Wednesday 24 January 2018

A True Philanthropist Who Will Live in Thousand Hearts Forever


Ever since my childhood, the most popular phrase which I have been hearing is “Do good and forget about it”, I hardly came across anyone practising it except my dear uncle, Late Mr. Arun Kumar Mishra who was a true philanthropist at heart and who spread a message of love and empathy by taking care of needy people, hungry and ill dogs and cows and by planting trees so that others can breathe fresh air. He was a middle class salaried man who along with taking good care of his family also spent part of his salary in doing welfare work.

The moment I got news of his sudden demise I was in complete shock as he was highly active and social person, who couldn’t see anyone in pain be it a human being, street animal or even plants. His passing away is not only a personal loss for our family but a great loss for the society as he was actively contributing in the development of the society through his good deeds. I didn’t want to shed all his memories in my mind in the form of tears, so I decided to share some of his memories here so that it can inspire others to work towards the welfare of the society.
I remember in the morning, first thing he use to do after his morning tea was to feed the hungry and ill stray dogs and cows. Whenever he saw any destitute person in need of food and clothes he would never ever hesitate to help him/her in whatever way possible. Almost every month he used to donate clothes and refreshments to needy people in village area. He also sponsored the study of some needy students. He was doing all these great work selflessly and with full commitment. He had further plans to open a school for underprivileged children and a day care center for destitute elderly in his ancestral village.
He was a highly empathetic and caring person who would never ever miss an opportunity to make a moaning heart and saddened soul happy. He was a happy person at heart who wanted to spread happiness around through his actions. Like most of us he was also concerned about his future but at the same time believed in living the present to the fullest. He always believed in leading an active life and I never saw him sitting idle at any place.
He was my favourite Chacha (paternal uncle) who was always ready to cheer me up with his infectious smile, pamper me on my birthdays and make me feel proud of my achievements.  He was also my daughter’s favourite Nana (grandfather) who inspired her to do social work at the age of two by feeding stray dogs and cows.
Last year when he was telling me about his favourite song “Accha chalta hoon duaaon mein yaad rakhna, mere zikr ka zubaan pe swaad rakhna” I didn’t knew that listening to this song will be so difficult this year. Ever since he passed away, he is being sorely missed by all those people and animals he used to selflessly take care of. For me he was a true philanthropist at heart who will live in thousand hearts forever.

Tuesday 2 January 2018

Living Happily & Ageing Gracefully Together


Sharing a beautiful story via Senior Express (www.seniorexpress.in) of Mr. and Mrs. Shah, a 70+ couple from Mumbai. Mrs. Pushpa Shah (70) and Mr. Ramesh Shah (77) have been happily married for the past 50 years. During this period they have experienced various struggles and achievements together which has brought them closer to each other. They are more like friends rather than spouse and share a lot of common interests like acting, singing, dancing, cooking and socializing with people. They are a perfect example of active living and ageing gracefully together. 



Let’s read more about them and their active lifestyle in Mrs. Pushpa Shah’s words - http://seniorexpress.in/social/living-happily-ageing-gracefully-together/