Independence Day 2016: 83 ways to remember our duties and responsibilities before rights and privileges.

One of Rabindranath Tagore’s more popular lines of poetry is “where the head is held high and the mind is without fear”. A lesser known stanzas from the same poem is,

Tagore,

“Into ever-widening thought and action, Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.”

 

It is about action. Instead of 1.2 billion citizens with rights, let’s become a country of 1.2 billion angels of goodness and kindness.

I start this list three years ago. With contributions from readers, it has grown. Most of this list is from their contributions. With your help, we might cross a hundred. 

Fly the tricolor

Let’s start with an easy one.

1. Fly the flag. Not only is it patriotic, the Khadi Bhandar makes a little money.

2. Celebrate Independence Day with gusto. Be the first of the 1.2 billion angels to belt out the anthem.

3. Revive the “nanha munna rahi hoon, desh ka sipahi hoon”.

 

Be a beautiful citizen

Now start the journey of being a country of beautiful people with beautiful minds.

4. Smile at strangers. It is cool.

5. Let someone who is hassled in the check-in/check-out line ahead of you.

6. Leave “have a nice day” stickers and notes at a front desk. People need to feel happy. It will make you feel really nice. It will improve the productivity of our country.

7. Open doors for the person behind you. Trust me. It feels nice.

8. Help someone with their bags on a bus/train/plane/airport/station/building.

9. Offer your seat. To elders, to tired co-passengers. The good deed will come around.

Pay attention to our unrecognised soldiers

With beautiful minds, we will recognise that there is dignity in labour. Value the everyday unknown soldiers who make our lives easier.

10. Treat domestic workers as you would your work colleagues. They help you focus on your own purpose in life. They bring hygiene to your home, look after your loved ones. Now try putting an economic value to that.

11. Learn the name of the security guard and greet them by name every morning. Tell them they are doing an important job.

12. When you see a military serviceperson say thank you or, even better, buy them a treat.

13. The guy who gets you chai, treat him to lunch in your cafeteria.

14. The lady who cleans your office, treat her to a small Rs 20 ice-cream.

15. Leave twice the normal tip, with a smiley on your bill. The waiters are really underpaid. They will do a better job. Leave a nicer tip at a smaller restaurant.

16. When travelling, leave a nice tip and a note for housekeeping staff. They never get anything.

Beauty within and without

With beautiful minds, we can set out to create beautiful communities, cities, and a beautiful country.

17. Plant a tree, increase the green cover and you will combat global warming.

18. Do not honk. Noise pollution is growing. You can make a huge difference.

19. Do not litter the roads. We are responsible for our clean cities.

20. Pay your taxes, electricity bills on time. Do not cringe on advance taxes. Keeps the economy flowing. If we don’t pay our taxes, it comes around as higher taxes.

21. Segregate garbage. It is so good for the ecology, and lowers administrative costs.

22. Petrol is damn expensive. Auto rickshaws are fun. Get the drift?

Be a role model for Gen Next

We can learn from kids. Observe them, they are a delight. Interestingly, kids learn by mimicking adults.

23. Start with smiling at a special needs child with warmth and affection.

24. Talk to a child like an adult. Show your own good manners and be a role model of kindness to them. It will pay for generations to come.

25. Involve your kids in community service. Sow the seeds right away.

26. We are rapidly losing our sense of humor. Ask a child to tell you a joke. Let’s revive Birbal.

27. Help children across the road. They will learn road safety and will be safe.

28. Write a letter to a niece or nephew. Let them know that they have a cool uncle/aunt who can be there for them in times of need or crisis (when pocket money gets over or when they get dumped).

Kindness is Great Business

By now you must be wondering, can we use kindness at work?

29. Encourage people by writing an "accomplishment list", perhaps for someone close to you.

30. Make extra breakfast and share it with someone at work.

31. Leave random thank you notes

32. Encourage a random person at work.

33. Find someone at office you can help with your expertise and talent.

34. Be on time for meetings. Time wasted waiting for people is a drain on our economy. You can make a difference by just showing up on time.

35. Send a small gift to someone ANONYMOUSLY and watch his or her response. You might set off a chain reaction.

36. Write a note to the boss of someone who helped you. It will help them in their performance appraisal and bonus.

37. Festival seasons are here. Lead an event. Be a CEO. Chief Entertainment Officer.

Be a great host

38. We are all ambassadors of the country. Speak well about the country.

39. We need more tourists. Help a tourist or someone who is lost, with directions. Tell them little secrets about your city. Offer to take their picture. Ask them how they are enjoying their trip. Hopefully they will go back and send their friends to India.

40. Gift a small Rs 50 plant to someone (same reason as No 17.)

41. Queue up! You might get there faster.

42. Hold a physically handicapped wheelchair. Be a helping hand. Our country does not have good facilities for wheelchairs etc, but we have strong bodied people who can make up for the lack of infrastructure.

43. Do something nice for the underprivileged. Start with empathy— another huge builder, according to science.

44. Be an ally for the LGBT community and help include them in the mainstream.

45. Spend time with the elderly.

46. For the next three months, for every new garment you buy, give one away to charity.

47. Listen. Don’t interrupt.

48. Give a little of your income to charity. Even 0.1% is fine. You can even claim tax benefits.

Look after yourself

There might be a question of where you should start. The answer is, start with yourself.

