By Parag Gandhi
Director, Flying Cursor Interactive
We’re currently working on a campaign that inspires people to celebrate goodness that Mumbai — and in fact every other Indian city — is capable of, despite the chaos and the incidents you hear on the news every day. That’s what got me thinking about how we rarely celebrate this rare goodness—we need to be more open about it and inspire people to talk about it.
On a daily basis, we meet people who do the smallest to the biggest things within their capacity to make our life and our city better. From noticing a disabled person struggling to catch the train and helping them to do so, to getting a community together to help fund the treatment for a sick animal — people can inspire others simply by doing something good or even experiencing something good.
Remember Bijlee, the elephant who was found collapsed on a busy highway in Mumbai a few months ago? Bijlee belonged to this poor family, who used her to beg or stand and bless guests at wedding venues. When she was found on the road, apparently abandoned by her owners, she had a maggot-infested foot and was too feeble to walk. The NGO Animals Matter To Me came to her rescue, and helped transport her to a safe place where she could be treated. We lent a hand to by spreading the word about Bijlee digitally and requesting for donations for her treatment. Soon, the Twitterati went abuzz about her, newspapers had articles about her and people who cared rebooted the dialogue about animal rights. It was heartwarming to see people coming together physically and virtually to save her. While she couldn’t be saved, at least we know that people are a little more concerned about the wellbeing animals, as much as that of their own loved ones.
My love for animals comes from my grandfathers, both of whom believed in living their lives on their own terms and doing good to others. My paternal grandfather was a freedom fighter, known for his honesty and forward-thinking ideas. Even during pre-independence, all those years ago, he’d talk about investing and saving money not for extravagant weddings but for children’s education and well-being.
My maternal grandfather was a businessman, who owned an automobile company, and was also known for helping his community and those in need. Till today, his business circle sends us sweets on his name on Diwali.
I do believe there’s hope for us to be better. Everyone lives on the hope that things will change. But change can only happen when it’s addressed. We don’t need to rebel and protest as long as it serves the purpose, but we shouldn’t just close our eyes and let things pass either. We need to start by addressing our daily lives and talk about issues that can be resolved.
I think with the way people work and are making the effort to change their lifestyles, they are being more proactive about bringing about change.
Feedback: parag@flyingcursor.com
