Intern and Staff Opportunities at 'India - Kids' - a NGO working towards welfare of orphans in India

The situation for abandoned orphans living in 21st century India is extremely dire!

* India is currently home to over 31,000,000 orphaned children.

* Stringent adoption policies make the process difficult for prospective parents wanting to adopt, thereby adding to an already disproportionate number of children per orphanage.

* Once a child hits the age of 5, his or her chances of getting adopted almost become zero.

* India is currently home to the world’s largest number of AIDS-infected orphan children.

'India - Kids' is a not for profit organization working towards the welfare of orphan children in India, to help them achieve a safe, healthy, educated and thus a better tomorrow! Below is the link to internship and staff opportunities offered by the organization.

http://www.india-kids.org/staff-opportunities-and-internships/

Take the first step towards fulfilling your responsibility towards the society! Towards your country! Towards these kids! and most importantly.....towards yourself!! Go for it! :D

Small Screen: Big Influence

- Sarita Raj Goyal

Change is an unavoidable phenomenon of our society. Among the numerous, drastic transitions that our society has witnessed over the past decades, one, that has completely and amusingly so, transformed an Indian household, is the onset of daily soaps on small screen. From “an immortal Baa, an ever weeping Tulsi and a habitually resurrecting Mihir”, to “the never ageing Prerna and Mr. Bajaj”, these daily dramas tuned the lives of Indian women (many men included) to a particular frequency that was ‘Star Plus’!

“Anekta men Ekta” is uniqueness of India. This was no exception to Indian Television either. There definitely was a lot of “Ekta” behind these series of soaps, which had magically created what Pidilite never could – superglue to stick over 25% of the Indian Population to their couches from 20:00 to 23:00.  

The tale of this transformation starts with “Buniyad” and “Hum Log” back in 1980s. Indian families glued to their screens to watch these realistic and ‘very close to their life’ serials. Gradually, realistic started becoming unrealistic and eventually dramatic…..highly dramatic! Extended working hours of men and lengthy coaching and hobby classes of young ones deprived them of this fun (addiction rather). Apparently a lion’s share of audience rested with the home makers of our society.

In due course of time, these “saas bahu” serials secured top TRPs and turned into national issues to be discussed in every neighborhood, kitty parties, and peer groups. Vamps like ‘Komonica’ and terms like ‘Saajish’ started seeping into the personalities of simple Indian women. Screen Actors soon became household characters and then their characteristics. From fashion, style and tantrums to conspiracies, it all penetrated into the subconscious minds, bringing deep involuntary changes in the life and outlook of women.

I still remember the beginning of those days, when if somebody would visit your home during these particular hours, he was looked upon as an intruder – such was the addition! Apparently, the impact of this changing psychology went unnoticed and by the time the society realized it, the threshold was crossed.

In our mythology, women are considered as “Shakti”, the reflection of Goddess herself. But where is this “Shakti” draining??? A woman who plays the role of a daughter, sister, wife and a mother, is the source of power behind all relations. Today, a wife feels disturbed when her husband rings the bell at eight. A mother can’t resist the new episode even if her child requires her assistance in his or her daily home work and other chores. A daughter is too busy scooping the latest fashion trends, to have a chat with her father and dinner is compromised, if ‘Ram is meeting Priya after a decade’.

The ethics, values, norms and the entire perception has changed drastically. Though the responsibility for oneness in the family lies with all members, the source has always been the female energy. In the lack of emotional bonding, families are silently fragmented and only a lady of the house can shoulder the responsibility to maintain a balance.

Instead of TV becoming a medium of entertainment, it became our lives. Today, our lives literally revolve around a box! Nature is forgotten, neighbors are evaded, hobbies are dumped, health is postponed, families are compromised, mind is polluted - what have we gained but insecurities? “An idle mind is devil’s playground”, remember? It’s high time that a clear distinction between entertainment and addiction is realized.

The idiot box is a rightly called an idiot because it does not know what to show you. It’s a free country. Anyone can show what he/she desires, and anyone can view what he/she wants to. But will it grant you intellectual satisfaction, a sense of pride and self accomplishment? To decide is up to you. But for the betterment of self and society, it is must that a woman steps out of this virtual world, realizes her importance, and makes her contribution towards creation of a radiant tomorrow, full of love, wisdom, understanding, oneness and emotional security! 

"Home Sweet Home": Castles in the Sky

Like millions of middle-class Indians, I woke up early today morning and dragged myself through the living room of my rented studio apartment to reach out for the newspaper. Suddenly my eyes lit up as I read the front page advertisement, “Budget luxury apartments all set to inspire your senses”, and as my eyes crawled down to the bottom of the page desperately searching for some 'really affordable' pre-launch offer; reality hit me yet again as the bottom of the page read, “Prices starting from as low as Rs. 70 Lakhs!". I decide to move on to the sports page with a disheartened sigh and by then, an empty cup of tea.

I am just another random Indian ‘Aam Aadmi’ whose morning newspaper comes wrapped in a familiar dream, sold in countless real estate ads spread across billboards, magazines, and newspapers. The Indian realty sector has seen property prices skyrocket in recent years, so much that majority of the builders are managing to stay afloat by purely selling in the international market these days. NRI investments have now become the major source of income for the industry which is struggling to find buyers in the domestic market. The ‘still denied’ Indian property bubble is purported to be in existence since March 2005 when the current UPA government decided to liberalize foreign direct investment norms in real estate, introduced the SEZ Act, and allowed private equity funds into real estate.

Today, if one looks at the real estate market in terms of pricing alone, it would seem that demand is growing. However, on the ground, the demand in six major real estate markets - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, and Bengaluru has declined by around 40% in the past one year. New project launches have seen a drop of nearly 50 %. We have a situation where on one hand there are 11% vacant houses while on the other we have a shortage of 18.5 million houses. Vacant houses are a bubble that can burst at any time. Economists expect this time to come by November 2014.

As for the country, the problem is that wealth 'created' on the back of housing bubbles is largely illusionary. Buying property because its value will go up so you can then sell it for profit, or perhaps borrow against the value of the first house to buy another, sounds nice when you're reading a “Get-rich-quick in real estate" book, but it is not something you want your personal finances to be built on – especially if your banking system acts as though such a situation is risk-free. Dubai property market crash is a famous example to learn from!

The Finance Minister, in an effort to strike balance, is looking to tweak the lending policy of banks for housing projects. To mark the launch of the scheme, three major lending agencies in the retail housing market - State Bank of India, Central Bank of India and HDFC recently entered into an agreement with the National Housing Bank (NHB). Another fact is that the real-estate market does not always work according to demand and supply because many builders who have taken loans to purchase land, continue to sell it at a high price so that there is no threat to the investors. Nonetheless, the previous pace of progress no longer seems possible unless one believes in miracles.

Low-cost housing projects are expected to bring out the true potential of the market in future and might as well turn out to be the very miracle we need!

May 2012 - Had fun installing Solar Bottle Bulbs in Nirmal Lifestyle's labor colony, Mulund West, Mumbai

May 2012 - Had fun installing Solar Bottle Bulbs in a labor colony, Mulund West, Mumbai

On the Shantee roof, Drilling the bulb into place - These roofs are so week , you may land inside the room any moment!! :D

One CFL substituted, One waste bottle utilised!!! Cheers! :D

Sealant and rivets were over by the time we planted this, covered it to ensure zero water ingress .

Got 10 waste 2L plastic bottles from Sonapur Slum, believe me - This heap is unending!!! :0

In the Conference Room, before presenting the Concept to Nirmal  Lifestyle Builders to harbor it under CSR activities - Couldn't interest them after all! :(