Spirit of Giving

On a recent visit to London, I had a pleasure to be invited by Lord and Lady Swaraj Paul to special enclosure of the London Zoo built by the family in memory of Ambica, the daughter they lost some years ago — patrons are not uncommon in the well-managed London Zoo. It is not difficult to raise capital from corporates, and individuals who can perhaps adopt individual animals, or indeed like the Pauls an entire section of the zoo, thus perpetuating a legacy of giving with an understanding of the ecological balance of life.

I would love to see a TV telethon, where instead of dolling out one or ten crores you highlight the plight of the poor, the needy, even perhaps a zoo desperate for a cash injection and have phone lines that one can pledge money to, big or small, like every drop of water it will go to make an ocean of giving to a worthy cause.

To give is far more noble than to receive. Instead of inculcating greed and an escalating material want, through programmes like KBC and SDKK why not teach our people the age-old tradition of giving to the less fortunate. If I see a beggar that has a limb missing I stop and give him some alms. How much more impact would an image of dire need have when beamed straight into my bedroom, I know I will call in to a telethon and pledge a token of help and so will all my friends. To balance the programmes based on the lure of filthy lucre, we must have programmes than instill values of care, concern and inculcate a true sense of giving. I can hear the hot lines jangling, only when we give can we be truly blessed. This Diwali, let us try to burn less crackers, buy less and try and give, as tradition demands, something to the less fortunate. Let us be driven by the need to give rather than take. Let us inculcate in our young a sense of purity by adhering to the principals of dharma, by bringing alittle light to the darkness of the less fortunate.