AOG Heroes

Jamsetji Tata – The Philosopher Of Giving

Jamsetji Tata – The Philosopher Of Giving

Industrialists, entrepreneurs and business personnel are often expected to contribute to society from the immense wealth they possess. Many have done it in the past, be it Bill and Melinda Gates or Warren Buffet. But the genesis of giving can be traced back to the extraordinarily humane thinking of one man — Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, pioneer, patriot and philanthropist.

Globally, J.N. TATA has emerged as the biggest philanthropist, by donating 102 billion dollars in total. It’s been more than 100 years that this amount of giving remains unmatched. But beyond the numbers, Jamsetji has brought a culture of philanthropy that the market follows today. 

Initially, JNT’s vision for India led him to start (in the year 1892) India’s first scholarship for higher education. The JN Tata Endowment was the first of the Tata Trusts, indicating the beginning of the 126-year journey of nation-building and societal welfare. His patriotism was such that he had pledged half his personal fortune- 3 million rupees – to setting up the Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru and thus began the glory of giving. 

Then the TATA and Sons started giving to causes, be it the freedom fight or to the setting up of medical & educational institutions, the TATAs did it all. 

 Over the past 12 decades, the Tata Trusts have outlined a philanthropic purpose in promoting social progress and in creating some of India’s most extraordinary institutes, among them the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Tata Memorial Centre, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and the National Centre for Performing Arts. Two-thirds of the shareholding of Tata Sons, the promoter and holding company of the Tata group, is held by the Trusts(a non-profit organisation), assuring that the funds in the Trusts are given back to society.

This is Jamsetji’s intensity and legacy. May his work, inspire more people to give. 

Jamsetji Tata – The Philosopher Of Giving
A one-woman forest: GOING GREEN

A one-woman forest: GOING GREEN

Kollakkayil Devaki Amma, a woman from Muthukulam in Alappuzha, had achieved what seems impossible for a human being- nurture a forest single-handedly.

Devaki Amma started her journey in the 70s, where she started with planting a sapling in her backyard. Decades later, she has transformed into a huge forest that is home to various exotic flora and fauna. The forest is home to over 200 species of trees and numerous rare plants and shrubs. Devaki Amma reminisces, “I used to participate in paddy cultivation enthusiastically. But, following the accident, I was bedridden for almost three years and was forced to abandon rice cultivation. But it led to something more important. Helped by the family members, I started planting saplings 35 years ago. I never thought at that time, the place would become a forest.” Over time this project developed into a 4.5-acre forest.

A one-woman forest GOING GREEN

Devaki Amma took a holistic aim to protect the environment by using only green organic manure to grow and sustain the plants and trees. Amma’s forest, habitats over 3000 trees, including scarce plants like Lakshmi Tharu, Chinese Orange, etc. Aside from the 200 diverse varieties of trees and shrubs that supply fruits, vegetables and flowers in abundance, the forest also has ponds, a wetland and animals like cows, buffaloes, oxen, etc. Devaki Amma is 87 years old now, but her sincere passion for preserving flora and fauna still continues. Her 35 years of dedication and hard work is a testimonial to the fact that “the world can change if we work towards changing it”.

A one-woman forest: GOING GREEN
The one-rupee-clinic: An AOG story

The one-rupee-clinic: An AOG story

Dr Shankar Ramchandani, the “doctor of the masses and not the classes”, has opened a clinic in Burla that charges only Re 1 as fee – a nominal charge that has presented the enterprise with the title of “One Rupee” clinic.

The one-rupee-clinic: An AOG story 2

Dr Ramchandani is an Assistant Professor at the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research. “I joined VIMSAR as a senior resident, and senior residents are not allowed to do private practice. Hence, I could not start the “One Rupee” clinic. But I was promoted as assistant professor recently, and as an assistant professor, I am allowed to do private practice after my duty hours and hence, I have started the clinic in a rented house now, “the doctor explained.

