“Nishkama Karma – Role Models”

Smt Kanthimathi serves food to destitutes battling hunger, poverty and diseases -   veg biryani and butter milk - on the dusty pavement opposite an oil store on East Masi Street Madurai (Tamilnadu, Bharat).  Kanthimathi, the 64-year-old wife of an ailing tailor, who ran out of business a few years ago, goes on giving. It has become a daily routine for her for the last 12 years. Kanthimathi does not have the means to feed the poor. It was 12 winters ago when she spotted social worker Siva Anbanandan serving food to beggars, street urchins, mentally and physically challenged individuals, the poor and the abandoned. Siva Anbanandan was looking for a cook.

Kanthimathi volunteered instantly. Since then, she hasn’t taken a day’s break. Even during illness she prepares the meal and ensures that it reaches the people on time. She recalls with sadness how on the day Siva Anbanandan died a year ago – in 2013 - , he arranged for rice, sambar and curd. “I served the meal here before going to the cremation ground,” she says. Among the nearby shopkeepers, somebody buys the vegetables, somebody donates rice and oil. And it keeps flowing to meet each day’s requirement. Kanthimathi believes there is God’s hand in arranging the items uninterrupted for so many years. Says Kanthimathi, even passers-by stop to see what is happening and spontaneously donate sweets and fruits; even plates, tumblers and sitting mats.

“God helps those who do Nishkama Sewa”

You cannot find a single cigarette butt, plastic bag lying around in Mawlynnong (Meghalaya, Bharat), a small village 90 kms from Shillong. It was awarded the tag of ‘Cleanest Village in Asia’ in 2003 by Discover India Magazine. Pallavi Pasricha, a journalist, describes the village thus: “I reach here and I am stumped. Not only is this village spotless clean but it’s one of the prettiest ones I have seen in the country. I am greeted warmly and taken to the guest house, my home for the night. I walk on cobbled streets bordered with thatched Khasi huts and go past gardens that are full of colourful flowers. To keep the village clean there is a bamboo basket outside every house. After a 15-minute walk I’m face-to-face with one of the most spectacular natural bridges that’s made by twisting the roots of the gigantic trees. The roots make a pathway across a stream, making it easy for villagers to commute. Another interesting thing the villagers have·              constructed here is the Sky View, an 85 feet high viewing tower that’s made of bamboo. When I reach on top I get stunning views of not just the village but Bangladesh on the other side. It’s simply gorgeous. I realise that it’s the simplicity and warmth of the people that makes Mawlynnong so special getting there.” 

“Cleanliness is Godliness and also stepping stone of cleansing the mind”