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  • Category: Miscellaneous
    Points:5

    A poor man's smoky cabin can also be a portico of moral liberty

    Decades ago, in a pucca English medium school at Tiruchirapalli, where I studied, we had a superb English teacher and a fairly high standard English text book with a memorable story of a young boy who takes to crime because of circumstances, but is later reformed through counselling. The story was set in an European background at that time.

    I still remember a phrase " poor men's smoky cabins are not always porticos of moral liberty". Today, I have seen how they help each other in times of need. Driving down by car from Chennai can be taxing in summer, even if the car has AC in it. I had to stop my car for a cup of buttermilk. The quality was very good. Two other people turned up at the shop and they had no money. I offered to pay for them.

    The small vendor keeper then said that he would give them for free. The two others also said that from who cannot afford the cost of the buttermilk, the vendor would offer it for free. It is a rather big umbrella under which the buttermilk is sold. Many would return and give the vendor at least Rs.5. I later learned that a local rich person would give the vendor, at least two kilograms of good curd from which the buttermilk is made.

    Yet, the vendor's act and the typically rural conversations about so many others in the same village, with some jokes and some light hearted moments, just impressed me. So, yes, people are relatively poor but there is moral liberty all around. At best, the vendor would earn a profit of around Rs250 per day, but that keeps him going.

    And the caring and sharing goes on and on..
  • #779397

    Points:5
    The author is a very kind person and always tries to help the poor and needy. This can be understood by going through his threads. Many can inculcate the habit of helping the poor by going through such posts. We see many free buttermilk vending outlets during summer in both the Telugu states. These will appear during summer. In our native place, some government employees started such one outlet with contributions from each of them. Their wives used to sit there and distribute buttermilk. On holidays, the employees themselves used to sit and distribute buttermilk. Many people in society try to help as much as possible.
    All poor people will not become criminals. Some may be like that. But many can be made normal by counselling them and showing them a way to live. I have seen many such people who became very good after getting a small employment and when they are able to take care of their family.
    drrao
    always confident

  • #779402

    Points:5
    The author has floated many posts in the past few months in which there is a message to help the poor and be kind to the fellow beings. We appreciate the humane nature of author and his eagerness to eradicate poverty from our country. Unfortunately, it is not an easy job to do so because of the population as well as unemployment. Another thing is that there are few kind hearted people who are like minded in these considerations.
    I agree that there are some poor people who have a bigger heart when it comes to help others and the author has given a practical example of the same in this post. But poor people have financial limitations and that stops them to help others even if they wanted to do so.
    Being kind and helping others is a good trait and we all should do our bit wherever possible but it is not a solution for solving the bigger problem of poverty in our country.
    Thoughts exchanged is knowledge gained.

  • #779405

    Points:5
    We have discussed the issue of helping the poor and needy earlier also and this post is reminding us to continue that kind hearted approach and helping attitude in our lives.
    Helping the poor is a Godly act and many people do it. There are so many rich men paying large donations to the charitable societies, NGOs, and orphanage for good deeds towards poor. Even middle class people are helping the poor as per their financial capabilities.
    If we see the root cause of poverty in our country then we find it as - large population, lack of employment, and concentration of wealth in few hands. Apart from that the Govt system is also not very clean and honest in its operations and many times the help does not reach the poor as middlemen eat it on the way.
    So until there are overall improvements in the governance we cannot hope for a better future for the poor and needy people in our country. Till then we can extend help to poor as per our individual capacities.
    Knowledge is power.

  • #779418

    Points:5
    Thanks to each of the responses from the members. I sincerely feel that the concerted action that is totally inclusive in this State of Tamil Nadu has actually helped the very poor to attend least make something and also live a slightly better life of dignity and hope.

    Now that am somewhat old and cannot remember my previous inputs here or in my articles, let me just relate one fabulous experiment at social transformation thought through and implemented by the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, DrM Karunanidhi. He had reportedly taken advise from a very wise man, who had then served at the prestigious Madras School of Economics.

    Members will recall the horrible end to Mr. Rajiv Gandhi at the hands of misguided terrorists from Sri Lanka. At that point in time, the village called Sriperambadur, exactly forty kilometers from Chennai, had only one major unit,Hyundai, that has since grown to become a highly competitive organization in India.

    Mr Karunanidhi developed a huge industrial estate at this place, and there have been several electronics-centric assembly units, where even the 8th standard pass employees,mostly women, can be trained to do a good job. Today, each such employee starts with a fairly good salary of Rs14000 and free transport and also PF, free food or highly subsidized food and so on.

    Now comes the superb part of this success story. Well, none of the employees hail from the same place, but from as many as 65 villages spread over six districts and also upto 80 kilometers from Sriperambadur. The girls board the buses to work in shifts and the bus connect various villages throughout the day. The total number of company buses would easily exceed three hundred. The night buses depart around 8pm. The women employees are provided dinner and can rest for a while. They then work through the night and carry home a small snack that is given free. In most cases, one is told, they also have breakfast at the factory itself. Most organization's also provide annual bonus.

    Spread over so many villages, the salary has lead to some sort of development. The mothers of the employees, would start a small business and take advantage of the local bus travel that is free for all women. They supplement their family income. There is a spurt in rural housing. The employees go through the chit funds in the nearest towns,mobilize some funds and build an additional room and so on.

    This is exactly the people who contribute to the growing market for luxury goods, often sold in instalments. For example, they upgrade to the costlier variety of cell phones and so on. They also buy sarees costing Rs2000. Well, the cash flow improves at the village level.

    As a HR consultant, I have provided free services in terms of guiding many women to take up employment. Regular walk-in interviews indicate a very high rate of employee turnover, that often occurs when the women upgrade their educational qualifications through distance education.

