Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Cup of coffee Philantrophy

"I was cursing my luck because I had no shoes, till I saw a person with no legs."
I always found this ideology a bit regressive and rather unambitious.
Deriving succor and consolation by focusing our attention on the lesser fortunate was in fact a touch sadistic. Altruism was a virtue, compassion was the hallmark of humanity, but success, fame and fortune were the real pile drivers, the propellants that powered my thoughts and actions. The reality of  a large number of our brethren languishing in misfortune, poverty, suffering was one of those
"What can I do about it" compromises that very easily sank below the horizon of  cognition. The thoughts  about their plight would surface once in a while, only to get submerged as fast as they arose.
     I had operated on a 65 year old senior citizen. He had a severe lumbar disc prolapse due to a fall he sustained. He could barely walk a few steps and was in agonising pain. He was accompanied by his wife, who herself had been operated recently for some abdominal problem. The elderly couple had an expression of  resigning to their fate. I could see the concern and care in the eyes of the lady for her ailing husband. They hailed from a nearby village, and were marginal farmers, tililng a small plot of land, just enough to eke out a living. They were not accompanied by any children or relatives.
I explained to them about the need for surgery, and the lady expectantly asked me if her husband would recover after the surgery. There is a widely prevalent belief in the vast majority, that spine surgery can never be successful. I don't know the etiology of  this misconception, but I reassured her, that I'll make her husband walk the next day after surgery. She consented for the surgery either because she trusted me, or then decided to surrender to her destiny. I will never know exactly.
The surgery went off uneventfully and the next day, the old man walked. He had some soreness at the operative site, but the agonising, radiating pain had disappeared. They both were happy. After the 3 days of antibiotics, the i.v. line was removed and he was discharged on the 5th day.
Yesterday he came for removing the stitches. He was walking without any pain and looked cheerful. The old lady, very embarrassingly wanted to touch my feet. I stopped her from this insane subservience.
I casually asked her, why her children or relatives never visited during their hospital stay.
The old man narrated a touching tale.
They had 2 sons. The elder one had taken a loan and bought a taxi. He had two children and worked really hard. He had repaid almost 60 percent of the loan, when tragedy struck. He was hired by a person, to go to a village. There they were ambushed by people who wanted to kill the  person who hired the taxi. That person escaped, and this taxi driver was killed in a fit of rage in this insane act of vengeance. The old man had tears in his eyes as he told me that they could never see their son again. The car was picked up by the bank and auctioned. The old couple had to take care of the their widowed daughter-in-law and their 2 grand children as the younger son was an alcoholic.
The daughter-in-law got a job in a factory, where she was paid a measely 160 Rs per day. There old couple toiled in the fields to harvest grain and some seasonal vegetables. I was overcome with grief on hearing their sordid saga.
Our state has one of the highest farmer suicide rates in the country. These marginal farmers really have a very rough life. They are lured by politicians for their votes during elections, only to be conveniently forgotten for the next 5 years.
They are used as pawns by the  parties in their political slugfest, with perfunctory, cosmetic visits by ministers. Such a travesty of justice and relief to these unfortunate souls. 
       I enquired about the expenses of this family, and was told that their grand children attended school for which they needed about 1000 rupees every month. I wondered how in the world, could they manage all this with their meagre income.
I decided on the spur of the moment.
I asked the old lady for her bank details and promised her, that I will deposit 1000 Rs every month for her grand children's education. The condition being that the funds should be used only for the specific propose of their schooling.
1000 Rs. An amount that we casually spend for just a cup of coffee with a friend.
I'm seriously thinking of starting some micro philanthropic movement.
"Spare that cup of coffee for educating a child"
I'm sure, we all can easily manage to put aside a 1000 bucks. Think about it.
I'm not posting this for any personal glory. I just thought of sharing this true story to highlight a grim reality, and the fact that we can make a difference, irrespective of  how small the amount.
Microphilanthropy like Microfinance. Forget the Armani shoes, just lend a hand to the man without the legs.
How's the Idea?

Friday, April 17, 2020

Imperfection and aesthetics

Imperfection could be aesthetic, too

December 26, 2019, 1:00 AM IST  in TOI Edit Page | Edit PageSpiritualityWorld | TOI
   
By Deepak M Ranade
“She fused them together with gold, all the golden gossamer she had stored in her heart. Those imperfections, that I used to hide from the world, she decorated them.”  These words can be found inscribed on a Kintsugi bowl.
Kintsugi is a Japanese method for repairing broken ceramics with a special lacquer mixed with gold, silver or platinum. The philosophy behind the technique is to restore and enhance the value of the object that has developed cracks. It is a process that visibly incorporates the repair and renders it even more beautiful than it was before.
Kintsugi art has its origins in the ancient Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi which deals with seeing beauty in what is considered flawed or imperfect. The Japanese term means “a way of living that focusses on finding beauty within the imperfections of life and accepting peacefully, the natural cycle of growth and decay.”
The art form of Kintsugi, uses the ‘crack’ approach where the cracks and fissures are mended and sealed with a lacquer mixed with glue. This is the most common Kintsugi technique, and it culminates in bestowing an intricate and inimitable reticulate pattern of shimmering veins that have come to define the art form. Despite the Greco-Roman passion for symmetry and perfection, the appreciation of beauty residing in flaws has been noted by Western philosophers, literature and aesthetics.
There are poetic references by Ernest Hemingway to life’s inevitable orders to break us all and the resulting strengths that calcify at our broken places; by Leonard Cohen on how the light comes through the cracks; by Jhumpa Lahiri on how imperfection inspires the spark of creation and imagination.  Even any imperfect physical objects surrounding us can become symbols of our diligence to find meaning.
We all have had our failures, imperfections and defects in our personalities. They are an inevitable, and maybe even indelible aspects of life. Failures and imperfections have a way of haunting us; they tend to weaken and undermine our efforts, making us diffident and unsure of ourselves. They could generate a sense of inadequacy, inferiority, low self-esteem and perhaps a self-deprecatory mindset. Failures are never forgotten, no matter how hard one tries to forget them, and they remain as ungainly scars on our psyche. These wounds might never heal, they can be obtrusive and can distort the complexion of our personality.
Can we not incorporate, assimilate, integrate, our failures and the imperfections of our personality to make ourselves better and beautiful?
Imperfections, too, can be aesthetic if accompanied by pride and dignity. The cracks of failure and imperfection need to be sealed with a special glue of acceptance, mixed with the shimmer of dignity and self-belief. The scars of lost battles need to be touched up with the veneer of wisdom, and adorned with the glitter of confidence.
Grace and poise become present in the elegance with which we harmonise our imperfections and shortcomings, laced with endearing modesty. “Perfection could smack of complacence, even an arrogance that preempts any scope for improvement. Nothing is ever perfect; even when it appears to be so. And we are subconsciously looking for the flaw,” observes marketing researcher Martin Lindstrom.
The spiritual path is the way to a beautiful journey of the imperfect towards the perfect. It is, in fact, realising the perfection that manifests as imperfection.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Beautiful & perfect article 
Pradeep Divate
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