Helping Hands > Praying Lips

It’s true that helping hands make a significant difference in our society and not generous praying. Well, for a while, I was also part of the bunch of guys who just talk about social problems and poverty but do nothing. In fact, I always wanted to do something, but I was confused about how and where to start.

Some questions that came to my mind were:

• What if I get involved with a big social service organization?
• Will I be completely a part of it if I join?
• Will it be convenient for me?

Once I heard some of our batch-mates Vundavalli (V Srinivas Rao) and Bappi (Bappineedu) were visiting some orphanages for a while. Later, one fine day, there comes a mail from Vundavalli about organizing a lunch at an orphanage. I immediately responded to the mail. Due to a large amount of donation from our friends’ gang, the plan changed to organize for 3 different orphanages. You might be wondering how is a lunch going to tackle social problems? True, it’s not going to, but it is a platform for people like me to start things and realize by spending some time. So, THARA was the first in the league.

THARA - “The Homage for Anawim Rest and Awakening”. (More description will be found on the link: courtesy @Vundavalli). I will be focusing more on my experiences here and not telling about the institute.

We reached the place in the morning and got the necessary items needed for lunch. When we went to the market for shopping, I realized I didn’t know anything about how to prepare a Biryani (I remembered my mom telling me, “Avi, come into the kitchen and see; it’s not that easy”). We were supposed to get some large amount of ingredients for Biryani. So we went in search of the ingredients; interestingly, we met with lots of shopkeepers telling their own prices. We were confused a lot, as we did not know the original price. Aha! We decided to check at all places and then decide where to buy (Bazinga, we were right; that’s the way to shop).

Once the lunch was ready, we called the children outside. The cutest group of children I had ever met. We served them food and ate with them. The most energetic lot of the bunch was the group of 3 young kids. We had great fun together. We all played basketball, catch-catch, and other games. I could not forget one guy who was not speaking anything except for “BUS”. I did not understand what was wrong with him, so I asked their warden. She said this guy never utters a word other than “BUS”; if we say the bus has arrived and you will be boarding it, then only he will eat or do anything. Nobody knows where his parents are, nor does one know where he used to live. It was really sad, and I was moved by that (some things change your life). Finally, the time for the photo session arrived, and we took snaps with all kinds of weird poses. The picture of the group is attached above. All together, we had a gala time. Thanks to Vundavalli, Bappi, Kiran, George, Boppay, and Padmini. (Sorry if I forgot any names.)

What did I get from this wonderful visit? Interesting changes in me after this:

• Don’t talk about things; just do it.
• Feel the real pain with the people who are suffering.
• Care about people around you. I realized how important some things are in life and how small things change your life.
• One of my grandmother’s sisters lives alone. I never realized how happy they would feel if we go and spend some time with them. After one visit, I started visiting her regularly and celebrated important events (birthday and Diwali) with her. She felt so happy that she called my parents, my grandma, and told them that I was celebrating her birthday. That was the moment to see (I loved it). Due to my continuous visits, my friends doubted my reason to go to grandma’s place; they thought I was going because there might be a cute girl living beside my grandma’s house :P. I hope they get the reason now.
• The real worth of happiness is in sharing with others. (Courtesy: “Into the Wild”). I always wanted happiness in my life. Now I believe providing happiness in others’ lives will bring happiness in oneself.

You might be thinking this is the same kind of stuff that people always talk about. Yeah, it’s true; one will find the difference only when he/she will go and have a good experience of their own. This time, it’s my experience.

If you have any such experiences, do share them below.