An attender turned savior

This is the story of P.U. Thomas, hailing from Neendoor in Kottayam district in Kerala, who started Navjeevan Trust- a nonprofit providing shelter and relief to the desolate and not-so accepted mentally and physically challenged people. Dressed in a white mundu and shirt, Mr. Thomas has a charisma which motivates people around him to look beyond the materialistic world and help the needy.

The story of Navjeevan trust started when he as a kid was admitted to medical college for acute stomach infection. Seeing the miserable condition of other patients who could not even afford food, he started sharing his food with them. Delighted to see the smiles on their face, Mr. Thomas started visiting the hospital more frequent and seeing his dedication the hospital granted him a job of an attender. 

                          (Mr. Thomas with Manu bhai(left)- after her recovery from the garbage pit)

His job did not end there. Later in 1970 he rented a small room at the medical college lodge with a nominal rent of Rs. 250 and named it- Navjeevan Trust. Three people including Manu Bhai(seen in the picture) were one of the first ones who were provided a home when the world was dark to them. Manu bhai was found in one of garbage pit 4 months pregnant. She was thereafter looked by the trust and her baby was adopted by a couple. The trust claims to have no support from the government players or foreign aid to which he asserts that if one has the willingness to give to others, help would come from the almighty. 

Today the trust provides food to almost 4000 people across 3 hospitals and spends close to Rs. 50,000 daily. The trust is built on a 5 acre land serving around 230 desolate people found in the roads and corners of the street. The MSW students form a major chunk of volunteer group. The kitchen is huge with state of the art technology to make rice and vegetables which are bought and made the same day. Mr. Thomas is blessed with 5 children and a wife and stay in their house near to the trust.

Brick making in traditional methods-- using mud and smoke

Sunset

The quest for a hidden lake- Tavarekere now a park

Now, I'm not really happy writing this post- there is a feeling of disgust and annoyance towards the water portal of Bangalore, which sent a post stating a video making competition on Lost lakes of Bangalore and later denied it to be the competition for the previous year!! Ignorance is indeed no bliss.
Aggravated by their mail, I shot them back a mail stating the loss of time and energy and ignorance on the part of organizers. Well, lot of my effort couldn't really show, so thought will upload it in my blog- Thought$ and make people aware of the indifference of the PSUs.

Awesome Weekend and my first 3D experience with Tangled!!

Saturday afternoon started with me curling my hair not because of any vital appointment—but I was all excited about my new electronic curlers. Taking strands of hair I rolled them, blushing myself looking at the mirror. All decked up, I was ready for the yatra meet with my fellow Bangalore yatris @ Mochas, Koramangala. After the long meet which mostly consisted of reintroducing ourselves we ended up deciding on a karaoke party at one of the yatris residence-- Quite a thoughtful decision!!

Late night, I moved to my cousins’ place where I was given the look- “Is this the time to come back??” Overlooking the looks, I focused on my chicken which was too luscious mixed with coconut milk and coriander leaves. Just then unexpected their neighbor walks in with his witty talks. Amused to see my cousin’s wedding album his observation was why all Malayalis have this thick moustache!! The answer to this question would not be known by my fellow mellu brothers also but all are proud to have one. After the tiring but fun day, I dozed off as I lay down.

OK…After this long story let me put in writing my first 3D experience!!

It was overwhelming----an experience to feel

 Though it’s quite late for my first 3D movie, it’s never too late. As the movie named - Tangled started I was all smiles like my yellow smiley stress buster. Put my glasses up and down at least 20 times to see the difference without the glass. Smile again. As the butterflies flew and lanterns rose in the sky my 9 year and 6 year old niece swayed from left to right in loud laughter trying to catch one, with me not much behind but showing off as if I caught one. Excited I even dropped ketchup on my jeans which didn’t really matter compared to the fun I was having. The movie ended with the princess getting back to her parents and finding the love of her life in a thief! Nothing astonishing, but it was my first 3D animated romantic movie, which I can cut down from my to-do list.

Cheers!!

 

Morning @ Chengalpattu, Chennai

One of the early days of TJY, at 5:30 am in the chilly morning the train stopped at Chengalpattu in Chennai.
The view outside was like a panorama I've seen in art movies. It was truly mesmerizing!!

The water looked greenish with fishermen trawling in the hope of catching a big one!!
The boat was one of a kind made of just 3-4 log of wood with a skinny fisherman sitting like a large pelican.

This was incredible India and a perfect platform to connect oneself to nature with shining orange strand floating in water and moving clouds making way for the rising sun!!

The moment will always be in me.....deep inside!!

Ancestral Solution back in Action- Hyped as Rain Water Harvesting!!

Nature bestows us with so many gifts still why do we feel there is shortage of resources ---Is it nature's fault or humanly acts??

The most endowed is sometimes forecasted or the hardly foretold --- rainfall!!. The average annual rainfall received by India is between 750 and 1500 milliliters. Today, after lot of bigshot introspection comes the age old ancestral solution of rain water storage and harvesting!!

The process is quite simple one making a huge difference---I just learnt it today from the workers making one in my hostel.

Dig a pit depending upon the storage requirement. Cover the sides with brick and cement to give a smooth finish. From the terrace to the pit, fit pipes crawling from the outside of the wall. As rain falls, the water flows in from the pipes and gets stored in the dug pit. A rain water filter is attached which cleans the water as it gets collected. The stored water can be used for washing clothes and other industral purpose but is not recommended for drinking.

The starting investment is usually Rs. 20,000 and depends upon the size of pit and usage of pipes.

It has been made mandatory by the Karnataka govt. for every owner or occupier of a building having sital area of not less than 2400 sq feet or every owner who proposes to construct a building on a sital area of not less than 1200sq feet.

Finally, after year long discussions and analysis, a common sense solution is understood by the masses!! 

(Coincidence)^2 on my way to Tata Jagriti Yatra

Tata Jagriti Yatra, a national train journey across India started on 24th December, 2010 but my yatra to Mumbai started on the afternoon of 23rd December. Just after scribbling through my last end term paper, I reached hostel. Not knowing what to pack, I dumped all possible clothes in my huge blue suitcase and left for the yatra early next day. Somehow reached the pick-up point with my difficult to carry luggage, waited for the bus with no idea about Bombay city. Added to that, phone calls from home asking me about my schedule - which was not even close to an idea at that moment!! All expressionless, I see this tall guy in a black SJCBA jersey! Enthused I couldn't stop to introduce myself and ask where he's heading. And for all heavenly lady luck, the answer came- BOMBAY!! Though he was unsure if he missed the bus, I was all elated to see someone travel with me to my unknown city of Mumbai. Then the second miracle happened- seat no-20 and me 21!! Double rejoiced!! Thanked God for 2 reasons- Have a company till Mumbai and have a schedule to tell home.

Now this guy is Robin aka Bombay Buswala. The full yo-attitude looking guy turned out to be full filmy bollywood style. We chatted all through, danced on some bollywood masala songs, clicked moon on the bus window and most by him- Mellu acts!! In moments we were like "chuddi buddies" sharing gossips and filmy songs. Not to forget, the most important thing- I learnt 2 amusing Bombay slang- Halkat and Chatis ka Akda!! Not sure when to use them but these are the memorable words of my trip to Mumbai aka Bombay :)