Its not so bad

I attended AID delhi meeting recently. If I think why I went there, probably the reason closest would be curiosity " I have never attended AID meeting" and just wanted to see what they do (if they happen to do anything!!!). I also wanted to see the faces behind all those mails coming in my mailbox. "Yeh kis type ke logon main itna time aur patience hota hai ki woh itna kaam bhi karein and usko website pe upload bhi karein... and earn their livelihood as well !!!" Well, so my primary reasons for being there were fulfilled :)

But the meeting did have side effects as well. I was surprised to see so many people from Gurgaon, Delhi and Noida, meeting at IITD at 10 (or nearly so) on a Sunday morning !!! There must be something behind this and the reason was self-evident in just a few moments... passion..All individuals passionately believing in and working for their cause, inspite of the difficulties that they faced. No project was easy, no location conventional and nobody thriving on external support. Yet... they made that happen... somehow.

The dedication that they had was amazing. Its not easy teaching slum kids, convincing their parents or working for women empowerment in a society that had difficulty relating the word women with power. All of them can have an easier life; a life oblivious to suffering of others. But they chose the road less travelled, the harder way and that made the difference. Certainly, there is a difference between a life without a purpose and a life dedicated to a cause and that I could notice there.

I liked the word "Gyanodaya" a lot. Probably the first step of gyanodaya is within you. Unless there is gyan or knowledge within, you can't enlighten others. I returned inspired for sure from there. If there are people like them working for India's development, probably the situation is not as gloomy as I thought it is. One positive change that it had on me is that my faith in humans as a race is restored. Thanks for that!!!!