Mughil

Kaatrin Mozhi…

thiruvizha

காட்சி: நம்மூர் கோவில் திருவிழா… வீதியெங்கும் குழல் ஸ்பீக்கர் அலங்காரம்.. அம்மனுக்கே கட்-அவுட்

கோயில் பூசாரி மைக்கிலே அலறுகிறார்:
 இன்னும் சற்று நேரத்திலே ‘அகிலாண்ட கோடி பிரம்மாண்ட நாயகி அங்காள பரமேஸ்வரி’ வீதியுளா வர இருக்கின்ற காரணத்தினாலே பக்தர்களும் பக்த கோடிகளும் அலைகடலென திரண்டுவந்து அம்மன் அருளை பெற்றுக்கொள்ளுமாறு கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறோம். அதுசமயம் வீதியுளா முடிந்தவுடன் ‘சினிமாப் புகழ்’ சாதனைப் பறவைகளின் கலைக்கச்சேரி நடைபெறவுள்ளதால், மக்களனைவரும் அம்மன் தேரினை இழுக்க அலைகடலென திரண்டுவருமாறு பணிவுடன் கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறோம்.

பேச்சு நின்று பாடல் ஒலிக்கின்றது: ‘அம்மா அம்மா ஆலயத்தம்மா பவானி தாயம்மா….’ காது கிழிய.

சிறிது நேரத்திலேயே பாடல் நிறுத்தப்பட்டு, மீண்டும் பூசாரி குரல்:
எங்கப்பா பஞ்சாயத்துக்காரங்க (நம்ம மெளலி, கோபு, கிருஷ்ண திவாகர், மனோஜ்), அவங்க எதோ சொல்லனும்னு சொன்னாங்களே! அவங்களே இன்னும் கோயிலுக்கு வரலன்னா எப்படி மக்கள் வருவாங்க, எப்ப தேர எடுப்பாங்க. இங்கப்பாரு ஒருத்தரையும் காணோம்.

அரக்கபரக்க நம்ம பஞ்சாயத்துத் தலைவர் (யாருன்னு சொல்லத்தேவையில்ல) கோயிலுக்குச் சென்று மைக்கை பிடிக்கிறார்:
மைக் டெஸ்டிங் 1, 2, 3… ஆ ஒகே.
அன்பான மக்களே, கடந்த மூன்று வருடங்களாக நம்மூரிலே ‘மயானக் கொள்ளை’ அம்மன் திருவிழா சிறப்பாக கொண்டாடப்பட்டதைப்போல் இந்த வருடமும் ‘மயானக் கொள்ளை’ 🙂 திருவிழா சிறப்பாக நடைபெற அனைவரும் கோயிலுக்கு வந்து தேரினை வடம்பிடித்து, அதுசமயம் நடைபெறவுள்ள கலைநிகழ்ச்சியை கண்டுகளிப்பதோடு நின்று விடாமல்,  கோயிலருகே சிறியதாக ‘6 அடி’ உயரத்துக்கு வைக்கப்பட்டுள்ள உண்டியலில் தங்கள் காணிக்கையை மறக்காமல் செலுத்துமாறு பணிவன்புடன் கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறோம்.

உண்டியலில் செலுத்தப்படுகின்ற காணிக்கையானது பஞ்சாயத்துக்காரக்களுக்கு பங்கு போடப்பட்டு 🙂 மீதமுள்ள சொற்ப தொகை ‘முகில்’ எனும் தொண்டு நிறுவனத்துக்கு தாராளாமாக வழங்கப்படும் என்பதை மிக மகிழ்ச்சியுடன் தெரிவித்துக்கொள்கிறேன்.

அதுசமயம் வெளி ஊர்களில் உள்ள அன்பு மக்கள், உண்டியல்வரை வந்து காணிக்கை செலுத்த முடியாததை உணர்ந்துள்ள பஞ்சாயத்துக்காரர்கள், அவர்களை நேரடியாக பஞ்சாயத்து கேஷியர் ‘கோபு’ அவர்களின் ஐசிஐசிஐ வங்கி கணக்குக்கு (000901528165) கடத்திவிடுமாறு கேட்டுக்கொள்கிறோம்.

ஆ… வாங்கப்பா எல்லாருமா சேர்ந்து தேரை இழுக்கலாம்..