The rupee one concept has been established, to ensure that the patients don’t feel that they have paid nothing for treatment. “They should also think that they have paid some money for their treatment,” the excellent doctor quoted.

The long queues of patients at the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research motivated Dr Ramchandani to open the clinic which has been set up at the Kachha Market in Burla, remains open to all from 7 am to 8 am and from 6 pm to 7 pm. “I have seen elderly people and people with disabilities waiting for hours for consultation with doctors in OPD. They don’t need to wait for hours and suffer at the hospital. They can come to my clinic and get a consultation at Rupee 1 only,” Dr Shankar Ramchandani said in conclusion.

Watch: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7zbltq

The one-rupee-clinic: An AOG story
Constable spends Rs 10,000 every month from his salary on poor

Constable spends Rs 10,000 every month from his salary on poor

K Krishna Murthy, a head constable attached to Parvatipuram town police station, has gone out of his way to help the poor and the needy.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Murthy selected 30 poor people every month to provide them with essentials. Presently, he focuses on supplying warm clothes to the poor and abandoned as the temperature dropped during the winter. He procures the requirements and other supplies, spending his salary every month. He pays Rs 10,000 from his salary every month to help the needy. I have been supporting the poor since 2017. I get a Rs 45,000 take-home salary and spend only Rs 10,000 for the social service,” Murthy informed.

“He came to our village to help the poor on the request of his colleague, who hails from our village,” he remarked. Murthy’s colleague Aluru Atchyuta Rao said his friend provides groceries to the orphanages and nursing homes.

Aside from conferring a helping hand to the needy, Krishna also distributes books to students on certain birthdays and important dates. He further tells, “On birthdays of prominent leaders, such as Dr Abdul Kalam, Swami Vivekananda, Mother Teresa and Dr B R Ambedkar, I distribute books. Reading their autobiographies, I hope these kids wish to become good humanitarians. This exercise also motivates them to read.”

Constable spends Rs 10,000 every month from his salary on poor
From Book Seller to Life-Saver

From Book Seller to Life-Saver

Abhimanyu Das, a book salesman from Cuttack city, life was a routine affair. In the year 1998, things turned around for Abhimanyu when his mother passed away due to cancer.

“Life came crashing for me. My mother was my strength, and losing her created a void in my life. Fortunately, we were financially well-to-do, so we could take care of her medical expenses till the end. But, when I saw other cancer patients suffering in the hospital, I realised not everyone is fortunate like us. My mother’s death instilled the seeds of social work in my mind,”

says Abhimanyu

For the next few years, Abhimanyu started helping others. “In 2002, while I was away for work, I met with a serious road accident. My ligament was damaged and I was advised bed rest for several months. Over the next few years, I underwent four operations. Unable to work anymore, my younger brother took up the sales job while I was confined to my home. One day, while reading the newspaper, I came across the story of a poor man who wanted some monetary help. That was a heads up for me. From that day, I would search for such stories in the newspaper and reach out to the concerned people and extend help,”

says Abhimanyu

Abhimanyu wanted to do more for the cancer patients, having faced a personal tragedy.

Since eleven years, Abhimanyu visits the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Care Hospital and SCB Medical College and Hospital daily without fail. He treats minor injuries, personally looks after the need of patients and also gets food for those without a family.

Abhimanyu has not limited himself to just helping poor people. He also cremates dead bodies – a movement he started in 2006. Since then Abhimanyu has cremated over 1,300 dead bodies. Working during COVID-19 pandemic, he said, “We are fighting the disease, not the patients. I can’t abandon people just like that. On the contrary, in testing times like these, my work is doubled. Of course, I wear face masks, headgear and even PPE kits while entering the affected area, but there is no question of not helping.

Das’s story is a testimonial to how “Art Of Giving” can change the society, as several levels.