    As I have repeatedly been saying through these posts, I can only write on what I know for sure. Inclusive growth should occur and we should have practical economics replacing the big bang approach to industrial development.

  • #779420

    Points:2
    Discussing such topics and floating ideas is good but this may not help a poor man who needs some help. Only when everybody thinks of the poor something may happen. How to get our ideas realised is more important. The author can think about that aspect also. We all will try to help a few with whom we come in contact. That may not be solving the problem.
    drrao
    always confident

  • #779426

      

    Points:3
    ABSivakumar,

    You are correct that caring and sharing will go on and I think the incident mentioned in this thread has a similarity with your other thread Caring and sharing comes so easily to the poor

    In your response #779418, you mentioned some experiments on social transformation. I fail to understand how this experimentation is related to the topic of this post.
    Sankalan

    "Life is easier when you enjoy what you do"

  • #779438

    Points:5
    Basically human nature is to be kind and empathetic. Though in the modern times of ultra selfishness and cocoon-closed attitude, it has not become fully dried up. Even the hardest also mellows down at certain situations.

    Many naïve and kind people are discouraged and become hesitant to help strangers because of the reports and occasional experience fraud and fake beneficiaries and sometimes of bad consequences following. On my last visit to Rameswaram, a similar incident happened to me. We reached Rameswaram on a cool early morning. Just when we were to buy hot tea, we saw some a couple of little girls begging us. Not ready to give money, I arranged with the shopkeeper to give snacks and tea for them and paid him the needed money. Many times I has similar experience in railways stations and bus stands.

    It is when such people insist on giving money that become doubtful and hesitant.

  • #779439

    Points:5
    The author dragged the minds of youngsters into a good way through this posting.
    I am happy to note that he is rememberin
    I am happy to know the memory of author remembering his lecturer's teaching and the credit goes to the lecturer also for a good way of teaching in order to make the author to remember after many years. I also have some lecturers and teachers similar to that so that making me to remember their teaching even after sixty years.
    Similar type of good provisions did by our elders in many places. Even today we can see in Madurai, during summer there are small outlets supplying butter milk free of cost to the passerby persons. In Netaji Road of Madurai a jewelry shop owner placed three to four big drums of butter milk with three four supplying persons to offer the same to the public during summer. Once I got a glass of butter milk from them and at that time a group of north Indians containing six persons who were returning from Sree Meenakshi Temple after darshan, asked me in Hindi, what was that. I told them that they are offering butter milk. Without saying any thing they also got each two glass from them and immediately asked me to enquire how much they have to pay for that. I replied that that was free of cost offered by the shop owner. They astonished and said many thanks to the butter milk giving persons.
    During Chitra festival time at Madurai there are many people offering food packets free of cost to the public and temple authorities are offering full feast on the day of Goddess Meenakshi's Wedding. This year in 2024 nearly ten lac people were fed such feast and for that the public themselves offered services in cooking and serving like cutting the vegetables etc.,
    This type of services are common in almost all temples of Karnataka, Amritsar Golden Temple and other Gurudhwaras.
    By seeing such things present youngsters should made up their mind into similar good things and there by they can lead a peaceful life with good manners.

  • #779441

    Points:4
    The author's posts are interesting always providing us information how needy people can be helped if they are in need of some beverages like tea, coffee and buttermilk. He has quoted a few examples how he has helped the the children to have the buttermilk and other beverages in the outlets. This is the reflection of his generous approach.
    However, a serious approach is needed to curb such a pathetic situation where the millions of children and adults are deprived of the basic needs including the nourishment of body with the essential beverages and food.
    This needs to be sorted out the NGO's and other governmental agencies. This issue has multiplied due surge of excess population in our country and there is no system to streamline the same with proper nutrition to the poors.

  • #779444

    Points:5
    Mr Bhattacharya, I was merely reacting to the content found in some reactions from members, who had wanted to know the "how". Well, caring and sharing does have an economic ramification, as it does go on to reduce income inequalities to a large extent and also lead to some sort of inclusive growth.

    Well, am totally in favour of the package. As mentioned in my later post, when local bus travel is free for all women, the thriving entrepreneurship among women who trade in sarees, plastic goods, vegetables and fruits, organic fertilizers, bangles and what have you, keeps on increasing. The cash flow increases when the businesses take off and cash changes hands.

    As many from a particular political dispensation would argue, this sort of entrepreneurship from women has increased family income, across economic segments, irrespective of caste or creed or religion.

    Well, the dots start connecting only when you realize that business ethics in almost every single transaction is just fabulous. For instance, even the servant maids buy the Surat sarees in instalments of 200 rupees each. This helps them to feel more happy, as they feel empowered and not stuck in a spiral. This is actually a spin off in terms of economic activities at the lowest end of the middle-class pecking order. Now go back to the Sriperambadur industrial belt experiment. The employees can now easily buy their Rs2000 sarees and without any credit or debt.

    So,one development leads to another. The social development happens only because there is a vast service sector that has opened up in terms of the self-employment opportunities, largely resulting from increased incomes of an estimated 60000 employees ( all women) employed in the numerous factories. And they belong to several villages.

    And so Mr. Bhattacharya Sir, we need a balanced growth where the industrial sector spins off a massive self-employment among women. The free local bus travel is one important dot in the entire scheme of things. Connect the various dots and the "how" becomes more visible.

  • #779525

      

    Points:3
    Sivakumar, all said and done, I think it would be best to avoid repeating topics in different guises. With due respect to your age and related memory issues, I suggest you just check your recent threads under the 'My Threads' facility before posting threads so that you get to know whether you have put up a similar topic recently. That would help.

    I don't have anything to add to this topic as we have discussed the point of the poor being magnanimous in many earlier threads raised by you.
    'Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all'.
    -Aristotle


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