49. Ask for help. Allow someone to help you.

50. Be healthy. Our healthcare systems are already stretched to the limit.

51. Many of us do not read. Start reading. Our literacy rates will get a fillip.

52. Save a little more than you currently are saving. Inflation is here to stay. Look after yourself.

53. Make sure you have a good advisor to help you sort out your finances.

Be there for someone

54. Dig out an old photo with friends and send it to them. A friend once sent a picture of me from 1990... I was much more handsome then. Clooney had competition.

55. Make a new friend.

56. Loneliness is increasing. You can do something about it. Connect with someone who is living alone. Meet them for coffee.

57. Make someone's day. Say something nice to the first two people you see every day, starting today, for the next seven days.

58. Reconnect. Call a friend you have not spoken to in years. It feels really nice.

Support Indian start-ups

We have this notion that start-ups are a new age phenomenon. I disagree. Start-ups originated when our forefathers would barter goods. Entrepreneurs have been the lifeline of every culture. So let’s support our entrepreneurs.

59. Take domestic holidays. We have beautiful tourist locations. Kashmir, Rajasthan, Kerala, Darjeeling, the entire North East. All little heavens on earth.

60. Buy something khadi. They have some amazing stuff.

61. Watch a sport in a stadium. Encourage Indian sportsmen. They need our applause more than money.

62. Be a sport. Support sportsmen from everywhere. Why only Indians?

63. We complain about the dying traditions of music. Let’s support our local musicians. We hear them at railway stations or restaurants. Encourage them with loud applause. Let’s get our musical traditions back.

64. Go to a classical dance concert. Instead of feeling bad for their decline, buy a low cost ticket and attend them. The quality will blow your mind.

65. Buy a random gift from an NGO. Your patronage could be of great help for struggling NGOs.NGO. Your patronage could be of great help for struggling NGOs.

66. Try a new fruit with your office colleagues. Help local farmers and your office colleagues too.

Ask not what your government should do…

Paul, a dear friend, mentioned that we expect the government to do everything for us. We have enough opportunities. You can start something new today.

67. Crime is a huge issue. Smile at the cop who struggles to control traffic, instead of criticising them. Many thousands are out there today standing on their feet for your security while earning meagre salaries. Let them know their work really matters to us. Buy them a bottle of clean drinking water.

68. Gandhi walked to Dandi to protest the salt tax. He did not a wage battles on social media. Participate in debates. Start writing to your local MLA and MP. Many of them have social media accounts. Write a proper email or letter. Let them know your views on current issues and tell them why you voted for them.

69. Vote in every single election.

70. Tackling corruption? Do not pay a bribe. Simple. Obey the law. It helps in the long run.

71. Do not drink and drive. Of course, we are risking lives. The police divert precious resources in setting up check posts and breath analysers instead of forensics and training.

72. Drive safely. Be a courteous driver, a few million like you, and we will sort out all or traffic problems.

73. Send a note to your schoolteacher. Our education system is under stress. Your kind words will help them feel valued and they will know that their effort continues to be worth it.

74. Donate three books that you have not read. Education is more important than literacy.

75. Donate your organs. Healthcare is getting expensive. You can save lives.

Two swords can co-exist

Now, getting to trickier issues. There is a phrase which says that two swords cannot co-exist on a battlefield. I want to challenge this notion. We are getting to a stage where our values are being questioned, challenged and even forced to undergo a change. As reader Avinash pointed out, “engagement is more energising than evading the issue”. Many of my friends and readers gave some interesting perspectives.

76. Gopa suggested that we use a new lens to view what happens around you. The world is changing. If you need to be ahead of the curve, then you need to… change. Think of one big change you want to bring about.

77. Urmi said,”Trust works wonders. There is a book called The Speed of Trust. Do read it. It’s just amazing. If we can trust our neighbours, our colleagues, we can be seen as a reliable, trustworthy country, worth of doing business with.”

78. Tanuja said, “Decide on your beliefs and values.” It is interesting. The science of positivity determines exactly that. The person with a strong sense of meaning demonstrates huge social connectedness and cognitive skills. It’s an amazing suggestion.

79. Saideep spoke about ‘live and let live’. Make space for others and their opinions. Live your life with a sense of duty.

80. Religion unites more than divides. Celebrate every single religion. Let’s bring back the old textbooks which spoke about unity in diversity. Go to a place of worship other than your own.

If you find all of this difficult, it is understandable, start by just being nicer than you normally are.

Experiment

Try, if only for one day. Just decide to be nicer than normal.

81. For one day, keep you hot button in check. If someone pushes you, forgive them. With such a long history of violence, it’s time we turned the other cheek.

82. For one day, learn something new. Celebrate someone’s success. Next time you hear of someone’s success, and if your emotions drift towards feeling jealous, transform that emotion into one of admiration.

83. Finally, for one day, let’s be the happiest country in the world. We want to be global citizens. For just one day, let’s be known as a country of really nice people. Be nice. Say ‘please’, ‘thank you’, ‘how are you’ as if you really mean it.

I want to reiterate what reader Jehangir said. Let’s become a “nanna munna rahi”.

Have a great Independence Day!

The author is the Founder of The Positivity Company where he helps business leaders become more positive and productive. Birender can be reached on [email protected]. 

This column first appeared in the DNA