-முற்றம்

Thanks to all! Happy New year – MUGHIL

We should say big thanks to Gobu for maintaining all the accounts
and beautiful online xls sheet.

Another big thanks for all Cluster leads (group incharges) – I saw a good synergy
coming up with incharges and their team. Pls keep up the good work and
keep pestering your team to contribute at the earliest.

Thanks to all non-pec-it volunteers too who are contributing for MUGHIL 🙂
(Thangamani, Sujatha – from wipro :  Mugunthan, bala from Hyd)
Wish you all the very best for this year and lets increase our individual contributions to do more for MUGHIL.

What we have done?
1. Bimonthly contribution for Rajiv Gandhi Home for Physically challenged people
2. Paid Semester Fees for poor n meritorious student Brem, (III yr IT, PEC)
3. Helped Aditya (child affected by Cancer)
4. Helped Narpani Mandram (Prize money contribution for village students for their

                achievements in 10th and 12th exams)

What we are going to do?

1. Going to increase our contribution by 25% for Rajiv Gandhi Home
2. Going to pay fees for TWO students right from this semester
3. Will sponsor BOOKS, notes, pens for school and college students
4. Alumni Activities to encourage and interact with juniors and make them to involve in this kind of NGO activities.

Pls let me know if you people have any good social activities that we can do for the betterment of others lives.

Thanks for your support
cheers
Mouly

November Contributions – Post by Muruganandham

 Fyi… This is the notification mail sent by Muruga to all. Hope this kind of volunteer activities from everyone in pec it 2000.

Hi All,

Let me introduce myself to all of you as somebody might have forgotten and some people in the mailing list may not know me. 

I am Muruganandham k, part of PECT IT 2000 – 2004 batch (PEC) and now working in Infosys Technologies Ltd.

I think Gobu & Chandramouly have forgotten to send this reminder mail which they used to do every month. Or all have contributed without the mail?

This indeed is a very great effort from all of us to help Mughil. Not everyone thinks like us.  I know that none of my colleagues has their group doing this kind of job. I know you will agree that when we let out money for good things it will always create happiness in us.  But at the same time we can let out some time also in letting out the money.  Everybody including me forgets or postpones because we get this mail in the middle of some work and we think we can do it later and that thought becomes latter.  One suggestion that I have is all might be visiting their e-bank surely in the first week of the month. So whether we get the mail or not we can transfer the amount and feel great when we get this mail that “I have already done this”.  Howz it? 🙂

If I speak more than this I can expect some stones from India.  So let me conclude with the details of Bank Account if you do not have it with you.

• Transfer directly to Gobu’s (MUGHIL) account
• ICICI account no.: 000901528165
  Name : Gobu
  Branch : ICICI Nungambakam.
• Dont forgot to put the transaction details in the format “Mughil:<MON>-<YY>: <YOUR NAME>”
• Dont forgot to send a mail to Mouly & gobu in the format, <MON>- <YY>: <YOUR NAME>

I have transferred the amount.  Expecting your contributions forever.

With Love & Regards,

Muruganandham k

(“On behalf of” is not needed as everyone also has the responsibility)

October month Contributions

Hello  MUGHIL team!
Highlights:

• Donated 5000/- for Aditya, a kid who is suffering from cancer.
• Formed clusters last month, hope that have gone well, smoothened the process. we continue clicking this clique formation to increase the funds.
• More volunteers for MUGHIL, many thoughts from all, good co-operation. Kudos to MUGHIL team!

Expectations / Target for this month:

• Streamlining the cluster process, incharges wake up! also wake up your team members! 🙂
• Maximizing the funds by increasing the fund of individual contributions. (fully based on our personal interest and situation)
• We need to plan to conduct a Seminar for PEC students regarding placement and other activities in College (during diwali vacation, date is tendative)
• Bring our immediate juniors and juniors. Create the awareness to do this kind of activities! (I already inititated some thread reg this in our junior groups, will follow up. Need some volunteers here..!)

Pls continue your contributions flowing into MUGHIL funds and lets create a better tomorrow for the poor people who deprive in education, food and clothing.
I know some of us hesitate to transfer the funds thinking that, “Aiyyo, I dint transfer for so long and also dint reply for any of the mails from mouly!” How i transfer this month? Pls, pls dont think like this, its never late, Just a beginning, so start your action from now! 🙂

Todo:

• Transfer directly to Gobu’s (MUGHIL) account ,

• Route your funds to cluster incharge
• Dont forgot to send a mail to me, gobu and cluster incharge (if any) in the format, <MON>- <YY>: <YOUR NAME>

Pls let me know if you have any other thoughts or any ideas to serve the student society for their education or daily needs.

