a volunteer from Canada, floated the idea of building a network of Tsunamika Ambassadors, who would collect these dolls and gift them to people interested in supporting the project and then pass on the donations.

The concept spread like wildfire, a gift economy emerged and within a year, Tsunamika became a self-supporting project letting over 200 fisher women earn their livelihood.

Tsunamika is a precious gift for all those who want to support the resilient fisherwomen who create her.

Today, over six million Tsunamikas have entered the world and can be spotted in diverse places, from homes to educational institutions to wedding receptions and cultural events, across 80 countries.

Of course, Tsunamika is only one of the many novel projects that the Upasana Studio is heralding at present. There’s Small Steps, Varanasi Weavers Association, Kapas, Tranquebar, Paruthi and Janaki that may have their own diverse social agendas but they all use design to achieve community development.

For instance, Small Steps involves the manufacture and dissemination of beautiful cloth bags made by village women. The idea is to motivate people to carry their own shopping bags instead of asking for plastic bags that are not environment friendly. Paruthi, on the other hand, gives a boost to organic cotton farmers.

As for Tsunamika, thanks to the adoration she evokes, she now comes associated with products such as wall hangings, greeting cards, board games, and so on.

Currently, Tsunamika is enabling 100 women to make a decent living. “On an average Tsunamika received a yearly donation of nearly Rs 5 lakhs that we pass on to the fisherwomen,” reveals Prajapati, adding, “It is a small amount compared to the huge intangible wealth of positive emotions that little Tsunamika inspires.”

One can source a Tsunamika by writing in to tsunamika@upasana.in or calling at 0413 2622939/57. You can also be a part of Tsunamika’s 10th anniversary celebrations – click here to know more about it.

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From the strategically placed Shivling to the legendary deities and folk tales, the stones of Mamallapuram have lives of their own. Know more about the mesmerizing stories behind this amazing World Heritage–listed and also learn about the new community of artists close by which is keeping the tradition alive!

The stones that came to life at the hands of the Pallava sculptors here have been breathing for the last 1,500 years.

And the stones that have just been given life by their descendants will be breathing for the next 1,500. That’s the living tradition of an artistic land called Mamallapuram.

Arjuna’s Penance: a detail

The whole village here is a World Heritage Site, with a small area of 8 sqkms and a miniscule population of less than 8,000. Around 200 of them carry forward the magical tradition of breathing life into stone.

And in many houses you will find three generations of sculptors chiseling under one roof; their chisels falling on granite rocks in an inherited symphony.

It was at the sanctum sanctorum of the Shore Temple that I had the darshan of the best guide I had ever met. His name was C. K. Prasad, and he looked the most unlikely candidate for the job. He was well-dressed to a fault, and had a quiet presence that only comes with intense introspection.

Tiger’s Cave

He was a retired civil engineer who lived in Chennai, and traveled 60 kms every day only because he was in love with Mamallapuram. He didn’t have a fixed rate for his service. He would be happy with anything that I gave him, he said, because he would have done it anyway for free! Later I was to realize that he was an encyclopaedia of Pallava art and history, and I really wondered if he wasn’t a descendant of a Mamalla king of yester-years.

The Shore Temple was excavated by the British from the golden sands of Mamallapuram in the 1900s, but it went under the sand again in the dreaded tsunami of 2004.

After the second excavation, 80 guardian Nandis have been lined up to form a protective ring around the sacred Shivling here. But will they be able to protect the God of Destruction from the next tsunami? I wonder.

River Ganges descending a natural fissure

A unique feature of this temple is that the shivling here is so strategically placed that it is bathed in a golden sunlight, both at sunrise and sunset. Situated bang in the middle of what was once a busy sea-port, it is considered to be the very first example of the finely evolved Dravidian style of architecture.

It is interesting to note that of all the temples in Mamallapuram, there’s only one that’s live: the Vishnu temple in the heart of the village. The others are all just architectural monuments: some rock-cut, some monolithic.

The most spectacular of the monolithic ones is Five Rathas. These are five temples in the shape of five chariots, each one carved in a different architectural style.

Five Rathas: a detail

Though they are named after the Pandavas, the deities inside are Vishnu, Shiva, Durga, Indra and Surya.

Then I saw an amazing cave with two dramatically opposite scenes enacted on either side of the cave: on the left was the gruesome scene of Durga slaying Mahishasura, and on the right was the tranquil, cosmic sleep of Vishnu reclining on the serpent Shesh Nag. Behind this cave is the light house of the Pallavas which was lit by a fireplace and not a lamp.

To its right is the world’s largest bas-relief sculpture measuring all of 100 feet by 40 feet, where the main visual is Arjuna standing on one leg and doing penance in Kailas.

The world’s largest bas-relief sculpture

The natural fissure in this massive boulder has been incorporated into the sculpture itself. So in monsoon the gushing water that flows through the fissure looks like River Ganga descending from Kailas to the Earth.

To the north of this man-made marvel is a marvel of nature. A huge boulder with a height of 35 feet so precariously placed on a slope that it looks like it could be toppled by the gentle push of a little kid.

But village folklore has it that all the king’s horses and all the king’s men could not move it by an inch. For some strange reason, this humongous inedible rock is called Krishna’s Butter Ball.

All these wonders in stone are sprinkled in a radius of just 2 kms. The only one that’s away from here is a piece that should not be missed. It’s on the Mamallapuram-Chennai highway, some four kms away, and is called the Tiger’s Cave. This is an open-air theatre, and the stage is lodged right inside the mouth of a sculpted tiger! Next to the cave is a watch-tower in the shape of an obelisk, from where on a clear day you could spot the enemy in the sea.

Krishna’s Butter Ball

The many structures that are left incomplete here show that Mahabalipuram was still work-in-progress even after two centuries of chiseling. And the work couldn’t be completed because the chisels of the Pallavas were silenced by those of the Cholas who captured their kingdom. But when the dust of the battle settled, a new style emerged that was a blend of the Pallava style and the Chola style. A style that carried on the tradition of breathing life into stone.

Legend has it that once a sthapathi or a master sculptor in Mamallapuram created an idol so full of life that when the chisel fell on the deity’s hand, the hand started bleeding!

Cholamandal: a modern Indian idiom

Cholamandal Artists’ Village: At a sculpted stone’s throw

When the Pallavas were vanquished by the Cholas, the art too underwent a metamorphosis. The robust Pallava style was tempered by a more lyrical Chola style, the epitome of which is seen in the sculpture of the dancing Nataraja.

Inspired by this, K.C.S.Paniker, a pioneer in modern Indian art, established Cholamandal Artists’ Village between Mamallapuram and Chennai on the East Coast.

The idea was to have a community of artists living and working in the same place. Artists who wanted to break away from Western influences and search for a distinctly Indian idiom.

