Varsh Pratipada, also called Gudi Padwa is celebrated as Hindu New Year in Maharashtra. This auspicious day happens to be the birthday of Dr. K. B. Hedgewar – the founder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).  Dr. Hedgewar was a visionary leader who took up many challenges for uniting the rifted Hindu society which had disintegrated due to caste driven politics. India is invaded by foreigners because of its fragmentation. His method of organizing Hindus and training young people to devote their prime hours and years to motherland has been carried out by some visionary doctors at Hedgewar Hospital, Aurangabad belonging to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Vaidyakiya Pratishthan. The doctors have come together to give maximum efforts of themselves to the society.

Dr. Hedgewar Hospital was established in Aurangabad in 1989. A 10-bed hospital was started in 1989 by Doctors with small borrowings from their families. And then doctors decided to manage their life on minimum income which set an example. And this is the strongest footing of this organization.

Since its inception the hospitals has treated more than 60,00,000 poor patients.  The hospital treats approximately 4 lakh patients annually. Dr. Hedgewar Hospital provides excellent medical services at reasonable cost to the common man. The doctors who serve in this hospital live up the Hippocratic Oath which is one of the oldest binding documents in history, the Oath written by Hippocrates is still held sacred by all physicians. Doctors at Hedgewar Hospital serve patients in an environment of sacrifice with specialized care to poor patients to the best of their capability.

Apart from providing the best healthcare facilities, the hospital is well known for its cleanliness, hygiene, and infection control measures and has also been awarded for the hygienic best practices many times by the government.

This hospital has received amazing response from rural and urban poor because it has been strengthening the beliefs of poor in the medical services. They are cared for in this hospital. The doctors and staff dedicate their efforts to achieve the mission and vision of the hospital. The mission of the hospital is to provide services, medical and social, to common man which will be Excellent, Expanding, and Transparent and with Humanity. The hospital also strives in creating harmonious, strong, self-reliant and nationalistic society through various projects by deriving inspiration from the Sangh.

The hospital transmits a pious and compassionate ambiance. The hospital runs state of the art blood bank, a health project for the slums, rural health project and a project purely for women and child development. Due to rare combination of Quality and affordability of Health care, Ratan Tata, while inaugurating new building in 2001 said “The hospital is well equipped, without showing off its opulence. The Hospital is a project of the people, by the people and for the people. I wonder why we should not achieve similar success in other areas also!”

During Covid19 pandemic Dr Hedgewar Hospital ensured to provide an Intensive Care Unit with fully equipped 22 beds and a dedicated team of cardiologists, anaesthetists, physicians, and intensivists ( doctor who specializes in the care and treatment of patients in intensive care unit) They treated around 800 to 1000 patients who suffered from post-COVID complications.

India needs more skilled healthcare professionals and stronger infrastructure. The constitution of India requires the government to ensure the “right to health” for all. It is mandatory on the part of each state to provide free universal access to health care services; however, health care in India has been underfunded.

Dr Hedgewar Rugnalaya (DHR) is scheduled to set up a hospital in Assam by July 2022 with an investment of Rs 500 crore. Specialties in the hospital will include General Medicine, General Surgery, Orthopedics, ENT, Ophthalmology, Paediatrics, Radiology, Pathology, Intensivists, Dental Care and Dialysis among others.

According to Dr. Anant Pandhare, Medical Director, Hedgewar Hospital, Charitable hospitals can sustain themselves with support from society. He says people who wish to donate or help in setting up a hospital look for a credible organisation and credibility which is established on the values and determined application of those values. With ethical practice, honesty, and integrity, charitable hospitals can come to the fore. In addition to this, for charitable hospitals to be sustainable, there are certain challenges such as forming a dedicated team of doctors including the staff with similar visions and ideas. Mission and vision of an organization is achievable only when the employees also align with it. To control the cost of the services, management has to be vigilant.

And, last but the least, the society at large should come forward in creating and financially supporting such hospitals. In long run, having the power to improve the lives of others is a privilege. Giving reinforces our own personal values and empowers us to do better in life.

It was very heartening to see the barefoot Tulasi Gowda cladded in her Halakki native style of saree receiving the Padma Shri award at the hands of President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Monday, 8^th November 2021. The tribal woman from Karnataka now in her eighties grew up in a poor family and did not receive any formal education, and yet, she is known as the ‘Encyclopaedia of the Forest’.

She is known to the world because of a retired IFS (Indian Forest Services) office Yellappa Reddy, who noticed her potential and pushed her to the fame. Mr. Reddy’s favourite subject during his active services was the silviculture of Indian trees that includes everything involved in the growing and cultivation of trees, its ecological and economic value, its utility, etc. Silviculture is the art and science of controlling the formation, growth, composition, health, and quality of forests and woodlands to meet the diverse needs and values of landowners and society such as wildlife habitat, timber, water resources, restoration, and recreation on a sustainable basis. He had noticed that more than 90 percent of native Indian trees have regeneration problems despite much research being conducted on them. He started taking help from Tulasi Gowda because she could identify a mother tree of any species anywhere in the forest and she still continues to do it.

