Indian Villages

We crib a lot about things we don't have in life. rather than enjoying what we have, we just hold on to the things we don't have and ask for sorrow to drop in our life. I remember that during my childhood I wanted to own a new bicycle however got a second hand of my brother. I was little disappointed. the disappointment stayed with me for couple of days and later with time I forget it. I am sure everyone of us has experienced these kind of events in our life at some or the other point of time.

I am doing my MBA from Sri Sri University, Cuttack, India. Our college is situated in outskirts and its really difficult to go to any near by place as their isn't a frequent public transport facility. So I wanted to have a bike and was contently after my dad to get me one. Its been more than a month and I am still trying to convince him.

Today something beautiful happened. District Magistrate of Cuttack, Sri Sri University's Vice Chancellor Dr. K C Mishra, President of World Forum for Ethics in Business Mrs. Rajita Kulkarni, The Art of Living volunteer Ms. Vijaya Mohanty along with few students went to a near by village Bhalunka to donate solar lamps as a part of initiative "Light A Home" by The Art of Living. I was excited as I love to get involved in social impact activities. After a bumpy but a scenic journey we reached the venue. By the time we reached it was dark. I was shocked to see that their where no street lights. Then even more shocking was that not even a single house out of 90 had electricity in that village. The venue of the event itself was dark. So we had to switch on the car's head lamp to lighten the venue.

I was shocked and in tears seeing the plight of the people staying without electricity for ages. Yet they were happy. Nothing ever stopped them from being happy. It was a festival for them. They were celebrating that they will have light in their homes. They sang and danced. The village women made marvelous rangoli. It was amazing to see how a solar lamp made so much difference to these villager's life and gave them a reason to celebrate. I seriously cannot forget the smile on each and every persons face. I was speechless for a moment.

We have so much in life yet we crib about small things. All the complains that I have vanished. The only thing left of me is the gratitude for my family and Guruji Pujya Sri Sri Ravishankar Ji. I feel so fortunate to be part of this experience. Their are many who don't even realize this. I have promised my self that I am not going to waste electricity in any way from now own. Also I will also make sure to keep my heart busy at such service activities to realize what I have in life and be grateful to GOD.