Cholamandal: an organic sculpture

The result was a style that was an amalgamation of imagery from tantra, motifs from yantra, mathematical symbols, Indian mythology, and even Indian calligraphy. All of which was witnessed in the Madras Art Movement for the very first time in Indian paintings.

When I walked into this idyllic art world, I was greeted by an affable lady who took me around. First to K.C.S. Paniker Museum of the Madras Art Movement, and then to the two adjoining art galleries. But the open-air international sculpture park was a unique experience. The sculptures here took on a different meaning altogether as they sprouted from the landscape like living organisms.

As I drove back to Chennai, a thought crossed my mind. Whether it is the traditional sculptures that are influenced by the Pallavas or the contemporary sculptures that are inspired by the Cholas, every stone in Mamallapuram has a life of its own.

Cholamandal: art and nature in communion

TYPE: ART & HERITAGE
BEST FROM: CHENNAI or MAMALLAPURAM
YOU NEED: 2 DAYS

When to go: Right through the year.

Where to stay: Call 044 25389857 or visit www.tamilnadutourism.org for bookings.

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Meet the man who has literally transformed the fate of a village by making it alcohol and tobacco free, by providing better employment and education and even increasing the marriage age of girls. What’s more, you’ll be truly surprised to know how Nagabhushana managed to do it all. 

Tucked in the folds of Krishnagiri forests in Tamil Nadu and forgotten at the state’s borders with Karnataka, lies this tribal village – Noorundumalai. Even in its relative anonymity, Noorundumalai has some claim to distinction.

This village is alcohol and tobacco free since 2002. There are literally no shops here that sell cigarettes or liquor. In fact, the local cigarette shop owner, Sivanna, quit smoking and shut shop fourteen years ago!

Nagabhushna’s (left) intervention has enabled villagers to opt for better livelihood options.

He says there were no takers for cigarettes in his village and he couldn’t quite resist good from happening.

Two decades ago, 23 year old Nagabushana, born into a tribal family in Noorundumalai, came back to the village after completing his masters in social work. He came back with a mind that was churned hard by his traveling experiences across the length and breadth of India.

He got to witness the human struggles in some of the most backward of villages of India. Once when he was travelling through Odisha, he saw how the men of a village went out to collect dungs of animals that their women could wash and strain, and look for rice particles in them that the families could eat. He didn’t need a bigger thrust than this distressing scene to commit himself to a life of service. And he came back, to begin it all at his own village.

There were a million things that Nagabushana wanted to change in Noorundumalai. One big problem that grappled the village was alcoholism. Men of all ages were under its spell. It was not just spoiling their health but also ridding the families of a chance to rise above poverty.

Nagabushana wanted to bell this big unruly cat as the first step towards bringing change in his village. When he told his friends about his idea, they dismissed him and told him he was insane to have even thought of this. It was sensitive and even dangerous to attempt a fight against alcoholism in Tamil Nadu.

And Nagabushana was all of 23, barely employed with a salary of just Rs. 1600. It would be perilous for Nagabushana, thought his friends. But when he told his mother about his intent, she stood by his decision; the only person who encouraged him and showed courage to begin this work for change.

Nagabushana started addressing the problem with subtlety. He took up the topic of quitting alcohol in informal talks with the villagers and advised them on alcohol restraint as a solution to their health problems.

He started teaching children for free in the local school, for whom be soon became a hero. His involvement in various social and development issues of the villages brought him admiration and acceptance in the village.

He started by teaching in schools and later on expanded his activities to a larger group.

Slowly and steadily, he strengthened his campaign towards ending the menace of inebriation. In a few years, he had the youth of the village stand alongside him by starting an association of Tobacco and Alcohol Free Rural Youth. This group took along teetotallers and encouraged others to look beyond alcohol and tobacco. Fascinatingly, these youngsters worked like a peer pressure group among the villagers who made it ‘cool’ to be free of alcohol.

While Nagabushana was preparing Noorundumalai for total alcohol prohibition, there were factions who were losing out on their business of locally brewed liquor. They spewed death threats on Nagabushana and tried to hinder his efforts in many ways. But he stood unbridled by these deterrents and steered the village to being declared alcohol and tobacco free in 2002.

For this extraordinary feat, Nagabushana gained support not just from the villages, but from the local authorities and the government as well. The district collector of Krishnagiri, Santhosh Babu, generously supported the anti-liquor campaign and the development of the village by offering funds towards its school, roads and other infrastructure.

Soon the village was abuzz with a different spirit – of employment and development.

Namanam provides rehabilitation to alcohol addicts.

Now there was a bigger challenge – how do you sustain the change? You could get carried away by achieving a milestone, but it wouldn’t take long for the vices to make a comeback. The energy had to be kept alive. Nagabushana then decided to start a de-addiction and rehabilitation center, at Urigam, 6 kms away from Noorundumalai. The center was named Namanam, and it supported villagers in and around Noorundumalai. Namanam gradually became the epicentre of transformation for these villages.

To sustain itself, Namanam made a foray into business and produced commercial products using locally available resources like tamarind, aloe-vera and many other herbal products. The individuals who sought rehab were given jobs at the factory. They soon had an engaging time that would make their rehab route fast and fulfilling.

In the last ten years, over 1,000 youngsters have found a new direction for their lives through Namanam.

Self-development, employment, healthcare – all these found a place in this beautiful campus that stands alongside the gurgling Kaveri. Several college students from Bangalore visit and camp at Namanam for a transformational experience. Nagabushan makes sure that the children who visit Namanam take an oath that they will never fall prey to alcohol or smoking.

From fighting alcoholism to employment to health to women empowerment, one by one, Nagabushan is moving the mountains of Noorundumalai. Noorundumalai now has a respectable school, a changed face from its dilapidated condition. The girls of the village, who used to be married off at the age of 12, are now standing up for themselves and their education. Over the years the marriage age has come up to 17 but there is still a long way to go. Nagabushana is working hard for a change in this scene. He has now set up a factory at Noorundumalai to produce sanitary napkins for the women of the village, who are the ones employed at the factory, making the 100% cotton napkins and leading a feminine hygiene revolution among themselves.

Now, for a little surprise element – Nagabushan managed to bring about all these changes in the villages through twenty years of hard work while he held a full time job in Bangalore!

Now Noorundumalai village has seen a lot of positive changes.

He always held a job so that he could invest in Namanam’s initiatives. Many times he found himself unable to pay the school fees of his children, but neither Nagabushana nor his family ever wanted to give up the cause they stood for. He currently works as the Deputy General Manager of HR at Robert Bosch, Bangalore – definitely not an easy corporate job.

After a fully engrossing work week, he cranks his car on Saturday mornings to travel the 100 kilometer distance to Namanam. The village awaits his arrival with his family. Updates, new initiatives, new plans – all get discussed and worked upon during the weekend. While he drives back to Bangalore, the show goes on at Namanam with his mother, brother and several youngsters managing it all.

Come Monday, he is back at work, like all of us.