Regeneration is best done with the seeds from the mother tree. Tulasi Gowda knows the timing of its flowering, germination and the best time to collect the seeds from the mother tree of a plant. The most common tree is Hopea parviflora (Bogi Mara in Kannada). Mr.Reddy says her understanding of the dynamics of the forest flora which refers to the various plants and fungi that can be found in the forest is simply par excellence; she knows has a superb understanding of the plants, shrubs, fungi which is absolutely updated. Though uneducated, Tulasi Gowda is in true sense a dendrofile – a person who loves trees.

Nagaraja Gowda of Uttara Kannada District Halakki Vokkalu Naukarara Sangha that works for the welfare of the Halakki tribe said Tulasi is the pride of their community because she has priceless knowledge of the forest and medicinal plants. Nobody has documented it and she cannot communicate it because she has not educated. But, because she has come into limelight for her benevolent work, I am sure Government of Karnataka will take necessary steps to document and implement usage of the medicinal plants soon. Mr. Yellappa Reddy says that she can identify more than 300 medicinal plants. The Halakki tribe is known for their knowledge of medicinal plants which they mostly utilise to prevent diseases than for cure. The knowledge and tradition is passed down through generations and Tulasi is a holder of it.

It is worth noting that Tulasi Gowda has vast knowledge of diverse species of plants and herbs because she has worked in the forest since her age of 12, she has planted and nurtured thousands of trees so far. She is also a temporary volunteer with the forest department where she was recognised for her dedication towards protecting nature. She was later offered a permanent job in the department.

Tulasi Gowda has spent most of her life around the trees and saplings that she nurtured with much care and love at the Agasur nursery of the forest department as part of their on-going afforestation efforts in the Mastikatta range of Honnalli village in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. Though she has now retired as an employee of the forest department, she still continues to work in the forest; looking after and growing nearly 30,000 trees in various parts of the Uttara Kannada district.

Tulasi ajji (as she is known lovingly in her village) has unparalleled knowledge of silviculture of the Indian forest and trees which won this barefoot ecologist the Indira Priyadarshini Vrukshamitra Award in 1986 and Kannada Rajyotsava Award in 1999. More than a dozen awards and recognition later, the Padma Shri has come as value addition.

Afforestation is most important on the nation’s agenda to solve the problem of imbalance in the ecology, global warming, soil erosion, greenhouse effect etc. It is so nice of the Modi Government to recognize 12 farmers from nine states for the Padma Awards and especially recognizing Tulasi Gowda who in true sense is ‘Encyclopaedia of the Forest’.

The Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honours of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day. The Awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service). The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.

The Padma Awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. The nomination process is open to the public. Even self-nomination can be made.

History of Padma Awards

The Government of India instituted two civilian awards-Bharat Ratna & Padma Vibhushan in 1954. The latter had three classes namely Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg and Tisra Varg. These were subsequently renamed as Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri vide Presidential Notification issued on January 8, 1955. Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the country. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. It is treated on a different footing from Padma Award.

In the past few years, the majority Indians have noticed the kind of people who are being awarded the Padma Awards, and a positive buzz has been generated among the people. These awards were earlier seen as dominated by select, well-connected urbanites that were in the limelight. We saw people from the entertainment industry that hardly made any contribution to society; who had very little appeal beyond posh drawing rooms.

However, some of the awardees of Padma since past three years need to be Googled — these are not people with Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook profiles but are people with real grassroots work profiles, with no connection to politics, movies, sports or any such popular occupations that are often in the limelight. The awardees are an inspiration to all; their stories of struggles, their dedication, perseverance, selflessness and service script the story of New India. As many as 12 farmers were selected from nine states, 14 doctors were selected from 11 states, serving the poor and fighting diseases affecting the common man. Nine leading sportspersons from nine disciplines were selected.  From the entertainment industry four people were selected.

President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh, who had played instrumental role in enabling the rescue of thousands of Indian citizens from war-torn Yemen and anti-apartheid leader and current minister of South Africa Pravin Gordhan.

This year’s Padma awardees also include socialist leader Hukumdev Narayan Yadav, tribal leader Kariya Munda, Sikh leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, grassroots Mahadalit woman leader Bhagirathi Devi and Sikh lawyer fighting for justice for 1984 riot victims Harvinder Singh Phoolka, well known for spearheading the crusade to seek justice in the 1984 anti-Sikh genocide in New Delhi that followed the assassination of Indira Gandhi and resulted in the killing of approximately 2,733 Sikhs and displacement of over 50,000 Sikhs within 2 days.

In the Modi Government, the Padma awards have become truly broad-based, identifying people who genuinely work at the grassroot level and recognising them. This is something that even Modi’s scathing critics have observed and appreciated. Society is much larger than politics and these awards have become a representative of society, rather than enslaved by politicians as they used to be earlier.

