A New Beginning

I have been involved with some fabulous companies and fabulous people from a very young age.

First there were the Guru's of my parents - Swami Satchidananda and Swami Chinmayananda. I was too young to understand their ethos. But not too young to massage their feet and it was there I heard their philosophies. Their Life Message. Their Whole Existence.

Little did I know that those thoughts were tiny seeds planted into my psyche. That they would themselves grow into the the Man that I am today. I would never have thought that possible.

Today, the First of June 2020 I embark upon what could be the last journey of my Life. My Last Assignment. I am formally embarking on a journey to Create at least one Hunger Free City in my Lifetime. A Hunger Free Society Philosophy. Bhookh Mukth Shehar.

It started a long time ago. This stirring to go beyond the job. The City. The Fanfare. The Foreign Travel. The Awards. Something stirred within me. It made no sense all of this. I did make the transition from Big City to small rural town. That was huge. You should try it sometime at least for a holiday. It changed me completely. It broke down a whole lot of barriers. Yet the Seeker in me wouldn't stop.

Then in June of 2019 I was in a discussion with regards to the Smart Cities in India. I listened to the experts and then I spotted an anomaly. They spoke of everything else. They didn't mention Hunger. Or the Eradication of Hunger in Smart Cities.

I said that Smart Cities must be Hunger Free. Else how can you state that they are smart? Some smiled at me. Others laughed. I knew that I had just blurted out the Route for the Rest of My Life.

On the 30th of June 2019 I started putting into practice this Hunger Free Society with a little help from my friends and we began to feed about 200 odd people in our immediate vicinity. I took the offerings of giving speeches to those who were willing to listen to me about a Hunger Free Society. Everyone clapped. No one actually helped. I appealed to those who smoke and drink for over $ 2 dollars a day - to set aside 75 Cents to feed a stranger. They thought about it.

Then came the Corona. At first everyone took it lightly. We have had forced closures upon us. Strikes. Monsoon Rains. But nothing like this. This was a total lock down. Everything closed down. That also meant - complete closure of all food outlets. Restaurants closed and those that salvaged their food in the garbage bins outside restaurants be that man or animal - starved. There were college kids from out of town dependent on a dubbawala. That stopped. There were the elderly who couldn't cook. Hunger suddenly wasn't a term reserved for the poor or the homeless. You could be in a decent apartment but didn't know to cook and you could be hungry. You could be student and you had no access to a kitchen to cook your meal and you could be hungry.

Then of course - there were our brethren - who came to our cities in search of food and alms. They took whatever they could take from the shanties they lived in including the dogs and other pets they owned - and they walked back home a distant dot on the far horizon miles and miles away - hungry.

Suddenly my phone began to ring incessantly. Hunger Free Society? Someone asked. They all wanted food to be delivered to them. Some large organizations got together and networked for food. My tiny kitchen and the volunteers there swung into action and we began to distribute food packets. In these lockdown days I received no less than 734 calls.

My deep rooted belief was vindicated. The City Cannot Be Hungry. No matter what. The City must have adequate resources where the hungry are taken care of. I am not for blaming anyone. I think there is only so much the government can do. The rest is upto us citizens.

We can make a difference. I have decided to do so.

Starting today I have changed my profile, I have changed my direction and I will be talking of only one thing. A Hunger Free Society. I know. I am a small man. How can I have such a dream. My Inspiration is M. K. Gandhi. Arriving in 1915 in India Gandhi was penniless. He had no army, no arms and ammunition. He had no social media. He had no followers. He was alone. Sure there was a rag tag freedom movement in India. But that was nothing that the British Raj couldn't crush in a jiffy.

Yet, this slightly built man in 32 years of his life brought together an Empire that literally wouldn't set. It had taken the British almost 345 years to build it starting as traders of the British East India company to become the British Raj.

I am inspired by him and I think that in this day and age we need to be Gandhi's all of us. If we can join hands and form a pledge then we can make India the only Country in the world that is Hunger Free. You needn't do much. Find one person who is on the road and give him a meal a day. One extra mouth. That could be your target.

Everything began small. A small Seed. Nothing was born whole.

What is the point in putting a man on Mars when we have a population that is almost as much as the USA going hungry? What is the point of all the tall structures that we can put up if we are not going to eradicate the poverty stricken hunger of our people?

I seek your support. I seek your hand. I seek your support to make this Country Great.

I look forward to being able to give you Inspirational stories of How Hunger Free Philosophy is bringing Smiles to those that have not even a meal a day.

Thank you.