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He was detained, warned of arrests, abused, manhandled and saw wrath of the government but continued to serve the community. Know more about the amazing saint who is worshiping humanity.

“Swami Pranavananda Ashram, kitna (how much)?” I asked the auto driver. He asked me twice on the location. It was strange, so I tried something else and asked back again – “Swami Vivekananda Kudil”. The auto driver’s eyes became bright and he ushered me in without even bargaining for a second. Very unusual in Tamil Nadu!

I was in the island of Rameswaram. Rameswaram has been considered a sacred place for Hindus for thousands of years. Also, of late, this small town has achieved another distinction – that of being the birth place of the former president Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. During my last trip, I visited these two famous places in Rameswaram. However, this time my intention was to meet Swami Pranavananda Ji.

I am wrong here as Swamiji told me over the phone “Come and see my work, not me”. I got a hint of this at the railway station auto stand itself, that his work has overshadowed him.

Swamiji believes in worshipping the humanity.

I reached a group of huts amidst sand and salt in the fishing village of Dhanushkodi in Rameswaram. This is Swami Vivekananda Kudil (‘Kudil’ meaning ‘house’ in Tamil) symbolizing the vision, dream & conviction of a self-less and uncompromising saint – Swami Pranavananda. As soon as I reached Swamiji, his “Gods” (a group of children!) greeted me in. He took me first to a makeshift temple, where based on a Hindu ritual, a lady was performing Aarti (devotional song). Swamiji introduced her as Rosa – his lieutenant.

Reading my mind, he answered that for being a devotee, spirituality was the need and not the following of any particular religion. This kind of secularism is hard to find even in our cities and towns, forget about a religiously charged place in a rural fishing village.

In the next half an hour Swamiji showed me the humble cottages and huts where at present 36 orphan kids stay. He eventually started talking about his journey when he left his house, parents and relatives well in his teens to serve and preach humanity.

He was a distinguished monk of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission order for more than two decades. In the early 1980’s he was serving the poor of the Ramanathapuram district in Tamil Nadu. It was then that his life took another turn.

In 1983, the Jaffna war broke out in Sri Lanka. Lots of war victims started flocking to India through Dhanushkodi. Both the country’s governments were busy with their administration duties. It was then that this compassionate saint became restless. The cries of the orphaned and destitute kids reached his ears from across the ocean. The navies of both the countries were patrolling the sea to counter infiltration.

In the darkness of night, Swamiji used to take a hand rowing boat and sail for Sri Lanka, crossing the turbulent sea. Every night he dodged the security personnel to bring the helpless kids to safety.

From rescuing children to imparting wisdom, Swamiji has always stood by the people.

For more than a month, he sailed to Sri Lanka twice every night to rescue two children per night. He brought back more than 70 war affected children. Looking at my bafflement, he gave a pat on my back and said “How can I worship God and eat food each day when the living little Gods were suffering?” Still captivated, I asked about the danger. His eyes lit up,

“A saint possess nothing, so what’s there to lose? – all is God’s will.”

After that, Ramakrishna Mission came to his aid by providing the current land for housing of the kids. With the cooperation of the local fishermen, Swami Pranavananda established “Swami Vivekananda Kudil” in 1983. Thus started the journey of this saint with the fishing hamlet. Today, not only the war affected kids but hundreds of impoverished children have stayed here, studied and stood on their feet. Swami Pranavananda or Swami Vivekananda Kudil is a sign of hope in this gloomy island.

The island and fishermen’s villages receive heavy rainfall every year. Water logging is common and throws normal life out of gear. Then, as with any difficult terrain in India, many of the government benefits do not reach these villages. With despair comes the evil of alcoholism, illiteracy, bad habits, religious tensions and other problems. Let me list down how, for more than 30 years, Swami Pranavananda has been a bright ray of hope to the fishermen of Rameswaram.

To address the issue of over-dependency on fishing, he is educating the fishermen’s kin to secure private and government jobs. Any student facing financial hurdle turns to this possession-less saint for making the arrangements. The change is being felt gradually in Dhanushkodi. Moreover, basic amenities like water, ration, sanitation, electricity, etc. were at one time unimaginable by these villagers. Swamiji empowered them to avail these government benefits. In order to remove the middle men and money lenders, he encouraged the formation of Self Help Groups among fishermen and educated them in all spheres of lives.

Over the decades, Swami Pranavananda has fought with the central government, state government, local councils and police for the fundamental rights laid out in the constitution. His organization provides transport during health emergency too. He has sat in hundreds of dharnas (non-violent sit-in protests) before government offices for the needs of his own people.

He has no fear or hesitation in blocking roads for the demands of these poor folks. He has been detained, warned of arrests, abused, manhandled and had to bear the wrath of the government.

Swamiji believes spirituality is the need and not the following of any particular religion.

For his institution subsidies became irregular and financial help from the government was turned down majority of the times. Now, even the school at Swami Vivekananda Kudil was closed by the government. He was labeled as anti-development. Still, none could deter this man’s conviction. Swamiji had the last laugh as the villages now have fresh water supply, concrete roads, electricity and drainage. As he was in the path of truth, he managed to get government orders that went against the fishing community reversed.

To pacify the religious tensions, he organizes ‘All Religion Seminars’ each year aimed at universal brotherhood. He made these fishermen experience culture and heritage by promoting folk dance and martial arts. Swami Pranavananda Ji works at a war-footing mode on any job at hand be it cooking for the orphan kids, driving a patient, delegating a spiritual talk, negotiating with government officials or imparting education.

His whole life has been to translate the message of, “Service to man is service to God” into action. Swami Vivekananda Kudil has grown into a philanthropic organization working for the material, cultural, educational and spiritual up-liftment of the poor.

Within 4 kms. of the famous Shiva temple, I witness another prayer of humanity being performed in Swami Vivekananda Kudil. As one crosses the class rooms of the school he has built, it becomes evident that these rest on true determination. Here’s a short video:.

You Tube Video.

Swami Pranavananda can be contacted or you can help the organization by addressing to Swami Pranavananda, Swami Vivekananda Kudil, Ramkrishna Puram, P.O- Rameswaram Road, Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, Pin-6235216. Ph: 04573-223098.

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Here is how Indian doctors successfully performed India’s first paediatric heart transplant on a two-year-old Russian baby. Know all about the medical achievement that made Russian doctors give up on the baby and German doctors cringe in fear!

India marked yet another medical success after doctors in Chennai performed a successful “India’s first” paediatric heart transplant on a two-year-nine-months-old Russian baby boy on December 19, 2014. This achievement not only saved a precious life but has also gave new hope to many more children who are suffering from heart diseases in the country.

The transplanted heart belonged to a two-year-old boy, Yatarth, who was declared brain dead by doctors at Manipal Hospital in Bengaluru.