Tulsi Gowda who hails from Honnali village, Ankola taluk Karnataka, Tulsi Gowda is an environmentalist who has planted over 30,000 saplings. She has been involved in environmental conservation and related activities for the past six decades. Gowda looks after the nurseries of the forest department. She was born in 1944 in Hakkali tribal family. She is often called the “encyclopaedia of the forest” and her tribe calls her “tree goddess” for her extensive first-hand knowledge of the trees and plants of the forest.

Krishnammal Jagannathan hailing from the state of Tamil Nadu, Krishnammal Jagannathan, fondly known as Amma, is a social worker who travels to remote rural areas bringing social, economic and political transformation through propagating the philosophy of non-violence. Born in 1926, Jagannathan has worked extensively for the upliftment of the landless and the poor. Born in a Devendrakulam family, she also participated in the freedom movement and shared the stage with Mahatma Gandhi at a very young age.

Rahibai Soma Popere popularly known as the ‘seed mother’, Rahibai Soma Popere is a Mahadeo Koli tribal farmer from Komblne village in the Akole tribal block in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district. She was unable to attend school owing to poverty, so she began working in agricultural labour and cow rearing to support her family when she was ten years old. She married Soma Popere, also uneducated, when she was 17 years old. Agriculture was the family’s sole source of income. She learned about agro biodiversity, wild food resources, and traditional culture by practice and experience, despite not having attended school.

Harekala Hajabba, a 68-year-old fruit seller from Mangalore in Karnataka, built a primary school with his earnings of Rs 150 per day. On Monday, he received India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, from President Ram Nath Kovind for his efforts. Many years ago, when a foreign tourist asked him the price of an orange in English, he did not understand what had been said and felt embarrassed. He had not had the privilege of any kind of formal education. “That day I vowed to make a school,” he said. According to a report published in The Better India, Harekala Hajabba’s village Newpadapu did not have a school for many years. All the village children were deprived of their right to education. Then, in 2000, Harekala Hajabba invested all his life savings and started a school on one acre of land.

Industrialist Anand Mahindra, who received the Padma Bhushan on Monday, 8^th November 2021, felt “undeserving” of the civilian honour. Anand Mahindra was conferred Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour, for the year 2020 in the category of trade and industry. He posted on Twitter “This Govt has made a long-overdue, transformational shift in the texture of the Padma Awards recipients. Now, the focus is largely on individuals making seminal contributions to the improvement of society at grassroots levels. I truly felt undeserving to be amongst their ranks.”

PM Modi has often asserted that his government has opened up the Padma award selection process and recognised the services of people from humble backgrounds. He says that India has many talented people, who are doing exceptional work at the grassroots. Often, we don’t see or hear much of them. PM Modi has announced that if the citizens know such inspiring people, they can nominate them for the #PeoplesPadma.

Real kindness makes a person courageous to stand up for what is good. Kind hearted people motivate us to do good things, and become happy. The art of kindness is a scarce commodity; such people enrich the society. These people have a special sense of justice and they do what is right. Balbir Singh Seechewal (born 2 February 1962) is a Sikh who led an anti-river pollution crusade in Punjab, India. He is fondly called “Eco Baba” for his philosophy of belief in self reliance added with act of strengthening the environment. Balbir Singh is a staunch believer in the essence of the Gurbani (Sikh term, very commonly used by Sikhs to refer to various compositions by the Sikh Gurus and other writers of Guru Granth Sahib). He has restored life the 160 km long Kali Bein rivulet of Beas River in Doaba region of Punjab.

In the year 2000, Balbir Singh decided to put in efforts to stop the pollution and wastage of the water of Kali Bein River because of domestic and industrial waste. Like rest of India, rivers are considered sacred in the state of Punjab. Kali Bein had reduced to nothing but a drain because of all the waste that was being dumped in it. Some portions of the river had even dried up which resulted in enormous water problems in the surrounding farms. Balbir Singh began his campaign by educating local people the importance of cleaning of the river, many volunteers joined him  for raising funds with the help of contributions from residents living on the banks of the river which included more than 24 villages. With this amount Balbir Singh and his volunteers group could purchase equipment required for cleaning. He had to propagate again and again urging villagers to dispose sewage in a particular place and not in the river. With a clean riverbed, natural springs were restored and the river started to fill up once again.

After cleaning of the river Kali Bein, Balbir Singh developed an underground sewerage system model with the help of the Punjab government. It is a low cost model that collects sewage water from ponds and treats it in a natural way which can be used for agriculture and irrigation purposes. Eco Baba, Balir Singh’s work through all these years has been naturally appreciated by people in India and abroad. It is really commendable to note that this kind hearted man other than working for the cause of the conservation of environment has also established schools and colleges in different regions in Punjab. In the year 2016, environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal devised a solution for solid waste treatment in the state. A machine has been created at the Sant Avtar Singh Yadgari Technical Research Centre with instructions from the environmentalist. The ‘Short Machine’ that’s what it is called segregates the various things comprised in the garbage. The machine has been researched further for adding more features to it.