From Book Seller to Life-Saver
The art of cultivating organic food at a reasonable cost by KIIT alumnus

The art of cultivating organic food at a reasonable cost by KIIT alumnus

Avilash Mahananda’s mother passed away due to cancer. His mother never smoked or consumed alcohol. So her cancer diagnosis and unexpected death took Avilash by shock and left him troubled.
He started to examine the reasons of her cancer and discovered that the long-term build-up of the chemicals in the body, primarily through the food we consume, was considered one of the significant probable causes of cancer.

Mahananda, an alumnus of the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, thus began his journey to provide chemical and toxin-free food to consumers. His passion for doing so ultimately led to the initiation of C&G Agroventures – A firm that offers toxin-free vegetables at an affordable rate. Addressing to the media, he said, “The vegetables go through a unique three-step process which reduces the chemicals in them by up to 60-90%. My goal is to provide pesticide and chemical-free vegetables at affordable prices,” says Mahananda. Now, if you are thinking that this means ‘organic’, then think again. Organic food is usually expensive, and as a result, not affordable for most, which is why the 30-year-old’s primary focus is affordability. So, they are not only retailing out of supermarket giants like Reliance Fresh, but their chemical-free vegetables are also available at local and independent Kirana stores in Bhubaneswar.”

Mahananda’s scheme for changing the face of organic food seems like a sustainable action against chemicals in our nutrition. A small project that started in Bhubaneshwar will now reach people in other parts of the country too. The entire Art of Giving is proud of the KIITian Avilash Mahananda and his contribution to society.

The art of cultivating organic food at a reasonable cost by KIIT alumnus
Nurturing the Art of Giving: Azim Premji, the Philanthropist

Nurturing the Art of Giving: Azim Premji, the Philanthropist

Last year, in March, the billionaire chairperson of Wipro Limited- Azim Premji had added to the billions of dollars worth he has already donated by committing 34 percent of shares in his company – worth 7.5 billion dollars or 52,750 crores.

It is surprising and welcoming to know that India’s most generous citizen is no accidental philanthropist. Azim Premji isn’t the kind of man who gets up one day and stricken by conscience, decides to give away a part of his wealth to charity. The art of giving of his fortune was as meticulously analysed through as the making of it. Admittedly, Premji seldom does anything unplanned. This is a patron who is way ahead of time and calendar. Even the idea in 2001 of establishing a charitable foundation, which is now backed by a trust valued at $21 billion making it among the five most significant grants across the world, took over six months of studies with officials who would be running it.

The outcome was the Premji Foundation which today trains thousands of teachers across 50 districts in six states, such that students can be taught better in government schools. Its impact cuts across the domain, straddling pedagogy, education policy besides of course the mechanics of philanthropy and is the reason why Nandan Nilekani, chairman, Infosys Ltd. calls him “a giant figure”.

Art of Giving by Azim Premji Corona

Between 2001 and 2019, Premji granted Wipro shares worth nearly $12 billion in a staggered manner to the endowment, making him the highest financial donator of money in India. Like our hon’ble founder, Dr Samanta, say,

“Money can bring you happiness if it is spent for others.”

Premji’s unique greatest legacy that he has passed on to the corporate world is philanthropy. He lives an ordinary life, giving away a lot in donations. This shows that wealth does not always have to go to the family and can be given to charitable causes.

Nurturing the Art of Giving: Azim Premji, the Philanthropist
Saju Talukdar

Saju Talukdar

Bengal Driver Gives Free Clothes to the Needy:

Saju Talukdar, a 47-year-old car driver, drives the Bir Birsha Munda Cloth Bank (BBMC) near Dimdima Tea Garden, in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal.

Though the clothes bank was inaugurated on January 2017, Talukdar has been accumulating used clothes from people and distributing to the needy for more than a decade now. As of now, the clothing bank has 50,000 units of clothing, and every week Saju shares around 3,000-4,000 clothes to families in nearby tea gardens, railway stations, bus stops and wherever else people need clothes.

Having to leave his education due to lack of school uniform inspired Saju to take up this initiative. To collect and distribute clothes, Saju purchased a four-wheeler in 2015, on which he would transport passengers to Siliguri and different parts of Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri district.