When Yatarth’s parents agreed to donate his heart, it was harvested and airlifted from Bengaluru to Chennai using the inter-state green corridor within 47 minutes.

Baby Gleb with his mother Nelli and the team of doctors

Photo: www.bellevision.com

When young Gleb Kudriavtceva from Moscow arrived in India, his condition was critical. He was suffering from Restrictive Cardio Myopathy, a condition where the heart loses its capacity to relax with each beat affecting the pumping of blood. Paediatric transplants have always been difficult but this case was even more risky as the child was too weak to withstand anaesthesia. He also had chances of right ventricular dysfunction after transplant due to his condition of severe pulmonary artery hypertension.

After the surgery, as expected, Gleb developed right ventricular dysfunction which was efficiently managed by the doctors through medication. Gleb’s right vertical has now completely recovered.

The prompt action and quick arrangement of the heart helped to quicken the process. Gleb was listed on the transplant list at both the state level and the regional level so that he could get a suitable heart at the earliest.

The eight-hour-long complex surgery at Fortis Malar, a private hospital in Chennai, was efficiently performed by Dr. K. R. Balakrishnan, director of Cardiac Sciences and Dr. Suresh Rao, Head of Department, Critical Care and Cardiac Anaesthesia at the hospital.

Dr K R Balakrishnan

Dr. Suresh Rao

Photo Courtesy: www.fortishealthcare.com

“The surgery was technically difficult and challenging as the recipient was a very small boy. We could not start with giving him anaesthesia to fix the heart in the chamber because the boy was too young and sick to withstand anaesthesia. After the surgery, within a six weeks the boy has had a weight gain of 3.5 kg and is recovering rapidly,” said Dr Rao explained to DNA.

When Gleb was six months old, his mother Nelli noticed an abnormality in his abdomen and consulted a doctor in Russia, who then informed her about his condition. Doctors had given a verdict that the chances of Gleb’s survival were very less.

But she didn’t give up. Nelli looked for financial help from family and friends in Russia and after collecting enough funds she took Gleb to doctors in Germany who refused to treat Gleb due to high lung pressure as the pumping of blood was affected due to his condition.

India came as another choice to Nelli due to the affordable cost of treatment here. She did not waste another minute and came to India where her son’s heart has started beating steadily now.

Photo for representation purpose only. Courtesy: www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk

“Until I came to India, I did not believe in miracles. But now I am extremely grateful to the doctors at Fortis Malar Hospital. After a long struggle I am finally going to go back to Russia with my son and reunite with my daughter and the rest of the family. This is the biggest gift god has given me this New Year,” Nelli told Bellevision.

Gleb who weighed only 7 kgs when he was brought into the country is showing signs of a fast recovery and already weighs 10.5 kgs. The new heart took around 10 days to adjust and is working fine now.

Apart from the recent success, Dr. Balakrishnan has been responsible for many such path-breaking surgeries including India’s first successful HVAD implant in 2013 and India’s first successful LVAD implant surgery as destination therapy in 2012.

This success, which doctors claim to be India’s first, sure comes as good news and we hope to see many more similar success stories in the future. Congratulations to the team who made it possible and good luck to the young heart.

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Here is a close look into the lives of the brave women in the Indian Navy, and how they manage both their worlds efficiently. From work pressure and discipline to family and kids, these women have mastered every field. Here they share with us their secrets to a successful career in Defence.

Perhaps the most defining image from this year’s grand Republic Day parade – that played host to US President Barack Obama – was that of the all-women contingent of the three armed forces marching smartly down the Rajpath in Delhi for the first time ever.

Nevertheless, female officers always find a way to distinguish themselves – just like Commander Gutta Sowjanya Sree and Lieutenant Vartika Joshi from the Navy, and Assistant Commandant Vasundhara Chouksey from the Coast Guard have by navigating the rough seas between Chennai and Kochi recently as part of an expedition on board the INSV Mhadei, led by Commander Dilip Donde, who holds the record of being the first Indian to have circumnavigated the world by sailing.

Although, in the past, female naval and coast guard officers have been known to spend their entire career doing on-shore duties alone, Asst. Cmdt. Chouksey, 25, has already started sailing.

Asst. Cmdt. Vasundhara Chouksey of the Cast Guard has already begun sailing and is keen on to take up combat or frontline operations, if given the chance. (Credit: Hema Vijay\WFS)

“I have been in service for three years now and it’s been good going so far. I had always been dreaming of being part of such an expedition and when the navy called for women volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity,” she says.

Currently stationed at Chennai’s Coast Guard Air Station, Asst. Cmdt. Chouksey is also keen to take up combat or frontline operations, if given the chance. As a young girl growing up in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, she had signed up for the National Cadet Corp during school, and had always planned on a career in the defence forces. As a logistics officer, these days she gets to assist in patrolling the sea from air.

“We are certainly moving towards more frontline roles for women in the armed forces. Women are slowly getting the opportunity to go onboard warships,” remarks Lt. Joshi, a naval architecture cadet posted at Visakhapatnam.

She works on the design and construction of ships and submarines. The fact that most recently designed and constructed warships have separate accommodation for women gives Lt. Joshi the confidence that women naval officer in combat roles will be a reality sooner than later. Asst. Cmdt. Chouksey couldn’t agree more, “I strongly believe that in the next five to 10 years, women will be on the frontline as well.”

According to Hyderabad-born Commander Gutta Sowjanya Sree, 37, who is Joint Director-Training at the National Defence Academy in Pune, anybody – male or female – can take up combat operations with the right kind of training. “The key is being physically and mentally fit. It is a necessary non-negotiable attribute,” she says. Cdr.

Sowjanya Sree, too, feels that right now the problem of bunking with male officers in warships is what has stopped women from finding a more regular space on board. Incidentally, she has the distinction of being the first female officer to have completed 16 years of service in the Navy.

Cmdr Gutta Sowjanya Sree and Lt Vartika Joshi from the Navy and Asst Cmdt Vasundhara Chouksey from the Coast Guard have braved the rough seas between Chennai and Kochi as part of an expedition aboard the INSV Mhadei under the leadership of Commander Dilip Donde. (Credit: Hema Vijay\WFS)

On his part, expedition lead Cdr. Dilip Donde doesn’t see much of a difference in the way male and female officers approach the job. Referring especially to their sailing skills he says, “The lady officers handled the trip very well. When you are on board with only four as the crew, everybody has to do everything and they caught on to the job excellently.”

Sailing is tough and encompasses a whole gamut of activities and responsibilities. Apart from managing the sails, there is navigation, radio communication, maintenance of the boat, repairs, holding the boat afloat when the weather gets rough, and, not to forget cooking meals for the crew. Of course, sailing aboard warships needs greater expertise and endurance. Moreover, this is not your regular nine-to-five job – it’s round the clock and officers on board have to get used to handling work off shore.

“At sea, everything is harder to do, even something as simple as boiling water in a kettle, because of the waves,” points out Cdr. Donde.