Today, the rivulet Kali Bein is cleaned up and has been gushing with pristine water. The river bank has become a picnic spot, the devotees of the Gurudwara Ber Sahib bathe in it during religious festivals. Eco Baba has now turned his sights onto the tanneries and other factories that dispose of unprocessed waste in rivers. His mission is to clean up rivers and creeks in a more systematic way across the state with help from residents and State Government. His crusade is against factories and mills which pollute rivers; he says that we have no right to kill the living creatures in water and damaging the aquatic ecosystem. Eco Baba Balbir Seechewal has proved through his selfless actions where there is a will, there are a way!!!  

India is home to some valiant warriors who have set new premise for the rest of the world to follow in every era. These warriors were exemplary in their war strategies; they were brilliant, visionaries and very good humans. It requires more than absolute brilliance to be remembered for centuries. One of such brave warriors was Bajiaro Peshwa.

Bajirao was too sharp and was known for his speedy attacks; he used to never give time to his enemies to think strategies.  Bajirao established his presence from Delhi to Srirangapatnam and Gujarat to Berar over a twenty year period of his career in the 18th century. He had an inherent ability to gauge the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses and spring the trap when his enemy was not ready or was lulled. This was a typical characteristic of Bajirao. The most astonishing fact is that he won in every battle that he fought. Bajirao achieved it because he had the brilliance and he was too good in implementation.

Bajirao Balaji Ballal was the son of Balaji Vishwanath Ballal who had shored up Chhatrapati Shahu’s fortunes. A grateful Shahu looked no further than Bajirao to be his next Prime Minister – Bajirao was just twenty years of age. The other claimants were much older. After Bajirao took the reins of Peshwa, the older warriors refused to co-operate, hence the traditional Maratha aristocracy appointed Malhar Rao Holkar, Ranoji Scindia and Udaji Pawar as his primary helpers. From here began the move towards an empire.

The Peshwas were hereditary prime ministers of the Maratha Empire who had power commensurate with that of the rulers. Though Bajirao himself made administrative decisions and led the Maratha army in battle well beyond the Narmada, he was still subordinate to Shahu Maharaj, the grandson of Shivaji and ruler of the Maratha Empire.

In the first few years, Bajirao helped the Nizam ul mulk to establish his rule at Aurangabad and was honoured by the Nizam for his role at the battle of Sakharkhedla in 1724. He then went on two campaigns to the south; to Chitradurg in 1725 and Srirangapatnam in 1726. An urgent summons from his king to ward off the threat posed by the Nizam brought him back to Satara. The Nizam, had taken assistance from Sambhaji of Kolhapur had threatened Shahu’s very existence.

Bajirao was also surrounded during the same time by Nizam without his artillery at Palkhed which forced him into surrender. But, the witty and shrewd Bajirao tricked Nizam to accept all conditions. Bajirao’s battle plan at Palkhed has been described as a ‘masterpiece of strategic mobility.’ Bajirao’s brother Chimaji Appa, defeated and killed the Mughal subahdar at Amjhera and stamped Maratha authority in Malwa. This province was the link between Hindustan and the Deccan and therefore was of pivotal importance. Around the same time, Muhammad Bangash attacked Bundelkhand and threatened its aged ruler Chhatrasal. It is mentioned in the historic documents that Chhatrasal’s daughter Mastani met Bajirao and asked his help to fight Bangash.

Bajirao moved quickly through a isolated path to surprise Bangash and rescue Chhatrasal. After a siege at Jaitpur, Bangash sought terms. Chhatrasal, ever grateful, gave Bajirao a third of his kingdom. He also gave him his daughter Mastani whose mother was an Iranian woman named Ruhaani Bai.

And, that’s when a love affair engaged Bajiaro’s life. The great warrior had to face bitterness from his mother, his brother, his wife and other chiefs in the Maratha fold. The great Marathi author N.S.Inamdar in his book ‘Rau’ has painted Bajirao’s enormous life but also depicted him as a flawed figure despite his great achievements. Bajirao was ahead of the time, he wanted to give Mastani status of wife, he wanted people to respect her the way he did. But others dint want Mastani in Bajirao’s life because he was married to Kashibai. After reading the book ‘’Rau’’ one feels that people enjoyed all the good that came from Bajirao’s actions but none gave him the freedom to lead his life as per his wishes. And this is the biggest tragedy in this great Maratha warrior’s life. Bajirao evidently fought great social sanctions and political peril to stay with Mastani, and protected her from political reprisal until his death.

In the 18^th century, India was culturally and ethically so strong that even Kings could not escape the social dogmas. On one hand people were so happy with Bajirao Peshwa for being the only Maratha ruler to extend the Maratha Empire to almost entire India including Delhi and on the other hand same people hated him for having an affair with Mastani. In the end the King who gives shelter to all the poor and needy people died without a shelter. One big lesson to learn from Bajirao’s story is that people expect their rulers to follow the social doctrines, to be ethical and practice what they preach.