Thanks
Mouly

P.S: From this month onwards, all my MUGHIL related mails are also available on our MUGHIL blog, Yahoo groups, ORKUT community too.

Help patient Aditya Kumar

Aditya (Age 4), is suffering from ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a form of Blood Cancer). He was diagnosed with ALL in Feb 2004 and underwent the treatment as per the standard protocol. He fully recovered and was doing fine, leading a normal life. Unfortunately the disease relapsed last month leading to a big risk to his survival. The only hope for giving him a new life is to do a BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant). This would need to be done around Nov 2006. He is currently undergoing intense chemotherapy at CMC, Vellore and is being treated by Dr. Mammen Chandy, who is a pioneer in this field.

Aditya being an only kid, will have undergo Matched Unrelated Donor (MUD) BMT, which will have to be done out of India . The transplant is likely to cost US$150K – 200K (Rs. 70 Lakhs – Rs. 95 Lakhs)”.

Please help give Aditya an opportunity to win his battle for life. Join hands in helping the family to save this precious life! You can make donations for him using one of the following modes:

1. Online (secured by Verisign certification) credit card donation: Click on the credit card picture on our homepage and follow the instructions to make a secure payment. Enter “Patient Aditya Kumar” in the space “Project”

We, MUGHIL members contributed Rs.5000/- from our funds to this noble cause.

Thanks to everyone.

Rajiv Gandhi Home for Handicapped

We are proud to serve Rajiv Gandhi Home for Physically challenged people for about 2 years. We are just started in Nov 2004, but Rajiv Gandhi home was started long back 1996 by Kavitha. She gave us a beautiful, noble chance to serve this society of young people who are challenging every aspect of their lives.

Its also very interesting for us to know the person who is behind all this encouragement for those phsyically challenged students to success in their career through higher education, self employment, etc. Nice person, amiable, smiling, polite woman who is the backbone of Rajiv Gandhi Home for these challenged people is Kavitha. pls look at her profile and read abt this NGO. Slowly we can realize the power of our contribution and its significance. Kudos to PEC IT 2000!

“I was born Kavita Mani. Now I’m just Kavita,” she says this with no pride, no bitterness. It is only after hearing her story that you understand the significance of that journey, a journey from despair to independence, from self-pity to selfhood.

Kavita was the third of seven children, who lost their father when she was only eleven. Four years later she lost the power of her limbs to a rare form of polio. With four younger brothers and sisters at home and no steady source of income for the family, she thought of herself as a terrible burden.

Driven out of her home by her own unhappiness Kavita joined a hostel run by missionaries where she learned basic living skills, later she moved to a government run hostel for disadvantaged girls and women. A place where orphans, widows, disabled and destitute women were offered food and shelter. She would spend the next fifteen years of her life at this center. Battling her own loneliness and loss Kavita looked around at the women around her, “Many of them were in much worse situations than mine,” she says in her soft Tamil, “I saw them and realized with a sense of shock how blessed I was to have as much as I did. I wanted to help them.” Kavita reached out to these women, and with the warmth and wisdom that come so naturally to her, formed friendships that would last a lifetime. “I met all kinds of people there,” she says, “I don’t know how to explain it but without my being aware I was getting an education.”

The women at the hostel all worked different jobs and in an informal way they began to exchange skills in their spare time, each teaching the others what she was best at. That’s how Kavita learned tailoring, embroidery, doll-making and a host of other handicrafts that would help her in ways she hadnít even begun to dream of. When she finally had to leave the hostel because of its upper-age limit she was reluctant to return to the dependency of living at home. Instead she applied for a job with a voluntary organization doing export quality handiwork. That same year she found a house for rent, found jobs for four old friends from the hostel with the same company and moved them all in with her. “I wanted to take care of them,” she says, and this was one way I could do that.”

When you ask her if she likes doing embroidery she says very simply, “You must understand this – it saved my life.”