Even today, a general notion exists that a career in the defence forces is particularly rough on women. Asst. Cmdt. Chouksey refutes this outright. She says, “I am single right now, but I have seen colleagues and seniors having a successful career as well as a happy married life. In fact, women in the services are far more comfortable. The defence establishment has very good facilities. Living arrangements are not an issue, as female officers are entitled to accommodation where they can stay with their husbands. Moreover, they get to give their children access to a more inclusive and varied education as well as an opportunity to indulge in all kinds of adventure sports.”

In April 2015, Chouksey will be off to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute for an advanced training programme in mountaineering. She has already completed her basic training in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, a few months ago.

For someone who hails from Rishikesh in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, and is now posted in faraway Visakhapatnam, Lt. Joshi doesn’t think that a defence career would clash with her family life “unless I get a difficult remote posting”. Compulsory transfers happen once every three or four years.

“There are married women officers and they are striking a balance between their professional and personal life. And I guess it helps a lot if the family is supportive. There isn’t any specific challenge in the navy, but we lead a disciplined life. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I love it,” she elaborates.

Like Joshi has mentioned, an encouraging and accommodating family is crucial in making things work. Cdr. Sowjanya Sree’s 13-year-old son Saakeph is in a boarding school in Hyderabad because she didn’t want him to move to different institutions in his secondary schooling years.

Photo for representation purpose only. Courtesy: www.indiandefensenews.in

“Earlier, I used to take him to wherever I was posted,” she recalls. But since her software professional husband is stationed at London and she doesn’t have extended family support, the couple took the call to send their teenage son to a hostel. “During his vacations, he comes over to Pune and I take as much leave as possible to spend time with him. My son is proud of me being in uniform. Personally, his ambitions have varied from being in the infantry to being a scientist, pilot, and software professional. He is learning sailing and horse riding at present,” shares the doting mom.

Cdr. Sowjanya Sree opines that bringing up children while being in service has become relatively easier. “These days, lady officers can take almost a year’s leave on having a baby by clubbing maternity leave, annual leave, furlough leave, and so on. I used to leave my three-month-old baby in a crèche and go to work,” remarks the officer, who was earlier working on missile control systems in DRDO, Visakhapatnam.

“A career in the defence calls for a lot of sincerity and dedication. Unlike civilian jobs, here you can’t go job-hopping,” she adds.

While there is much talk of women taking up combat roles, the reality is a little more complicated. Remember, there are very strict qualifying criteria for these high pressure duties. Physically, even a half a kilo of weight gain or deviation in the lipid profile is not permissible, both of which are inevitable after childbirth. Another apparent challenge is getting family postings. Like civilian women professionals, many women officers, too, prefer to keep their family together. However, despite the hurdles and problems, there are many committed service women who are raring to get some action and they have earned their chance.

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A team of girls from Women’s Christian College, Chennai conducts a hair donation drive annually to collect hair that can be used to make natural wigs for cancer patients of the globally-renowned Adyar Cancer Institute. Read on to know more about these wonder women!

Seeta (name changed on request), a 19-year old girl from Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, was struck by cancer. She was brought to Chennai for treatment at the Adyar Cancer Institute. After several painful sessions of Chemotherapy, Seeta gradually returned to normalcy. She had already missed two years of college due to the chemotherapy sessions. Adding salt to the wound was the fact that she had gone bald due to the treatment.

Even though her cancer had been cured, she was not confident enough to walk into the outside world and lead a normal life due to her looks. She underwent a long period of trauma as she just could not come to terms with it. She did not want the world to know that she had cancer. One fine day came the solution to her problem – a natural hair wig – that was given to her, free-of-cost, at the Cancer Institute. She is now resuming her education with a lot of self-confidence and leading a dignified life.

Seeta, is just one of the many beneficiaries of Tangled – a hair donation initiative of the Rotaract Club at the Women’s Christian College (WCC), Chennai.

The all-girls team has launched the initiative to donate hair for a cause.

Making natural hair wigs requires people like you and me to come forward and donate some amount of our own hair. Anyone willing to donate their hair could do so by walking into the nearest Green Trends Beauty Salon outlet.

“The salon cuts and collects hair free of cost from the donors. More than 600 stylists are trained to collect a minimum of 10 inches of hair without changing the customer’s look. It takes atleast 6-8 ponytails to make one wig,” says Gopalakrishnan, the Business Head of the salon chain.

Why natural hair wigs?

Synthetic hair wigs that are usually worn are extremely uncomfortable, itchy and expensive. The cost of one such wig is about Rs.25,000 to Rs.30,000 and most patients, after spending lakhs on the treatment, hesitate to spend such a huge amount on a wig. Natural hair wigs, meanwhile, come at price of approximately Rs.17,000.

Raj Hair Intl. Pvt. Ltd., the wig-making partner of Tangled, gives the natural hair wigs to them at a price of Rs. 4,500 per wig. These wigs are then distributed for free to the underprivileged cancer patients of the Cancer Institute. The cost of wig-making is borne by the sponsors whose generous contributions make this possible.

r The salon also gives a haircut without changing the style for free.

Says Rennee Sara, the brainchild behind the initiative: “The main idea was to do a project in my final year of college that would have a positive impact on the common public. When I started looking out for ideas, I came to know about this initiative called – LOCKS OF LOVE based in USA. They also helped supply free natural hair wigs to cancer patients. I then searched if such organizations existed in India as well. I came to know that very few exist and among those, very few were functioning due to lack of funds. People were unaware of hair wigs here. Moreover, cancer patients are unwilling to disclose that they were infected and end up quitting their jobs. That is when I decided to start this drive”.

Their campaign message reads as follows-

“You’ll be shedding few inches of a dead organ. Fortunately, you are aware that it will grow back. What you are unaware of is the fact that this could boost the self-confidence of another person and can in many ways cure the agony of cancer”.

The beginning

“It began last year, 2014, on the 4th of February which is marked as World Cancer Day. People were encouraged to donate their hair for a noble cause. Campaigns, social media, newspapers, magazines and private news channels were used as media for publicity. The Cancer Institute also agreed to receive the wigs. The team thought that it would be difficult to convince girls to donate their hair. We even faced criticism; many questions arose such as – “will any girl be willing to donate?”, “will her parents agree?” and many more. But to our pleasant surprise, on Day One of our drive, 160 women came forward to donate their hair! Last year alone, 2549 donors came forward to donate their hair and the net weight of the hair collected was 83 kg during the two-week drive!” says Shashwathi, the Vice President of the club, beaming with joy.

Last year, the drive happened at Chennai, Coimbatore, and some parts of Bangalore while this year it was extended to New Delhi, Hyderabad and Vellore. The drive happened from 4th February to 18th February this year.

Donors enthusiastically donate their hair.

How is it done?