Bajirao died on 28 April 1740, at the age of 40. He died of a sudden fever. It seems he was on job of inspecting his jagirs. At that time, he was en route to Delhi with 100,000 troops under his command at his camp in the district of Khargon, near the city of Indore. He was cremated at Raverkhedi near the river Narmada. The Scindias built a chhatri (dome) as a memorial at this place.

It’s sad that such a great warrior’s life is lesser remembered for his heroic deeds; he is more remembered for his love for Mastani.

When as a society we are so used to seeing self-obsessed, self-centered, self-engrossed people around us, we can’t imagine that people like Kalyansundaram also exist amongst us. These days we see people evolved as hard wired and generally predisposed. It is so difficult for people to explain what altruism is in a general sense. People find it very difficult to contribute; even if they are in position to help, care for someone, contribute, and provide; they shy away from doing so. People don’t mind wastage, but giving is generally difficult. People generally fear giving time, money or efforts to others perhaps because they fear consequences. The biggest   challenge in giving is that you overcome the fear of losing but still you go beyond your basic ability of holding on.

It’s really stirring to recognize Kalyansundaram – a retired librarian of Kumarkurupara Arts College at Srivaikuntam in Tuticorin district. For this 73 years old philanthropist, humanity has been his guiding principle of life. Kalyansunderam holds a gold medal in library science; he also holds a master’s degree in literature and history. Throughout his 30 years long career, he conscientiously and willingly donated his salary month after month towards charity and did odd jobs to meet his daily needs. Even after retirement, he works as a waiter in a hotel in exchange for two meals a day and a paltry salary. Even today, he continues to donate to children’s educational funds.

This thin, frail man, who sports a shy smile, has determination and fire in him to serve the society.  He speaks in a childish manner in a high-pitched voice. He has told in some of his interviews that he lived in a tiny village with lack of any infrastructural amenities – no provision for roads, buses, schools, electricity, and there was not even a shop to buy a matchbox from. He had to walk 10 km to school and back and walking all that way alone was a pretty lonesome experience. Hence, he thought of motivating some more children to go to school. He thought going to school in a group of children would be great fun. Those days children could not afford to pay school fees which was as much as Rs.5/- only. So Kalyansunderam offered to pay their school fees, got them books and clothes as well. So from early childhood, he formulated the habit of giving. He had lost his father in his childhood, his mother was the guiding force in his life and she instilled in him the courage of giving and donating.

He has sometimes slept on railway platforms and pavements to have an experience of what poor people go through. In true sense Kalyansundaram is a hero. He is hero because of his high moral character, value based living, and helping the humanity. He is living a simple life in spite of earning several monetary awards.  He has donated Rs.30 crores of prized money given to him by an American Organization as “Man of the millennium” and even after he retired as a librarian, he donated his pension of Rs. 10 lakhs! It seems the super star of south Rajnikanth has adopted him as his father! Well, this happens only in India!!

While United Nations has recognized this man as “outstanding people of the century” and International Biographical Centre at Cambridge has recognized him as one of the most notable intellectuals of the world and some American organizations have honored him, the Government of Indian Honor System is yet to credit this simple yet outstanding man for his yeoman services. When film actors, cricketers, entertainers and politicians of this country are awarded for little or unworthy causes, it’s a pity and shame on all Indians for their blindfolded honoring system. Well, he has been acclaimed as the best librarian in India by the Union Government – but his outstanding self-sacrifice is yet to be recognized.

So who is a real hero? A hero is someone who does something for society, someone who people look up to and say ‘I wish I could do the things he has done’.  A hero has the extraordinary ability to rise above those around him, he’s willing to do things that most just dream or imagine of. Wanting to do something is the first step towards establishing someone as a hero. And, heroism is what the heart and soul make the mind and body do in challenging circumstances. Young people need heroes to look up to and to emulate. The coming generations do need examples to understand meaning of generosity. Heroes are the key to any nation’s success. A nation needs to recognize ‘real’ outstanding people. I wish wholeheartedly that the Indian Honor System recognizes Kalyansunderam soon.

Thirukkural – the brilliant Tamil literary work can be called the treasure house of worldly knowledge. It goes beyond any religion or creed.  The name Thirukkural is made of two words; “Thiru” means “holy” and “Kural” means “short verse.” This great work is the creation of Thiruvalluvar who was a Tamil poet and author. Through his work he analyzed the intricacies of human nature with pragmatic insights. Thiruvalluvar’s masterpiece is almost 2000 years old. All the Kurals (verses) have only 7 words and thus all the 1330 ThiruKurals fit within 140 characters. Who was Thiruvalluvar? Very little is known about him. It is said that he was a simple weaver who wrote the kurals with divine inspiration; how could a simple weaver write something so profound almost 2000 years ago? In those days education was reserved for the richer and nobler classes. While reading this book of short verses, you just cannot say that it is written by a layman. The verses touch upon core values for the human race. In true sense it is a road map for the essential, fundamental and everlasting aspects of human life.

