Volunteers are not paid -- not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.

Courtesy, help, sympathy, assistance are the various synonyms of calling someone human. There are in numerous ways and uncountable methods of helping others and devising tactics so as to help the needy. Nobody ever says never to avail services form others especially when it comes free of cost. And these helps come in different sizes, shapes each with a different parameter. Some work with NGO’s, some on their own, some help their friends, while some just go there and help whoever appears needy.

I was at a friend’s place recently where the volunteers were being instructed their course of action for a promotional stint at a mall of one of the upcoming theatre events. I seemed nothing more than an onlooker, witnessing the proceedings when a thought occurred to me. Why have these people come so far, taken so many pains and are really working hard, filled with energy, working in a team despite the fact that this is only their first meeting and they hardly know each other. What exactly are they seeking? And how exactly would they be benefiting from this? Money is certainly not on the offerings, neither is any kind of perks or other stuff and they certainly aren’t getting any credit for their work besides a gracious satisfaction. I pondered very hard, before concluding that, perhaps it is the zeal of theirs towards the art and the passion they have for what they are doing. May be the sole passion they possess is the driving force behind it. It may also be the attention part that they are after. Whenever they are seen they are applauded not to forget the occasional glances that are exchanged between the sexes, which are likely to end up in a friendship if not relationship. Do correct me if I sound irrational, but most of the times this was the motive of the groups that I’ve interacted with. Nevertheless, they are hard working, always on their toes, working hard, drying their sweat all while assisting for a cause and helping others and getting a better exposure and getting a name, reputation, some fun, some entertainment.

No matter with what intention anybody opts to volunteer for any given cause, I presume volunteering can be an exciting, growing, enjoyable experience. It is truly gratifying to serve a cause, practice one's ideals, work with people, solve problems, see benefits, and know one had a hand in them. 

Why don't we accept defeat and move on learning from its bitterness?

We all go through life and it's strange advancements, which at times take a toll at our courage. We all have days, days which are good with moments of joy, days filled with entertainment and joy, days of leisure and then we also face days which are ugly, bad and at times worse. Everybody at one instance or another faced all of them installment by installment. And I of course don't claim to be different and my experiences are similar to any sane person of this planet but i strongly believe  that things that fail to kill you, only make you stronger and yeah I also am of the notion that dread is only the absence of courage. 

I can't justify this, but I thought of discussing some quotes that I liked very much, so that it could instill some courage and hope within me and those reading. You can also add any quotes  that you like or desire to share.

"In moments of discouragement, defeat, or even despair, there are always certain things to cling to. Little things usually: remembered laughter, the face of a sleeping child, a tree in the wind-in fact, any reminder of something deeply felt or dearly loved'. - Anonymous

No man is so poor as not to have many of these small candles. When they are lighted, darkness goes away-and a touch of wonder remains." - Anonymous

"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me . . . You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." -Walt Disney

 "After all these years, I am still involved in the process of self-discovery. It's better to explore life and make mistakes than to play it safe. Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life." -Sophia Loren

 "Whenever someone sorrows, I do not say, "forget it," or "it will pass," or "it could be worse" -- all of which deny the integrity of the painful experience. But I say, to the contrary, "It is worse than you may allow yourself to think. Delve into the depth. Stay with the feeling. Think of it as a precious source of knowledge and guidance. Then and only then will you be ready to face it and be transformed in the process." -Peter Koestenbaum

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it." - anonymous

To completely trust in God is to be like a child who knows deeply that even if he does not call for the mother, the mother is totally aware of his condition and is looking after him.–Imam Al Ghazali

 It’s good to leave each day behind, like flowing water, free of sadness. Yesterday is gone and its tale told. Today new seeds are growing.–Rumi

The interview call

As you may have observed that I have a passion for writing and journalism is something that I always was attracted to. With the hope of making it big, I applied for a PGDM course at IMII, Noida and below given is the interview(telephonic) that took place. For convenience I used letters in place of names.

S = Dean of the college.

M = Founder/ Faculty

D = Academic consultant

J = of course me (ms-cube)

 (the phone rings)

S: Hello! Is that Mr.J?

J: Yeah, speaking.

S: I am S, Dean of IMII, i have with me M and D.


J: Okay.

S: You are speaker phone so they can also listen to you.

J: Good afternoon everybody.

(gibberish)

S: J, you are finishing your engineering program in 2010? Haven’t you applied for any campus placements?

J: I haven’t.

S: Why is that?

J: Because I am pursuing a 6 month advanced wireless communications course, which is going on now.

S: ahhh…. Can you repeat it again? Advanced……?

J: Advanced Wireless Communications. It is related to my communications engineering.

S: Great! Aahhh…… can you just explain to us a little more about it?

J: It basically deals with the communication technologies like 3G, GSM, GPRS that are in use nowadays. It is an entirely technical course that deals with how these technologies work and can be efficiently used.

S: Hhhhhmmmmmm…….

J: As I was not interested in any placements or job, I thought why waste time. Why not join this course?

S: This course is also being conducted by your university?

J: It is by a private institute.

S: Okay. When does it end?

J: It ends after 5 months from now.

S: Ohhhh! So that will be cutting into our program as well which starts after 3 months from now.

J: Yes. Yes!

S: So how would you balance the two?

J: Haven’t figured that out yet.

S: Okay.

J: If I am lucky enough to be selected at IMII, I would cease the course that I am taking.

S: You’d stop that?

J: Certainly I’d stop that. Because, the main motive of talking up that course was to invest my time into something constructive.

S: Okay. Alright. Wireless as you know is the future. Both from technology point of view and content point of view, the streams remain same but the professionals would be completely different.

J: Ahaaan…..