The hair that is being cut, is stored in zip lock covers and is given away to the wig making partner. There, it is dried, cleaned using hot water, classified based on the texture, permed and then hand woven into wigs.

As and when the wigs are made, they are given to the people in-charge at the Cancer Institute, who after further testing and a round of counselling give it to the underprivileged cancer patients, who are really in need of them. It takes about three months to make 20 wigs.

Many people including kids and adults have come forward to show their support.

The impact

“The impact has been very satisfying. When we get calls from the beneficiaries, it brings us tears of joy. 220 wigs have been made till now and about 120 of them have been given to the Cancer Institute,” says Shashwathi.

Rennee further explains that the psyche of a person plays a very important role in health. If it gets affected, it leads to various other diseases. Especially when children go bald, it affects their self-esteem and depresses them. Due to lack of awareness on hair donation, there are very few hair donors in India. People donate their hair, knowing that it would be used for someone who needs it.

“The cost of 220 wigs comes up to 9 lakhs. We are extremely thankful to our ever enthusiastic sponsors, but we would really appreciate it if more organisations and well wishers come forward,” tells Shashwathi.

The team posing with the award SAADHANAI PENGAL – Women Achiever Award for Outstanding Contribution towards social service

“Not only women, but even men promise to grow their hair and donate it!” laughs Rennee.

The team has received about 14 awards since its inception.

Shashwathi explains: “Our main aim is to make women, young girls and children affected by cancer psychologically confident, give them a feeling that they are no way lesser than the rest, that they are neither ugly nor inferior and that they have to move on, to be a better person, to make a positive impact and most importantly, to obtain the willpower to lead their lives with self-esteem. While most of us dream of fancy cars and houses, a little girl somewhere, fighting cancer, dreams of having her hair again.”

The natural wigs are cheaper and more comfortable.

So what keeps them going?

“I believe that when you really want to do something for someone, money will not be an issue; things will automatically fall in place. We are able to put a smile on people’s faces – there cannot be a joy greater than that!” signs off Rennee.

Several celebrities from the Tamil Film Industry have come forward to support the cause. To sponsor and to know more about this initiative, visit their Facebook page. Or mail them at – rcwcc1415@gmail.com

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He is helping children with special needs fight their biggest fears and live a better life. He has made some of the most shy and difficult kids become confident and social. And he is very, very cute. Meet the amazing Dr. Ruffles. 

Chennai-based Dr Ruffles is extremely popular with children. His treatment has helped several non-verbal children with autism to speak up, aided those with attention deficit disorder and other learning disabilities to improve their performance in school, and even resolved complex behavioural issues in many of his little patients. Quite incredibly, though, the good doctor has accomplished all this without so much as uttering a single word or writing out a prescription.

Indeed, he has become the hugely successful therapist he is by simply being himself – a non-judgmental, attentive and very affectionate dog!

The treatment of Dr Ruffles, an affectionate dog and resident ‘doctor’ at a hospital in Chennai, has helped several children with special needs to overcome their learning disabilities and resolve complex behavioural issues.

Ruffles is the resident ‘doctor’ at the Saraswathi Kendra Learning Centre for Children run by the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation. He is part of their innovative Dr Dog programme that was launched in 2001 with the assistance of the Animal Asia Foundation (AAF), a Hong Kong-based charity founded by Jill Robinson, which provides animal-assisted therapy especially to children with special needs.

It all began in 1991 when Robinson trained her gentle golden retriever to become “Dr Max”. He was allowed to spend just one hour in the garden of Hong Kong’s Duchess of Kent Children’s Hospital but the smiles he brought on the face of one paraplegic boy simply amazed his carers.

Ever since then, the AAF has trained and certified over 1,000 Dr Dogs to spread the healing touch across several countries, including Taiwan, India, the Philippines, Japan and Malaysia.

These furry friends are not only “attached” to orphanages, old age homes and hospitals to cheer up their inmates but are also roped in to provide actual therapy to special children.

The Dr Dog programme at Saraswathi Kendra took off following an interaction between Robinson and Dr Nanditha Krishna, Honorary Director of the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation.

Dr Krishna personally went about understanding the ins and outs of the qualifying training as well as the assessment procedure for the dogs and eventually it was her own dog Moosa that became India’s first certified Dr Dog.

Dr Ruffles has become the hugely successful therapist today by simply being himself – non-judgmental, attentive and very affectionate.

Initially, the Saraswathi Kendra had coordinated with both the AAF and the Blue Cross of India, an animal welfare charity based in Chennai, for this initiative. Today, however, it aids psychologists and therapists from other institutions to choose, train and register their own Dr Dogs.

As not every dog can be trained to be a Dr Dog, it is crucial to choose the right one for the job. According to Dr Krishna, “A Dr Dog has to be calm and friendly, with basic obedience skills. For instance, Ruffles wouldn’t mind it even if you were to pull his toes one by one. Other dogs might not be so benign. Ultimately, it’s the nature of the dog and not the breed that makes a real difference although Labradors and Retrievers do have a pleasant disposition that makes them perfect.”

Once chosen, the dog is trained by a personal handler and later assessed and certified. Additionally, it needs to be neutered, vaccinated and kept clean. However affable a Dr Dog may be, the presence of its trainer/handler is mandatory during a session. “

The animal is always accompanied by his handler and a therapist. Moreover, it is always on leash though it needn’t be tied up. The leash serves as a reminder that it has to be obedient at all times,” points out Uma Nagarajan, a volunteer, who helps out with therapy sessions at Saraswathi Kendra.

In the warm and loving presence of Dr Ruffles, the special children learn to open up and interact, they are taught how to read and count as well as improve their language skills and vocabulary.

So, what makes this affable canine such a resounding success? “Well, dogs are non-threatening and give unconditional love and attention. There is no fear of failure, rejection or insecurity in his presence. Some of the children may not find it easy to break the ice with adults or even with their peers but a sweet natured dog appeals to everyone and instantly puts them at ease,” elaborates Dr Krishna even as she paraphrases writer Ben Williams, who has famously said: ‘There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face!’

When Dr Ruffles is around, children who are usually holding back due to their disability don’t feel stifled, inferior or inadequate. Very quickly, they gain the confidence to speak up, be themselves, and attempt tasks that they ordinarily would avoid. They always respond positively to the activities that resident clinical psychologist R. Madhu asks them to do.

For instance, ‘Ruffles wants you to count to 20 loudly’ or ‘Ruffles wants you to take a deep breath whenever you begin to stutter so that you are able pronounce the next word without faltering’. In fact, his attraction is such that those who otherwise don’t want to go to school also make it a point to get to class everyday just for an opportunity to meet and play with Dr Ruffles later on.

“When Ruffles is introduced to the children we tell them that he understands English – or whatever language they know – and that they can talk to him freely and play with him as much as they want to. Subsequently, we ask them to attempt to do things. Deep down, the children are aware that the instructions are not coming from Ruffles but they nevertheless do everything because his being with them instinctively motivates them to react favourably to the instructions being given,” reveals R. Madhu.