Helping Hands

Kavita went on to become the organization’s highest paid worker. “I was that fast, and that good,” she says, “You didn’t notice yesterday when you came to see me that I can’t use my arms, did you? I can’t lift them for long or hold things up. My hands are fine though, I can move my fingers so thereís no problem. These hands have trained hundreds of girls over the years.”

When Kavita turned 30 she resigned from her job and with the small sum of money painstakingly saved up over the years, along with the money her mother had meant for her marriage, she started a small non-profit venture. “I didn’t want to get married. I wanted to help other girls like me. I didn’t know anything about how to run an organization at that time,” she says, “So even the name was suggested by someone else.”

That ís how in 1996 the Rajiv Gandhi Home for the Handicapped came into being. Though named after the charismatic ex Prime Minister, the organization is in no way linked to any political party. By the end of the first ten days of its existence, Kavita had taken in ten young women and started training them in tailoring and embroidery. Slowly, and largely by word of mouth, they built up a small clientele.

Today the center houses 30 young women, the youngest is in third standard, the oldest attends a Polytechnic college in Pondicherry. Fifteen of these girls who otherwise would have been dropouts are now pursuing their education. All of them receive rehabilitative life-skills training. Funding comes from the local community and a few well-wishers from abroad. In a gesture of generosity and support three hotels in the city together cover monthly food charges and one even donated an autorickshaw to help transport the girls to school.

Over the last eight years the center has educated and trained over 100 women. On an average they stay at the Home for anywhere between one to three years, after this time they are helped to find jobs in other institutes. When they graduate from the center the girls are presented with a government certificate and sometimes even a complimentary sewing machine to help them start their new lives.

There Will Follow Day

“When they come here theyíre afraid to even speak out loud, they canít lift their heads to ask for anything – even their own rights,” says Kavita.

It ís hard to imagine the bundle of guilt, grief and shame these girls carryÖto grudge yourself every mouthful you eat, to suffer the twin insult of pity and contempt in the loud laments of well-meaning elders, the cruel comments of neighbors and others who unintentionally remind you in subtle and not-so-subtle ways that you will always be a dependent – always be somehow less than a person!

“My message to people with disabilities,” says Kavita, “is stop thinking about how society sees you. It doesn’t matter. What matters is how you see yourself.”

No one taught her this piece of wisdom; it is a hard earned truth that this simple woman with her ready smile and quiet composure has lived, day after day, year after year. When you meet Kavita it’s her smile you see, not the sadness or the suffering.

“Troubles follow a person through the day,” she says, “it’s only at night when you fall asleep that you’re freed, but my problem follows me to bed. You see, I can’t turn over by myself, I have to wake someone up to help me. It’s been more than twenty five years since I’ve slept through the night.” She says this without self-pity, the point she is making is that, sure there are difficulties but there is no sense of defeat.

You can see that sense of confidence and joy shining up at you in the faces of the girls who live at the Home. You can hear it in their voices as they sing for you, a popular Tamil film song with beautifully apt lyrics:

“Each flower sings the truth of lifeís battle. Each dawn says where night falls there will follow day. O spirit find it in yourself to- change.”

“You won’t believe this,” says this woman, who has been dubbed the Mother Teresa of Pondicherry, almost shyly, “But I see myself reflected in these girls. They are slowly beginning to forget, like I have, that they are disabled in any way.”

Dedicated to a Dream

The centre has just moved into a brand-new facility on the edge of Pondicherry. The beautiful, spacious and light-filled facility has been designed to house up to 100 women. It is fitted with an elevator and other disability-friendly features. Kavita isnít sure where the funds for expansion will come from, she only knows that the program must grow to fill existing needs. She has come this far she says, by sheer effort and faith. Today she dreams of being able to strengthen their handiwork market, and to eventually evolve into a self-sustaining organization.

You look again at the pieces of linen displayed against the woven mat. You see the same man with his plow, the same women carrying their bundles of firewood, bending to plant rice – in these gaily colored threads you see the daily, strenuous, uncomplaining labor of a beautiful people – only this time you see too, the invisible story of a woman in a wheelchair who works in much the same way – a strong, giving and humble woman who calls herself: .

If you would like more information, please contact ñ Kavitha.

Rajiv Gandhi Home for Handicapped
No.5 1st Cross Street
Kamaraj Street
VP Singh Nagar
Pondicherry
Ph: 91-413-2274035
Email:  rghomefh@rediffmail.com

Profile written by Pavithra Krishnan