The Thirukkural is arranged in 133 Adhikarams (chapters of themes) each with 10 couplets. The 133 Adhikarams are divided into three major groups known as “Aram”, “Porul” and “Inbam”. Aram represents Virtue; Porul describes the principles of life for common people as well as the State. The last section “Inbam” deals with features and quintessence of Love. The overall organization of Thirukkural is as follows, based on seven ideals prescribed for people followed by observations on Love.

• 40 couplets on God, Rain, Virtue and Ascetics.
• 200 couplets on Domestic Virtue.
• 140 couplets on Higher Virtue based on Grace.
• 250 couplets on Royalty.
• 100couplets on Ministers of State.
• 220 couplets on the Essential requirements of Administration. In fact these are very good lessons on management.
• 130 couples on Morality, both positive and negative.
• 250 couplets on human love, sex and fervor.

Thirukkural has been translated in as many as 35 global languages, including 27 foreign languages such as English, French, German, Japanese, Latin, Malay, Portuguese and Spanish and Chinese was the latest one. So far, 96 scholars have translated Thirukkural in English and the first was done by Rev. G.U. Pope. The book has also been translated into ‘Vaagriboli,’ the language of Narikuravas – the tribal community in Chennai.

Thirukkural talks about the three main facets of life; wisdom, wealth and love and the Tamil literature talks of a fourth aspect “veedu,” which refers to God, or nirvana. I think if one follows every “kural” (maxim), he/she will automatically reach nirvana “veedu.”

Take any topic in management; from planning, coordination, leading, communication, managing people, and selection of people, training, and development, personality; take anything and you find them in well written verses and well explained in Thirukkural. The poet Thiruvalluvar must have written them for kings and their ministers then. But, in today’s complex and fast forward world also they still give clear directions.

Thiruvalluvar has written brilliant verses on leadership; he mentions leadership as more of an attitude and a way of living and behaving. Leaders must inspire those around them by action and setting examples. It is about standing up for others and shielding them from harm. Leaders must be graceful. Today, when we imbibe West in all manners, we forget that our own literary classics have enormously rich material. It’s pitiable fact that we can’t draw relevance from them and relate them to needs and problems of the present. It seems Mahatma Gandhi learnt the concept of non-violence from a letter written to him by famous Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy who quoted couplets on non-violence from German translation of Thirukkural. The Father of the Nation had said that he came to know about Thirukkural first from Tolstoy!

Later, Mahatma Gandhi was inspired strongly by Thirukkural; he then inspired all sections of the society to fight for freedom from the foreign oppression through his deliberately chosen path of truth and non-violence. He provided inspiration to many oppressed nations in the world to fight against colonization and become free. He continues to inspire the world even today. Thus Thirukkural can be hailed as an eternal light which lightens up the world for over two thousand years. Mahatma Gandhi got the spark from Thirukkural, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King jr., Nelson Mandela and many more leaders who fought against oppression and dictatorship adhering to a non-violent way followed Mahatma Gandhi. In fact Gndhiji used preach many couplets from Thirukkural in his speech. Truth and Non-violence can never be underestimated.   These two paramount practices can only control terrorism and religious fundamentalism which are the main cause of unrest in many parts of the world. It’s a pity that mass-murder and sabotage are destroying mankind and destabilizing many nations.

In the subjects of Political Science, Management and Public administration, Thiruvalluvar seems supreme in his presentation and humanistic approach than many of his contemporaries. Recently, on 16^th Jan 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a Gujarati translation of Thirukkural. I conclude my article with one of my favorite couplet  “Just as the hand rushes involuntarily to protect one’s honor in case of accidental state of undress, so does a friend come to his friend’s aid without being asked”

Last week I saw the movie Dr. Prakash baba Amte – The Real Hero starring Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni & Mohan Agashe in lead roles. The Marathi film is a biopic based on the life of Dr. Prakash Amte – son of Baba Amte. The movie shows stark realities of lives of advasis – the Madia tribe from Gadchiroli district. The movie shows Dr. Prakash Apte, his wife Dr. Mandakini Amte and his colleague’s limitless struggle with the naive Madia tribal, struggle with wild animals, struggle with Naxalites and corrupt government officials for bringing in the basic requirements for the existence of the tribal people. Many scenes in the movie are chilling. The Amtes (Prakash and Mandakini) are oblivious of their destination in life. They see the pathetic conditions of the advasis who live like animals. In fact, the tribal people don’t even know that they are human. Both husband and wife decide to make Hemalkasa their home, they live with the Madia tribe people serving them.

The movie shows journey of the husband and wife doctor couple. It portrays their understanding, their thinking, and their similar aims and objectives while supporting each other. Both have forgone money, status, careers etc living in the deep jungle amongst most pathetic conditions. The movie shows both Dr.Amtes and their colleagues accepting life as it comes; all of them devoted to shaping the lives of the tribal people. Dr. Prakash Amte has been shown doing gynecology and ophthalmology operations. Dr.Amte uses his knowledge and reading to help patients in dire need of medical help. While watching the movie one thinks today’s medical world is highly clichéd.  The medical specialization has created a situation of “too many cooks in the kitchen”. Today’s academic medical centers are full of specialty teams, which cover all facets of health care. The composition of these teams includes a wide array of practitioners, ranging from allied health professionals, to student doctors training to obtain their medical degree.