Today, the affection and undivided attention of Dr Ruffles has enabled 11-year-old Shankar, who has borderline autism, to get over his habit of making repetitive statements, particularly saying: “I’ll hit you with a stick”.

When Ruffles is around, kids don’t feel stifled, they don’t feel inferior or inadequate, and they get the confidence to speak up, be themselves and attempt tasks.

Once he started visiting Saraswathi Kendra and spending time with his favourite Dr Dog, Shankar became comfortable enough to tell him that he doesn’t like to say such things and would like to stop repeating his sentences. With Ruffles support, the therapist was able to work with the child and produce encouraging results.

Even nine-year-old Vishal spoke his first-ever words to Sachin, the former Dr Dog at Saraswathi Kendra, when one day during therapy he suddenly asked him: “Sachin, I ate upma (South Indian khichdi) for breakfast what did you have?”

“A Dr Dog like Ruffles acts as a facilitator,” shares Nagarajan, “If there is a child with behaviour issues, we tell him that Ruffles doesn’t like it and at once s/he falls in line just for him. With constant therapy there may come a time when the child may not need the doctor dog anymore but by then the learning is ingrained. Dr Dog’s effect lingers on.”

Truly, Dr Ruffles is the best friend a special child could ever have.

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Ananda Kumar came up with an interesting solution to the human-elephant conflict using a mobile phone. The average number of deaths has drastically after Ananda’s intervention. Here’s how he did it.

Life in Valparai plateau in southern India is not an easy one. People are now used to sudden encounters with giant elephants. With such unexpected encounters, both humans and animals fear for their safety leading to larger destruction and loss of life. For centuries, elephants have existed in the thick forests, and with these rainforests getting converted into tea plantations, the animals are left with no choice but to intrude the human space. Though it is not possible to track and control the movement of both humans and animals, it is better to be prepared in advance and avoid mishaps.

A wildlife conservationist Ananda Kumar has come up with an innovative solution to this conflict, where he has managed to save several lives with the help of a simple mobile phone.

Ananda Kumar won the Whitley award 2015 for his mobile phone solution to elephant-human conflict.

Always interested in the field of animal behaviour, Kumar was first introduced to this work by his professor. “I used to watch monkeys and really liked to observe their behaviour, and gradually developed my interest in this field,” Kumar recalls. But it was his stint with a local plantation company that hired him to deal with elephant-human conflict that gave a better shape to his passion.

“I observed elephants. They are very intelligent creatures and love to live in peace. Their encounter with humans is inevitable; it is the negative interaction that causes damage. People have been co-existing with them for centuries and this is what they should do now. It is the helplessness of both animal and human that creates panic. If people are empowered to deal with such situations than such destruction will not happen,” says Kumar.

Ananda then started his work to solve this issue, and along with two more wildlife conservationists, came up with an interesting solution. The crucial part was to track the elephant and let people know its presence to avoid any conflict. With the help of local people and the government, he managed to implement a solution where the location of the elephant was shown on TV as a tick crawl, which helped people to be aware of the elephant presence and plan their outdoor activities in a more informed way.

But what about the people already out in the field? Kumar started a mobile SMS service where the users are notified via text messages about the elephant presence in a particular area. The messages are sent in both English and Tamil language.

“And for those who did not even have a mobile phone or were out of network area, we installed lights. These lights blink whenever there is an elephant in a 2 kms radius,” says Kumar.

These lights are operated through three registered mobile numbers. One of these numbers is of Kumar’s team and the other two numbers are of local citizens selected by the residents. Started in 2002, this service has already reached out to over 3,000 mobile phone users and saved several lives.

Before the implementation of this service, Valparai plateau in Tamil Nadu recorded an average three deaths annually due to elephant-human encounters. After this programme came into the picture, the average number of deaths has gone down to just one per annum.

The innovative service has reduced the number of fatal incidents drastically.

“Even if a message is delivered to one number, that person can forward it to his family and friends, which will eventually reach out to a larger number of people. People can plan their activities accordingly as they are prepared. There is also less panic among people,” he says.

In his many years of service in this field, Kumar has observed that there is a high level of tolerance among both elephants and humans and they do not attack each other without provocation. “The elephants do not enter the house if there is someone inside. Similarly, humans do not attack the elephants first; they generally try to save their own lives and run away. This shows that both of them can co-exist only if the right intervention is done and people are enabled to deal with the situation in an appropriate manner,” says Kumar.

Though reaching out to the people was initially a difficult task, as any new idea takes time to get acceptance. But the instant impact of the service built trust among the people. Gradually, dangerous encounters and incidents of damage to property and life started falling after introduction of this early warning system.

Kumar has recently received the Whitley Award for his extra ordinary contribution in reducing human-elephant conflict. The award, which is called the “Green Oscar”, is yet another feather in Kumar’s hat.

He plans to further strengthen the warning system of elephant presence, extend it to include other animals, and expand his area of work to different regions of Karnataka and other states.

“Every animal is unique and its behavior is different too. We want to understand that and approach them accordingly. We also want to reduce the crop damage due such conflicts,” he says.

Having effectively solved one of the most crucial issues, Kumar advises people to be more patient and have better understanding of their local region. He is now working in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, a forest-farm landscape that supports subsistence farmers at risk of elephant crop damage. To know more about his work, contact him at – anand@ncf-india.org

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Sonam had never stepped out of Mumbai. But when she did she not only changed her life, but that of hundreds of salt pan workers in Tamil Nadu. Here is her story of change and how she is giving them access to much needed urinals.

Sonam Dumbre had never stepped out of Maharashtra. Born and brought up in Mumbai, this 24-year old girl was raised under the care and protection of a loving family. After completing her post-graduation in Environmental Sciences, she got a good job as a sales executive. But one fine day, a general visit to the SBI website changed her life for good.

She saw a link on the website about SBI’s Youth for India fellowship. As she explored and read more about the initiative she became more interested in it

And the next thing she knew, she was packing her bags to shift to Kovilthavu salt pans, Vedaranyam, Tamil Nadu.

Long working hours under the hot sun make the working conditions very difficult for the workers.

“Salt work involves rigorous physical labour in high temperatures (40 degree Celsius and above) leading to rapid loss of water from the body which needs to be replaced during the working hours since the body is incapable of storing water for long,” says Sonam.

“It was all so random. I had never imagined that I will be doing something like this. But what caught my attention was the uniqueness of the fellowship. Here we had to do everything from scratch – from finding the problem we wanted to solve to implementing the solution. We have to take ownership of everything and create a real impact,” says Sonam.

Different from most others at her age, Sonam was always sure of what she wanted to do. Hence, even before actually visiting the location to start her fellowship, she knew exactly the sector in which she wanted to intervene and the people she wanted to help.

