Raipur, Chattisgarh - 25th Feb 2011

Humara Chattisgarhiya Sabse Badhiya!

What a response from Bharat Mata School here in Raipur! They put up their dances and cultural program and when we had the interactive session they were soooooooo active in asking questions and challenging Rakesh for the answers! One student asked Rakesh how they could be good leaders. Rakesh smiled. He said that nowdays there are training camps and institutes and courses which teach leaderships skills and all, but the most important thing is to be aware. You should read a lot, especially newspapers and watch the news a lot. Also, a good leader always is open to learning. You should allow yourself to learn from any and every person, whether it is an IPS officer or a peon who works at a school. Everyone has something to offer.

I know there are so many things that make up a leader, but I feel Rakesh touched upon the most important points in that limited time. Learning and awareness. And all of that leads to understanding. The base of leadership. It’s not that much and it’s so much simpler than you thought.

Passing through the city, I notice that there are more scooters and bikes on the road than anything else. There were hardly any cars or buses. Interesting..

Later, a few of us visited the doctor’s office with Shalaka Jose, our local friend from Chattisgarh. A bit of the continuous travel and exertion got to us, so we felt it was better to get the right medication instead of the stretching the first aid kit to the hilt. In the waiting room, Shalaka started talking about the education system in her state. Everyone here is either a doctor or engineer. Mainly it’s because the awareness of other occupations and opportunities is so limited here. People don’t even know you can become a journalist or a musician or an IT professional or an accountant or a technician or photographer or an event manager or a professor and have a sustainable career. The exposure of courses and training is so low here, that people don’t even know they have this option. And because of this, they don’t even think of looking outside their state to anything else. Think of the potential enrichment in so many fields that can come from this area if people just know more..

Does anyone want to help and arrange an awareness camp or career fair?

In the evening there’s bike rally with about 30 bikes and the Indian flag waving high and proud leading us to the Swami Vivekananda Sarovar Udyaan where we had a special prayer service for peace and harmony and each member of our team lit a candle for the cause under this huge statue of Swami Ji which overlooked the lake. It was a unique experience to pray here out in the open with the bright sun and the calm water reflecting their serenity to us. But most special was the image of Swami Vivekananda and looking up at this magnificent tribute to this source of inspiration, especially of the youth. Standing there, at his feet, felt like receiving direct blessing from him, in that moment.

Sigh..

After the prayer, we all are told to sit for a group photo and everyone settles at the mini amphitheatre. All us photographers notice the sun directly behind them causing everyone to silhouette, so we’re telling Fr. Prakash that we need to shift everyone opposite to where we are now. Just as everyone stops fidgeting and is ready for the picture, Father says, “Yeh photo magical hai..” Points across to the lawn. “Par vahan pe aur magical ho sakta hai..”

The collective aaaargh! was soooooo funny! But the picture came out pretty neat.

In the evening, the cultural program is so spectacular! The dances and all! I know I’ve been saying this about every place, but honestly, every place is so awesome in its uniqueness and distinct culture and traditional styles and everything.. And most importantly everything is sooooo colourful! And complemented with the dances put up by our girls, it seemed to be enriched even more. Our girls performed the Mother Teresa Prayer Dance. After this we had the K2K Team introduction we were all like, “Hi I’m Rakesh” and “Hi I’m Solomon” and “Hi I’m Savita” and Jennifer said, “Hi, I’m Mother Teresa.” Haha.. That was fun!

In the interaction, someone asked how to make people understand that they should not drink. I actually started wondering how to address this if I were ever asked. It wasn’t so easy.. I looked up and watched. Rakesh thought for a bit and then said that we don’t have good role models. They don’t look up to the right people, choosing to go after film stars and the like whose personal lives are so different from what is projected on screen. If people choose people like swami Vivekananda or B.R. Ambedkar, the things would definitely be different. Also maybe we can be role models ourselves for these people by our beliefs and our actions. But it is important to understand that it is not done in one day. We should not give up hope nor patience. Perseverance pays.

Hmmm.. That's one way to answer it. And it's pretty valid too. But I know there are a lot more answers to this question too. When I thought about it some more, I felt it has to do with each individual and how strong they are in their own mind. No one can force another to do something or not do something. That right lies with each individual. The decision to drink, or anything for that matter, is up to each person themselves. It has to be the right thing to do in 'your' mind. That's what validates it. Yeah, Rakesh is right about all of that stuff influencing people in a lot of the wrong ways. But I guess for me, it's about your mental resolve, inner strength and will power.