Today’s patients are finding themselves caught amongst experts with numerous opinions surrounding their various medical ailments. They listen to too many specialists for their ailments. What happens when these recommendations begin to conflict? When reality sets in, the patient does not know who to turn to or how to proceed forward. This movie has shown two methodical medical practitioners using their common sense and expertise. I really appreciated his fact while watching the movie.

Dr. Prakash Amte is the son of Magsaysay awardee and legendry Baba Amte, he and his wife, Dr. Mandakini Amte were awarded the Magsaysay Award for ‘Community Leadership’ in 2008 for their benevolent work in the form of the ‘Lok Biradari Prakalp’ amongst the Madia Gonds in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.

Nana Patekar has played Dr. Prakash Amte effortlessly. His dialogue delivery, voice modulation, facial expressions, eye movements, and body language every bit of his screen presence is awesome. His dialogue delivery in Marathi is as dynamic as in Hindi. The dialogues written by Adv. Samruddhi Porey are heart-touching and full of wisdom. The cinematographer Mahesh Anye has done an incredible job with lighting and breathtaking photography. Patekar has portrayed Dr. Praksh Amte with incisive emotions. There are innumerable scenes in the movie which will dampen your eyes. I think no other actor would fit the role of Prakash Amte on screen. And, beautiful Sonali Kulkarni has supported Nana Patekar with equal brilliance and intensity. Both Patekar and Sonali Kulkarni make a wonderful screen pair.

We all live our life cribbing for countless and unfulfilled needs and demands; we live a monotonous routine, and are never contended in our lives. And, there are people like Baba Amte and his sons Prakash and Vikas Amte who have worked towards making the world a better place to live. The father Baba Amte has literally fought all his life for fiving the leprosy patients a better life. And, his sons Vikas and Prakash have also dedicated their lives for social causes. They worked and lived to serve others, to make the world a little better; by doing so, all that they gained is a little peace of mind – little happiness. I think that has led them into self actualization.

The director of the movie, Sammruddhi Porey and the entire unit’s efforts need to be lauded for showing Dr. Prakash Amte’s compassionate mindset, stretching his limits with utmost reality to bring the small changes in the tribal land. The cast and crew of the movie have gone out of their way to depict reality. They have shot the movie with real tribal people and animals which is a dangerous and painstaking task. Apart from this, the dialogues are intelligently written, dialogue and description is where the experience of screenplay for the audience lives in;
the feel and consistency of the dialogues and placements of them are simply superb. Nana Patekar and Sonali Kulakrni have delivered them precisely. The screen play is very well edited and some scenes in the movie have rib-tickling humor which makes the movie more appealing. This is must watch movie for all.

• Produced By : Samruddhi Porey
• Directed By : Samruddhi Porey
• Star Cast : Nana Patekar, Sonali Kulkarni,Mohan Aagashye, Ashish Chougule,Vikram Gaikwad, Bharat Ganeshpure, Tejashri Pradhan, Aniruddha Wankar,Vinayak Patwardhan,Kunal Gajbhare,Sushant Kakde,Sukumar Day, Prasad Dhakunkar, Naina Rani, Krishna Dharme,Vinod Raut
• Cinematographer :Mahesh Anye

I think the present generation of children in India should know who Sir M. Visvesvaraya was.  This great, illustrious man was of different league altogether.  Honest to the core, astute in his mental makeup and judicious in his tasks. He had an extra ordinary intelligence, was very generous and had a vision. Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya popularly known as Sir M.V was born in Muddenahalli village in the Kolar District (Karnataka), on the 15 September 1861.

He was an exceptional engineer and a visionary who shaped many institutions in Karnataka like the Bhadravati Steel Factory, Mysore University, Krishnarajasagara dam, Bank of Mysore, the railway system of Mysore, and the hydroelectric projects at Shivanasamudram. Each creation of his was judiciously thought and so well crafted that each of these creations are prodigious and magnificent, standing tall even today.

He was instrumental in beginning the “Government Engineering College” at Bangalore, which was one of the first engineering institutes in India. This institution was later renamed as the “University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering” (UVCE) after its founder. It remains as one of the most reputed institutes of engineering in India till this date. After taking voluntary retirement in 1908, Sir M.V was appointed as Dewan, (Minister) of the Kingdom of Mysore. With the support of Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV, Maharaja of Mysore, he made an exceptional contribution, as Dewan, to the all-round development of the Karnataka State. He literally nurtured this state.

Sir M.V’s father was Srinivasa Sastry and his mother Venkachamma. Srinivas Sastry was a scholar in Sanskrit. Visvesvaraya inherited great respect for the culture and the traditions of the land from his parents. He completed his early education in Chikkaballapur; and then came to Bangalore for higher education. He joined the Central College. As soon as the results were out, the Government of Bombay offered him a post of Assistant Engineer at Nasik.

