mysukanya

[mysukanya]

HUMANS in My Life - Mr Madhukar Chavan, ex- General Manager SKF Bearings

HUMANS in My Life – Mr Madhukar Chavan, ex- General Manager SKF Bearings

Humans in my life is a series I plan to write about people who helped me become a better person and a professional. Will you like it?Mr. Madhukar ChavanI recently met with Mr Chavan, now 79 and happily living with his family. He continues to be my role model, my Guru and mentor teaching me with his example – how to honor opportunities life offers, no matter what!It was my first corporate job at…

[mysukanya]

I am deeply humbled to meet people who have the courage and passion to follow their heart and make a difference. It is an unforgettable experience to meet in person

Mr. Maruti Bansode, an outstanding Social Reformer

Maruti, born in the interiors of Marathwada to parents who were deeply grieved to lose several children before his birth. So they followed a  superstition to seek blessings for this child’s long life to give away the child to God (Khandoba) which is to make him a member of “Waghya” community.

Those who pray to god for an offspring make a commitment before the deity that they would pledge their child to god’s service. This offering is conveyed to the Gurav (the priest) and on an auspicious day, the child is ceremoniously dedicated to forever.  Son becomes a Waghya. and daughters assigned to God become Muralis. Waghyas seriously regard themselves as  Khandoba’s pet dogs and even actually mimic canine barks and snarls and become folk performers, living on the alms.

Creating a ‘Murali’ is prohibited by law these days. However, becoming a Waghya is not prohibited by law.

What did it mean to Maruti – a tender little boy? Being a loved child he stayed with his parents as per tradition but was trained as a Waghya to eventually take it up as his life of a wanderer to keep dancing in front of people as a means of living. Some wise soul in his village convinced his parents to send Maruti to a better school at a district place when he was 8 years old. Life changed for him. He saw that other than him no boy in his school was dancing and hitting with a rope, like him. This was the first time he realized that he too would like to be like other children and study well. The credit goes to his school teachers and other boys who never made fun of him instead, respected him as a God’s child. His mind automatically illuminated to the truth as his teachers cared for his excellence in education and let him be himself. As a teenager, he decided to discard this Waghya spell on him, though his parents and other relatives were concerned that he may lose his life. Maruti was determined to follow a life based on rationality, logic, and compassion and give his best to make this world a better place.

He completed his graduation and joined Dr Narendra Dabholkar’s organization working to educate people against all types of superstitions in rural areas in Maharashtra. These ten years in this work got deeply engraved on his heart as he was pained to see how people wasted their talents, money, intellect and lived a life full of fear, embarrassment and hopelessness. He made a huge impact on whoever he met and convinced them to discard all superstitions and develop their own rationality and logic backed by science.

He devoted himself as a solo player to change the mindset of  other grown up POTARJ men and women. The nomadic tribe of Potraj worship a goddess called ‘Kadak Lakshmi’. Their profession traditionally leads them to travel and ask for alms in a manner that is literally back-breaking. While the women perch a small platform on their heads upon which they mount their deity, and play the dhol, the men dance and twirl to the beats and flagellate themselves with heavy, knotted whips made of jute, leather or woven coir. The whips generally weigh about 10kg each. Children are often initiated into this ritual at a young age so as to build their tolerance for pain, with the weight of the whips increasing in relation to their age. The Potraj community wanders from city to city, and members often lead a hand-to-mouth existence from their negligible earnings and their exposure to harsh conditions over the course of their travels.

This work for Maruti meant tracing and getting to know POTRAJ people personally, build rapport and spend several hours talking to each one, over a period of time and get them to agree to cut their hair properly , get habituated to have a daily bath (Being a POTRAJ  means having to grow long hair and put gum on them and never wash hair even though it makes one’s head very heavy and infested with lice, and gives chronic neck and shoulder pain)  living on the alms given by people). He supported each one and start new work to earn their living as a POTRAJ lives only on the alms given by others.

So far he has changed the minds of thousands of POTRAJ across Maharashtra and got them in the mainstream to live a normal life of dignity and doing decent work to earn their living. He is an acknowledged authority on transforming minds against superstitions and helping people to think rationally and embrace a life of dignity, equality, and compassion.

His not-for-profit organization “Parivartan Samajik Sanstha” works in various areas, Women Empowerment applying SHG approaches, Educational interventions, Cultural activities, Community health programs, Wider Interventions for social welfare, Promotion of sports and sport-related activities, agriculture& Extension services, Spiritual and Scientific Interventions.

You can contact Mr Maruti Bansode on  9604166899/parivartan.naldurg@gmail.com, to know him and help him. His organization’s website is http://www.parivartannbo.org

You will love knowing this awesome human being and his team!! Your contributions in this week of Joy of Giving for his organization will be a great help to all those whose lives his organization is transforming for better.

Parivartan Samajik Sanstha is grass root voluntary organization registered under societies Registration Act of 1860, Bombay public Trust Act of 1950, Foreign Contribution Regulation Act of Act 1976 and exemption of income Tax under rule 80G and 12A, TAN, PAN.