S: Of course you have to decide which kind of a professional you want to be. A technology driver or a content writer?

J: Okay.

S: Soo.. Suppose if we offer you an admission into IMII what would you prefer?

J: aaahhhhh……. I don’t know. May be I would prefer the content over technology.

S: Okay. You live in Hyderabad and belong to Andhra Pradesh.

J: Yes.

S: If you have to move from Hyderabad to Noida, what are the problems you’d face?  Would be comfortable moving?

J: Yeah! It is absolutely fine as long as the accommodation is good and the place is nice, I shouldn’t have any problem.

S: Okay. We are only going to help you in finding a PG accommodation, ultimately the responsibility o finding the accommodation is yours.  We would only provide the support.

J: That’s is absolutely fine.

S: Great. Okay, aahhh…….now I noticed that you have done some content work. I mean you’ve been working on your college magazine ‘tech-zine’ and in an NGO magazine as well.

J: Yes.

S: What kind of work do you do in these magazines?

J: ahh….. In the ‘tech-zine’ of  my college, during the last year I was involved with the proof reading. Once all articles were compiled , I was the incharge to proof read them and correct and edit it. Regarding the NGO’s magazine, it is currently going on. Our basic idea at the NGO is to inspire youth and bring the young generation to the front row and made them aware of the problems our society Is facing. So, we have selected about 40 odd famous people from Andhra Pradesh, we’re interviewing them about their hurdles and hardships, so that the readers can be influenced. So I as a member, my work is to hear the interview a friend of mine has taken and write an article about it, which would be later published.

S: Okay. Good! So you are already working as a journalist.

J: Yeah! Kind of.

S: Hahahaha…….Good.

    Okay 'J' I’ll pass the phone to M, she has a couple of questions for you too.

S: Alright.

M: In India engineering has a higher status than journalism. What do ou feel about your change of direction?

J: aaahhhh…..As I’ve mentioned in my letter as well, from the beginning journalism has had a certain charm towards me, it always attracted me. It all actually began when in my school days I use to read news paper during the assembly every morning, and I use to think why a newspaper which is colorful and of about 20-30 pages costs only about 2 or 3 rupees. So the whole idea of picking journalism started right there. Secondly I believe that in order to reform the society, I can do it more easily by being a journalist. If I am an engineer, what would I do? I may invent or innovate something. I would earn a bit more thousands as an engineer than as a journalist. If I am a journalist I would have something very important with me. I see journalism as an art, all the modern forms of technology as tools and the society at large as a marble. So, if I am a good journalist, a good artist I can craft with my writing ability, may be another Taj Mahal out of the society. All this is not possible if am just an engineer. So I have taken up journalism.

M: Okay. I agree with you, because that is why I chose journalism.        What do your parents think?

J: hhhmmmmm…… my parents are unfortunately against me taking up journalism as my career.

M: Okay.

S: Okay J, that was quite impressive, I’m quite impresses with your determination to be a journalist. We would surely like to help you in your ambition. Now what we like you to do is write an essay about 300 odd words on anyone experience that you had which you found very touching or inspiring.

J: Can I write about a general topic, I mean anything that inspired me?

S: Yes. Your experience of working as a journalist, and can you mail it to us within 2 hours.

J: Yes I can.

S: That would be wonderful, once we get your essay we can decide about your admission in the college and we’ll get back to you.

J: Alright.

S: Thank you J, thank you so much for speaking to us. Do you have any questions about the institute?

J: No, not at all.

S: You’re sure?

J: Absolutely.

S: Great, thank you very much. Bye bye.

J: Bye!

The essay that I sent can be found here. One sad point to share with you is, despite me getting an admission into IMII, I couldn’t precede due to various unavoidable circumstances. May be next year if I try I may go through it once again (fingers crossed).

My inspiration!

Oh my……………………..

it’s 3:00 in the morning and I’m still awake!

How could I have gone to bed?

My thoughts are at stake

I hate this but I’m helpless

Someone asked what inspires me,

What is it that drives my thoughts?

I pondered for a micro second

When it started pouring in,

A layout of an architect,

The tenderness in a cub,

A reflection of the rainbow,

The curves in a budding shrub,

A Street jammed with bullocks,

The gags on ‘the tonight’s show’,

A young chap puffing,

Someone screaming “life sucks”

It all started one afternoon when I was at my office and was thinking how my progress has been terminated and how I needed to do something new so as to rejuvenate the passion of mine. I then thought of searching for an NGO with which my thoughts would intersect. I believe I thought of joining an NGO because as a journalist the first event I covered was of an NGO which helped in the rehab of destitute children. I browsed the World Wide Web for few hours and noted the NGO’s within my vicinity. I then began researching about them and rounded myself off with PASSIONATE. The previous works of PASSIONATE were enough to impress anyone. The moment I enrolled myself we started planning about the annual event PASSIONATE conducts called as “CYCLE’O HYDERABAD” and this was the second time it was to be held. It was about saving the mother earth and promoting cycling and it saw enthusiastic participation from an otherwise lazy Hyderabad crowd. It was then when the President of PASSIONATE told me about the magazine. We met a week later and chose whom to interview and prepared a questionnaire.

Our basic idea is to publish a booklet constituting the success stories of people from diverse backgrounds who chose their passions as career despite severe lack of resources. We are attempting to show the younger generation that how rewarding it is to walk the road less travelled facing all odds to pursue your passion. We intend to inspire the youth who are not vary about choosing their hobbies and passions as careers. And we hope that we succeed in inspiring the youth with this effort. The booklet’s name has not been decided yet, it could either be ‘inspiring the youth’ or ‘pursuit of passion’. The passion within the souls of all those associated with PASSIONATE is undying and this is what makes me proud to be a part of it.