From Bombay, Sri M.V. went to Hyderabad as Chief Engineer. His great achievement in Hyderabad was the taming of the river Moosa. This river divides the city into two parts. In 1908, the river was dreadfully flooded, as never before. The waters of the river drowned many houses, men, women, children and cattle. They were carried away by the floods. Visvesvaraya planned dams to tame both the Moosa and another river Isa. He also suggested that lovely parks should be laid out on the banks of the rivers. The sites of the dams and the adjoining parks are worth a visit even today.

He respected water as a resource, and did not like wastage of it.  He said water is very precious to the farmer and it has to be put to the best possible use. For this, the Government appointed a Committee; it was to find ways of helping irrigation. Visvesvarayya found a solution. He implemented an extremely intricate system of irrigation (Block System). He devised steel doors; these could stop the wasteful flow of water in dams. The British Government were full of praise for the solution. The Government appreciated Visvesvarayya’s genius and work. He was promoted to higher positions. This meant even more difficult work. But he loved taking on newer challenges.

When Sir M.V. was only thirty-two a difficult work was assigned to him. He had to find a way of supplying water from the river Sindhu to a town called Sukkur. He prepared a plan, which was so well received; it added another feather in his cap.

Sir M.V was very particular of what he spoke, in what context and what background – he had to often make speeches. Because of his intelligence, experience and wisdom people thronged to hear him. Visvesvaraya would prepare his speeches thoroughly; he would think about what he was going to say, write them impeccably, get them typed and ponder over every word and revise it. He would revise it four or five times and give it a final shape. Then he would remember important points. Once he visited the Primary School in his native village, Muddenahalli; he gave the teacher ten rupees and asked him to distribute sweets to the children. The teacher said, “Please say a few words to the children, sir,” MV spoke for five minutes and went away. He had spoken without preparation. Some days later he prepared a speech and went to the school again; once again he distributed sweets to the children, and spoke with them importance of developing good habits of learning.

In 1947 he was the President of the All India Manufacturers’ Association. He had to make a speech at a function. Some of his friends were staying with him. On the day of the function they woke up at half past four in the morning. What they saw astonished them; Sir MV, who was 87 then, was already up and flawlessly dressed; he was walking up and down; he had in his hands a copy of the speech he was to make and was carefully reading and reciting it!

He was a well-organized man. We all need to learn some important soft skills from his life. He was always punctual; he was never late by a minute and he never wasted a minute. He honored people who respected time. He said every man should understand his responsibility and do his best. He was honest to the core. There are hundreds of instances to prove this. He dressed impeccably. Until he was restrained to his bed he was very particular about his sense of dressing up. Even when he was 95 people who went to see him were surprised; he was so carefully and neatly dressed. Till the age of 95, Sir M.V would get up to meet people who visited him, and see them off till the door.

In 1952 he went to Patna to study feasibility of a bridge across the Ganga. It was scorching hot. MV was 92. There were some stretches of the site which he could not travel by car. The Government had organized assistants to carry him in chair in those difficult stretches. MV did not use the service; instead, he got off the car and walked briskly. The Government had also arranged for his stay in the Government Guest House. They wanted him to be comfortable. But he stayed in the railway coach and went on with the work. Where are you going to find such people today?

He once said, “The curse of our country is laziness. At first sight everyone seems to be working. But in fact, one man works and the others watch him. As someone said with contempt, ‘it looks as if five men are working. But really only one man works. One man will be doing nothing. One man will be resting. Another man will be watching them. Yet another man will be helping these three.”

Visvesvaraya was a man of spotless honesty. When he was the Dewan, one of his friends wrote to him asking for a house for some days. He thought the Dewan would give him a Government Guest House, free of rent. The Dewan did so. The friend enjoyed his stay in a Government Guest House; but as long as the friend stayed there, the Dewan himself paid a rent of Rs. 250 a month. In 1918 he decided to give up the Dewanship. He had to give the Maharaja his letter of resignation. He went to the palace in the Government car and he returned home in his own car. Those were days when people had to work by candlelight. MV used, for official work, the stationery and the candles supplied by the Government; for his private work he used stationery and candles which he had bought.

Sir MV was a fearless patriot. Those were days when the Englishmen behaved like lord and wanted to be treated like a gods. The Maharaja of Mysore used to hold a Durbar during the Dasara. On the day of the European Durbar, the Europeans were given comfortable chairs but Indians were required to sit on the floor. MV went to the Durbar for the first time in 1910. The arrangements pained him. The next year he did not attend the Durbar. When the officers of the palace made enquiries he frankly gave the reason.

This great legendry man used to support thousands of families with food; he educated thousands of economically weak students. Due to his efforts of electrification thousands of houses were bright with electricity. This truly patriotic man led the country on the path of progress.

The independent India honored great servants of the country every year by awarding titles. The highest of this award is ‘Bharata Ratna’. In 1955 Visvesvaraya was honored with a ‘Bharata Ratna’, which means the Gem of India which he so accurately deserved. He was a gem of mankind. I salute this legendry man wholeheartedly!!!

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