Registration Details :

1. Societies Regst. Act of 1860. MAH-371/Osmanabad Dated: 16/10/1996 2. B.P.T. Act of 1950 : F-3237 (Osmanabad) Dated: 27/11/1996 3. FCR Act of 1976 : 084060006 Dated: 01/11/2016 To 31/10/2021 4. 80G Act of 1961 : Aud/CIT/80G(5)125/51/2011-12 Dated: 19.03.2012 5. PAN Number :AAA TP 8290 M 19.05.2003 6. TAN Number : NSKP 01382 D / 05.07.2002 7. 12A- Aud/CIT/12-A/09-02/3003-04/ 266 19.05.2003 8. NGO Partneship system UNIQE ID: MH/2017/0120129 Dated 27/03/2017 NGO Darpan 9. Guide Star Indian GSN 3587

  Joy of Giving – Meet Mr Maruti Bansode I am deeply humbled to meet people who have the courage and passion to follow their heart and make a difference.

[mysukanya]

Find your "Inner Melody"

Find your “Inner Melody”

I am attending a “Creative Writing Skills” class by Mr Shivraj Gorle, an accomplished author who writes in Marathi, my mother tongue. His books have been on the “Best Selling” list for many years. Probably he is one of those unique authors who has written  novels, theatre plays, comedy, short stories, columns, advertisements, screen play for movies, features, self help books etc. His each book is…

[mysukanya]

US elections and me

US elections and me

Lalita, my friend has written this candidly spontaneous note on her FB. She chose to be a worker in Swami Vivekananda Kendra, India at the tender age of 18 and worked extensively in interiors of India with school kids and women for a few years.Later she earned her engineering degree in India and doctorate from USA. She is a tenured professor in the California State University.Her innate belief –…

[mysukanya]

Light Within

We decided to celebrate this Diwali in a small village. On my way to home to join my family, my taxi driver was a 23-year-old young boy. His mannerism compelled me to ask him about his life story ! He is born in a poor family and could not complete his education but loves to write stories and novels. He worked on a ship for a year and had ample time to write. His then boss appreciated his efforts…

[mysukanya]

Hermione's race was never specified

Hermione’s race was never specified

“I never specified Hermione’s race, all that I described of Hermione was that she had brown eyes, bushy hair and was very very clever”

Yes, that is what J K Rowling said when it was announced that African – American actress Noma Dumenzweni was a cast as Hermione Granger,in London theatre  production of the two part play Harry Potter and the cursed child, which will feature adult version of…

[mysukanya]

True Wealth

Some people you wish would never retire formally from their organization, not just because they are competent performers but also because who they are !

Chef Ananda Solomon of the Taj Hotels is one of them !

He added his special signature tune to whatever he cooked and the way he treated his guests and team.

  I have had many opportunities to meet him as a ex-Tata team member and of course…

[mysukanya]

What is a Social Enterprise

What is a Social Enterprise

I had written this white paper as a reference document for my Master’s program at Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership

Social Enterprise

In recent years, there has been a rise in the concept of social responsibility of businesses and an increasing awareness regarding the manner of doing business that values the well-being of the society in every way.

Social responsibility is an ethic…

[mysukanya]

Is Respectful Workplace a pre-requisite for building sustainability in each aspect of business?

Is Respectful Workplace a pre-requisite for building sustainability in each aspect of business?

In the modern corporate world people expect “Respectful Workplace” as a basic enabler and a foundation to give their best. Such a work environment is collaborative with respectful relationships based on a humane and an ethical mind-set. Such a workplace is rooted in mutual trust. It is performance driven, with appropriate guidelines for work, reward and recognition systems and as well as proper…

[mysukanya]

Respectful Workplaces

In the modern corporate world people expect “Respectful Workplace” as a basic enabler and a foundation to give their best. Such a work environment is collaborative with respectful relationships based on a humane and an ethical mind-set. Such a workplace is rooted in mutual trust. It is performance driven, with appropriate guidelines for work, reward and recognition systems and as well as proper…

[mysukanya]

Key Learning Trends

Key Learning Trends

[mysukanya]

Being a student again

Being a student again

Someone asked me “Why are you studying again at this age? what will you get ?”

I think as one gets older, one wants to study for one’s own interest and pleasure ! It is joy to study for the sake of studying. Learning something new, getting to the depths of a subject one likes.

Isn’t that enough reason to apply for a program at the Cambridge University, UK? I completed my master’s program in Human…

[mysukanya]

The Great 8

Each person’s path to success may be unique, but there are many commonalities among the world’s most successful people.

For his book, “The 8 Traits Successful People Have in Common,” author Richard St. John conducted interviews with more than 500 highly successful people, from the likes of Bill Gates and Richard Branson to Martha Stewart and Ben Cohen, the cofounder of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

[mysukanya]

It is up to you

One smile begins a friendship

One bird can herald a spring

One song speaks a moment

One star guides a ship

One candle lights the darkness

One laugh dispels the gloom

One touch shows you care

One word begins a prayer

One note can change a nation

One Life can make a difference

It is up to you….

Anonymous

[mysukanya]

Positivity ??

Very often positivity is understood as maintaining a positive attitude amidst negative experiences and negative people.

It is also interpreted as a matter of will power and make things happen even when one is facing adversities.

I interpret positivity differently. To me it is a state of one’s mind (and heart) where one is able to consciously experience uplifting emotions, happy, peaceful mood and…

[mysukanya]

YOUTH

by Samuel Ullman

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often…

[mysukanya]

By Changing our story we change the world

By Changing our story we change the world

Everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are.” ~ Patrick Rothfuss

No single man can chop down an entire forest or enslave a whole people. It takes a story believed by many to do those things. Such is the power of story. They can be used to mark an entire race of people for genocide or they can speak to the…