of images young and old ailing crawling
blind sick all hopelessly needing whose
lives have touched me so here I am with
the stories of Suresh and basappa Martin
and Stella and my own story how I chose
the less-traveled path that changed my
life early in childhood my parents gave
me a mantra touch a life every day I
grew up watching my parents living a
simple life full of compassion and care
I remember much before the concept of
CSR my father had taught me the
importance of ISR that is individual
social responsibility how much as an
individual I go to the community when we
came to Chandigarh in 1960 I was young
and very keen to do my bit for the needy
around us very soon my trust with the
pain and suffering of others came up in
a most unexpected way one evening I went
to the market it was already dark and as
I came out of my car I stepped on a
small dirty heap of regs a pathetic
great cry came out and to my horror I
saw a leprosy stricken man in the rag he
in place of his nose there were just two
holes mutilated limbs and Lee
he wounds the man was in great agony I
closed my eyes and wanted to run away
but better sense prevailed and I said
Baba pardon me for stepping on you but
why are you lying on the road his story
was heartbreaking they were hundreds of
them men women children all badly
infected with leprosy no home no food no
medication begging during the day and
spending the nights on the roadsides
under the trees on footpaths in Sun in
rain in cold badly jolted by the cruel
reality I rushed home and shared the
whole incidents with my husband next
morning we had an urgent meeting of our
rotary club planning and action started
almost immediately four years it
remained my top priority and now they
all are totally disease-free
self-dependent their children going to
regular schools and their residential
colony a place of pride in chandigarh
God had kept my eyes and heart open in
that chance encounter with one man
basappa that changed the lives of so
many families forever and transformed my
own life some years back sister Jaya
from Mother Teresa’s gonna wander knees
seeking help for heart surgery of a
small boy we started raising funds
immediately but by the time he had the
money the boys Suresh had died this
tragedy shook my conscience my husband
and I resolved to promote a free heart
surgery project for poor children from
then onwards more than six
hundred free heart surgeries have been
done under of a rotary heart line
project which include children from
India Uganda Pakistan Nepal Afghanistan
mullavey Rwanda and Zimbabwe the tragedy
of salacious death proved to be a
harbinger of new lease of life for so
many children and also a great gesture
of extending hands of friendship to so
many countries friends if you close your
eyes for a moment how do you feel what
do you see total darkness this is how an
elderly lady in Uganda hulu agonda felt
for 10 long years total darkness during
this period several grandchildren were
born somewhere married but she could not
see them she knew them only by their
voices then in August 1998 a rotary team
of a pelvic surgeons operated upon her
eyes then her dressing was removed the
lady went wild with unexpected joy when
she saw several of her grandchildren for
the first time I was fortunate to a part
of that first medical mission that went
up from India to Uganda and operated
upon that lady and many many more people
from then onwards a span of 18 long
years we have served in more than 12
countries in Africa and deprived areas
of India in over 30 medical missions
countless lives have been changed lives
are changed and thousands of people can
walk after polio correctives
jurys through our medical missions hives
are changed when vision is restored to
hundreds and thousands of people after
their I person lives are changed when a
new face is given to the most inhuman
Rwanda genocide victims and many others
with severe congenital defects as also
fire and acid victims in Africa demons
so much abused and neglected live in
agony and shame with torn genitals or
uterine tumors sometimes paying 10 15
kilos in our medical missions miracles
are performed to restore health and
dignity to their lives unlimited smiles
are generated when I take toys balloons
and chocolates for children in the
hospital wards a huge reward for such a
small gesture friends some of the great
lessons I have learned are not from any
book or in a classroom these lessons are
from the open book of life lessons of
patience tolerance love gratitude above
all the lesson to smile and laugh at the
big tragedies of life and yet to have
the courage to say the two important
African words Hakuna Matata no problem I
learned that under the skin color of
blood is same in all of us that the
pangs of hunger pain of a sick child
tears of a mother have the same sorrow
world over in Ethiopia I was playing
with Martin a toddler patient always
happy and giggling in spite of great
pain because of multiple surgeries on
his little
a local doctor asked him Martin how do
you communicate with Mad Men since you
don’t speak English Martin said Oh sir
that’s no problem ma’am always smiles in
my language Martin taught me an
important lesson how without words we
can reach out to another human being all
it requires is a hug a warm smile
unloving hurt sometimes even a shoulder
to cry on in Rwanda working with us
Stella a nurse laughs very heartily
every now and then one day I asked her
how can you love in such gloomy
atmosphere Stella became pensive and
said if I don’t love it out I’ll go
insane in the midst of so much pain
suffering and death Stella was a living
lesson for me how laughter can lighten
tense atmosphere sometimes I ask myself
what do I offer my existence on this
earth what do I owe to my country to my
family to my subordinates must you and I
not ask of ourselves such questions more
than often for me giving back is based
on my deep conviction that all i have is
the result of the generosity of so many
while saying this i wonder is it not our
ego that we feel it is always the poor
the less privileged who are in need and
we the effluent and well placed are
helping them I believe no one is an
island we all are
indent in so many ways if one morning my
cleaning lady doesn’t turn up my
household comes to a standstill if the
garbage pickers are absent the whole
neighborhood starts safe stinking if the
doctors and nurses are absent people are
start going I think each of us is a
giver and a receiver both I know as an
ordinary housewife I don’t have much
expertise but I also know that as long
as I have something to share to care and
always be needed and I’ll add value
howsoever small to the society and to
myself my young friends I have shared
some of my humble experience here with
the hope and wish that along with your
academic studies you will also master
the technology of being human and being
needed and closed with a short parable
there were two angels in heaven named
Asha and there Asha was constantly busy
flying between heaven and earth carrying
heavy load of letters from Earthlings to
God with requests for wealth power
property progeny marriage etc when there
was mostly free and relaxed very seldom
flying between Earth and heaven because
she carried only rare messages of
gratitude to God saying thank you God
for giving me the opportunity to do the
right thing the kind of thing the loving
thing and make me feel needed my friends
it’s up to us up to you and me which
angel do we
they’re to approach thank you for making
me a part of 10 [Applause]