In January 2017, Saju commenced BBMC at his home and put up a signboard. The people who noticed it started donating clothes. Whoever lacked clothes came to his house, a custom which happens daily to this day.

Talukdar has also adopted two tea garden villages—Bandapani in Alipurduar district with a community of around 650, and Caron in Nagarkata subdivision of Jalpaiguri district—which has a population of a little than 1,000. Saju typically delivers clothes to these people during festivals, and warm clothes in winter. Things took an even bigger turn for the philanthropist, when he got a call from Bengali quiz show Dadagiri in June 2018, to appear beside former Indian cricket captain Saurav Ganguly.

Besides the clothes bank, Saju also operates a shelter home—Heaven Shelter Home—for the abandoned, where he also renders food, and clothes to the homeless.

Saju Talukdar
Rahul Sharma

Rahul Sharma

From IT job holder to Organic farmer, giving back to the ecosystem:

Rahul Sharma’s summer vacations during his early life were spent in Mustafabad, a tiny village in Kapurthala district. Though Rahul’s father, Banwari Lal Sharma, grew up helping his family on their farm, he moved to the city when he got appointed as a Professor of Physics at the National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra.

Unknown to young Rahul the very fact that as he would grow older, his need to reconnect with his roots would see him quit a cushy 18-year-old IT career and go back to the same village and grow organic food in his ancestral farmland. Shedding light on how the switch of careers happened, Rahul talks of his interest in learning different skills. This was perhaps one of the reasons why he opted to pursue a diploma in computers in the early 90s despite being an Economics and Statistics graduate.

In 2016, he quit his job and moved to Chandigarh. Within five days of his move, he had travelled to Mustafabad and began his work. The land, which had been given on lease to someone, was choked with chemicals. So the first plan of action was to revive the soil in the four-acre patch. He used Crop rotation & nitrogen-fixing crops, System of Rice Intensification, Green manuring & Biodiverse wild patch.

Over time he started teaching these methods to nearby farmers. Today he grows crops such as wheat, black rice, basmati rice, moong, Masur and arhar daal, desi makka (Maize), chana (black gram), turmeric, sesame (for oil), mustard (for oil), cotton (rainfed) etc. The AoG community salutes such gesture of bravery and environmental development works.

Rahul Sharma
Gangadhar Rout

Gangadhar Rout

Odisha Man donates his life savings in an Art of Giving feat to built a bridge

Sexagenarian Gangadhar Rout, a retired livestock inspector with the Odisha government, immersed into his savings and pension to start building the 270 foot-long bridge across the river that links Kanpur village to Daneipur in October 2016.
 
Rout lives in the village of Kanpur, which gets cut off throughout the monsoon, loses access to its farmlands, which are on the other side of the river. Even when it’s not raining profoundly, the lack of a bridge forces the villagers to row across the water or take long detours on foot to reach their farmlands.
 
The circumstances leading up to this decision highlight the apathy many of our fellow countrymen endure at the hands of the state. More than a decade ago, a local truck owners’ association, a local legislator and the Hatadihi block administration, donated funds to the tune of Rs 6 lakh to construct the bridge. However, due to the insufficiency of funds, the construction of the bridge was incomplete.
 
For many years, nearly 1,200 residents of the village have demanded the construction of a bridge. “We requested officials and local people’s representatives for [the] completion of the bridge, but no one paid any heed towards our demand. Local truck owners’ association and other private organisations also did not help us financially. With no other option in sight, I decided to shoulder the responsibility,” said Rout.
 
Settling into his retirement benefits of Rs 12 lakh, he took his nephew and surveyed various bridges in the area to understand what it takes to build one.
 
Initially, he had thought about using the money to buy a car, but the decrepit condition of the incomplete bridge cause him to decide against it, instead, spending the money on fixing and completing it. After finishing the construction of the bridge locals at Kanpur village in Odisha have praised his remarkable work of Rout.

Gangadhar Rout