“I chose Tamil Nadu as I wanted to explore a place I had never been to before. The language, the people – everything was different. I had already decided that I will work with salt pan workers and address the issues faced by them,” she says.

When Sonam reached the venue, she talked to the locals and found that most of the salt pan workers suffered from dehydration and poor health. The reason was quite shocking.

Sonam Dumbre is solving the issue by designing a unique urinal for the salt pan workers.

Due to a lack of access to toilets near the salt pan, they often did not get to relieve themselves for hours. And to avoid frequent visits to the distant peripheries where they could urinate in open, they stopped having enough water which led to various health issues.

“There aren’t any toilets in the salt pan as the salt might get contaminated and then the traders won’t buy it. Also, it is very hard to construct toilets in those areas as even if you dig two-five feet, you get water from the ground,” says Sonam.

In addition to this, many of the workers are daily wage labourers and it takes a lot of time to reach the peripheries of salt pans which are located at least one kilometre away from the site, reducing their productivity and earning potential.

Considering the plight of these workers, she decided to design a urinal which could be constructed in salt pan areas. She came up with two prototypes: one of them is a basic simple design where urine+water waste is passed to a concrete bed planted with salt and urea absorbing plants thus making it a zero liquid discharge unit. The plants can be harvested from time to time and used as fodder for animals.

“The design is very simple and yet has not been implemented anywhere in the country,” she says. Another design she came up with required engineering support as it was based on vacuum evaporation technique.

“The first design is what I am more interested in as it is simple and low cost. I am ready with the prototype which I will install by the end of May. Based on the results, we will install more units,” she says.

Having to walk a long distance to relieve themselves, the workers do not drink water for the entire day.

Having started her fellowship in September 2014, Sonam has come a long way. From feeling like an outsider to becoming friends with the community, this young girl has come out of the shell she lived in and not only changed her life but that of others who needed her help.

The saltpan stretch is 118 acres wide. The intervention will benefit 90 families involved in salt production and 250 workers. Apart from this, about 80 people coming from neighbouring hamlets for daily wage labour will also be using the facility.

From dressing up like the locals to understanding the language, Sonam has been trying her best to fit in. And the impact of her efforts is visible when the community shows trust in her work and hopes for a change.

Saltpan land preparation.

“Earlier it was very difficult for me to break the ice. But gradually I have become part of the community. The journey has transformed me completely. I am no more a shy girl from Mumbai, I feel great that I am doing something that will lead to a larger impact. The whole experience is liberating,” she says.

Sonam wants to continue her work with the same community even after the completion of the fellowship. For the next few years, she wants to research more on the issue and provide better solutions.

The workers often fall sick due to dehydration.

“As it is just a year long fellowship, we have a very limited time to do everything. I would like to spend some more time on it and will be more than happy if someone else comes up with a better design,” she says.

Describing her entire experience of the fellowship, Sonam says it is a great platform to explore and come out of your comfort zone. We hope to see more young professionals like Sonam come forward and make a difference in the lives of those who need it the most.

To know more about her work, you could contact Sonam at: sonamdumbre@gmail.com

Do you want to make real impact too? Then click here to join the SBI Youth For India program

“I was not satisfied. Being in Mumbai, most of my time was spent in travelling to and fro from office. Also, I realised that we had all become accustomed to the problems that affect us regularly. We preferred to avoid them and look for an easy way out rather than work towards a solution. I linked this to the rural sector of India and thought about the condition, solutions and issues there,” he says.

Unlike most people who have a backup plan before they quit a lucrative job, Anirudh didn’t think twice before quitting and remained unemployed for three months to figure out what he wanted to do.

“Though I hail from Chennai, I didn’t know much about our culture and traditions as I grew up in Maharashtra. So I decided to work in Tamil Nadu to get closer to the community I belonged to,” he says.

Anirudh started his work in a remote region of Kolli Hills, where he saw people working hard to incentivise the millet production and its associated market.

“Earlier, the distributor used to pay Rs.18 per sheet of 6 stickers. In order to avoid such high costs, at times, xerox copies of stickers were used. The packaging plastic ordered locally was also below par. In order to optimize the whole process, I convinced MSSRF to bulk order the packaging and stickers. Food grade standing pouches were chosen as a replacement to thin plastic pouches. Due to bulk printing each sheet of 12 stickers now only costs about Rs 9 per sheet. This made the overall process cheaper whilst simultaneously improving the quality and look of the products,” he says.

Owing to Anirudh’s work, the products which are sold in 35 locations in Tamil Nadu now look much more attractive and have been receiving a better response from buyers.

“My idea was to empower the villagers such that, if tomorrow the NGO support stops, they can be self-reliant,” says Anirudh.

Anirudh, along with the kids of the village, installed Tippy Taps (small water containers to wash hands) in the schools and gave ownership of these Tippy Taps to the students.

“Kids would ask us, ‘why and how are you so clean? We also want to be clean like you.’ So it’s not like they don’t value cleanliness; they just need advice, facilities and guidance to do so,” he says.

Villagers, skeptical at first, now openly welcome him to discuss all issues affecting them and also share their suggestions and ideas with him.

“The fellowship has made me more patient. Earlier I would think people are used to the challenges affecting them and don’t actively seek to improve their lifestyle. But today, my perspective has changed. I feel they too want a better life; it is lack of choices and opportunities that stops them,” he says.

Do you want to make real impact too? Then click here to join the SBI Youth For India program.

That is when he came across Milaap. And he didn’t think twice before joining the team which has been changing thousands of lives through its crowd-funding and micro-financing initiatives.

“It happens so many times that we want to help people but we don’t know how to. Milaap bridges that gap. I was enchanted by the idea of using Microfinance as a tool for poverty alleviation and inclusion. After reading many, many stories of farmers in distress and rural problems, I finally found a platform/means to do something about those problems,” he says.

The more he wrote about these people, the more he got involved in their lives. And gradually, he became convinced that he wanted to create a much bigger impact than just writing down the stories.

After collecting all this valuable information, Howard has developed such crucial insights into the lives of the borrowers which we would never be able to. Because Howard is not just an outsider who has come to “help” them. Rather, he is a confidant who acts as a guiding light in the lives of the villagers.

"I have seen change happen in front of my eyes. I have seen how a small loan can create a larger impact and how lives get transformed completely. It is much more than just a small loan as it helps them in the long run," he says.

“I have also seen that we are used to blaming the government for everything. But some government schemes are actually working. People are getting a lot of benefits, and those success stories really need to be told,” he says.

The fellowship has not just helped the borrowers on the ground, but it has changed Howard as a person too.

“If you believe that hardworking people everywhere deserve access to credit markets and if you want to study the issues or have a micro-view of the challenges and changes in rural India, this program is for you. The fellowship changes your perspective towards various things you witness in the country,” he says.

Do you want to bring change in rural India too? Then click here to join the Milaap Fellowship.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).