Window Seat
| Mrinal Chatterjee
5 ‘W’ and 1 ‘H’ of Philanthropy
Recently I read an article, crux of
which is: despite a rich tradition and legacy of daan (charity), Indians are actually kanjoosh. They do not ‘give’ in charity. The article has impressive
statistics to show that unlike the west, corporate India is not keen on
charity. It says that the culture of
institutionalised philanthropy is relatively new to India, barring a Tata here
or an Infosys there. Business houses have erected temples, built dharmasalas. But when it comes to doing
something noticeable in social sector, it has little to show. The article goes
on to suggest that forget the corporate bodies, even an average Indian gives a fraction
of what his American counterpart and about half his South Asian counterpart
gives in charity.
I wonder why? We give ‘chanda’ in all religious festivals
willingly or through coercion. We willingly put in green backs in the hundi, strategically placed in front of
almost all temples. We throw handful of coins towards the beggars, who crowd
the entrance of the religious places. But why don’t we donate for social
causes?
As a former journalist, I approached
this question with 5 ‘w’ and 1 ‘h’ strategy.
1.
Why give? Most of us are reluctant if not averse to
give in charity. The first question that we ask ourselves: why to give? Can’t
we utilize that money or article or time or whatever for ourselves or on second
thought for our near and dear ones? Why give to strangers, without any hope of
getting anything tangible in return?
2.
What to give? Do we give money? What should be the
appropriate amount?
3.
Whom to give? This probably is the biggest question which
plagues our decision. Credibility of the receiver is a big factor. We are
familiar with religious places and beggars. But when it comes to giving to
somebody or some institutuion for social causes- we really do not know whom to
give. We are skeptic about majority of the NGOs. We think they will usurp our
hard earned money.
4.
When to give? Do we give regularly- say once a month, or
occasionally? Do we give on some occasion like say on the birthday of your son
or when situation warrants like say when calamity has struck?
5.
How and in which form? There are practical problems. Suppose, I
want to donate my old shirt. How do I
give? There is hardly an institutional system working nationwide or even
statewide? I understand there are some NGOs who are working at this in some
large cities, but an institutional system is yet to be developed.
I feel we Indian are
willing to give in charity. The problem is to translate the willingness to
reality through a credible and efficient system. If that is taken care of,
Indians will not hesitate to ‘give’ in charity. After all we have a long
history and legacy of philanthropy.
Surest way
to go to Heaven
May
and June are the hottest months in the eastern part of the country. Except on
the evenings when there is a cloud burst, you swelter. In this season watered
rice is preferred by many. Almost all eastern states have some variation of
watered rice. But Odias are past masters in making it a delicacy. Bengalis call
it panta bhat. They do not relish it
as Odias do. Bengalis eat panta bhat,
only if there is left over, and to preserve it they put water in it. But here
in Odisha it is prepared that way. Even
posh restaurants in Odisha are now offering pakhala
with assortment of fried vegetables, and if you like fish.
Pakhala at hot mid day lulls you to slumber.
With a bellyful of pakhala, you just
sleep. When you sleep you commit so sin. And when you commit no sin, you go to
heaven. So, all those people happily eating pakhala
and spending time in sleeping are surely going to heaven.
At the
Dhenkanal Fish market
You get to hear interesting nuggets
at the fish market. The other day a fish vendor was shouting at top of his
voice: Khasi Katuchhi (I am slaying a
goat). Another fish vendor immediately started shouting: Hati katuchhi. (I am slaying an elephant). One got confused: was it
a fish market or meat market? On closer inspection the 'hati' was found to be a bigger size rohu.
Education
I was going through the profiles of
top ten richest persons of the world in the present time. It occurred that six
out of the ten are either college dropouts or their educational qualifications
are not known.
Now I have given you the facts draw
your own conclusion.
Dust in Rain
In late May and early June we often
experience rain accompanied by high wind after intence heat. A poet friend of
mine has beautifully written about the dust before and after rain:
Kal tak udti
thi jo muha tak
Aaj pairo se
lipat gayee
Chand bundo
kya barsi barsat ki
Dhul ki
fitrat hi badal gayee
(Till yesterday this dust used to hit
me on face, today it is licking my feet. With some drops of rain the nature of
dust has changed)
***
28 May 2016
Posted at http://www.orissadiary.com/ShowOriyaColumn.asp?id=67485
The
author teaches journalism and writes fiction. He lives at Paniohala hill valley
in Dhenkanal, Odisha. He can be contacted at
mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com
