Invisible Hanif

I will call him Hanif. I have known and unknown him for nearly 15 years or more of my life. For days, weeks, months and years on end, he has served me and my family during the sweltering summer months. Quenching our thirst while keeping himself thirsty. He is my Coconut Man – Hanif. I have seen him grow old over the years. I don’t think he would remember me. But, he has an unforgettable face. Dark set, with the signature cap, squinted eyes, scarred face and sad lips. I cant forget the face that has grown from an ‘angry with the world’ look to a deep, sad, defeated look.

I have often thought about writing about him and for some reason, I decided to write today. I saw him on the road today after many months and just felt the urge to give him an identity in this invisible world.

As a kid going to school, I remember him bringing in a bicycle full of coconuts into our neighbourhood. Walking in the sweltering heat, sometimes barefoot, tugging along pulling his cycle in the hope that the way back home in the evening will be on an empty cycle. He used to be an angry salesman then. Understandably so. Everyone bargained with him. He would ask Rs. 6 and his customers would pay him Rs. 5 and even then complain that his coconuts didn’t have enough water, they were not sweet enough, he was cheating them. On some days, he was in a good mood and on that day he would talk to the children on the streets, laugh with the ladies ordering from their first floor balconies and with his charm get his customers to pay what he asked for. I always wondered why my mom always, always bargained with him. It would be just Re. 1 yet she would bargain as if its a birthright. I could sometimes understand my mom because she had grown up having little in her childhood, was married into a family with no income and had to save every single paisa to feed her family so Re. 1 was important to her and she valued it. However, that attitude remained even after we became slightly wealthier and it showed in her attitude towards people like Hanif.

Anyway, I am digressing. Young angry Hanif continued his service to us and other families in our neighbourhood. I always wondered where he came from, who was Hanif, did he have a family? How far did he live? Did he make enough money? I wondered in a neighbourhood where every bit of space was being picked by the elite, where did he live? Was there space for people like Hanif to have their small houses and their invisible existence? I never really found out yet everytime I saw him, I wondered. I wonder why I never really asked him, spoke to him, asked his name?

A few months back I saw him trudging his bicycle from Hosur road, nearly 8-9 kms away from my neighbourhood. Wow! Did I ever realize that this man who has quenched my thirst for nearly 15 years, pulls his bicycle laden with coconuts for maybe 10-odd kms everyday and then takes the same journey back every evening. Have we really just slowly, steadily and ruthlessly pushed the poor out of our neighbourhoods and yet demand them to serve, think its our birthright to bargain for Re. 1 with them and not even accord them the dignity of speaking to them like human beings.

Our family income has grown from Rs. 500 a month sometime in 1975 to nearly Rs. 1.5 Lakhs a month in 2011. Hanif started selling his coconuts at Rs. 5, 15 years back and today he sells them at Rs. 12 and sometimes even lower so that his stock is finished.

I wonder how Hanif’s story will end. I see him today. I don’t see the ferocious angry man, willing to fight his fate of a few years back. Today, I see a hunched old man, sunken eyes, seem to be going blind, sagging skin, more scars and a very sad face that has given up on hope in life. I wish to see him angry yet again but that anger has given way to a defeat so pronounced that maybe only death can release him.

Hanif is one of the many invisible people who have made my life richer, easier and better with their invaluable services. Yet, I don’t seem to have added any value to their life but seem to have contributed to sucking out every bit of their energy and jest for life.

Here is my small attempt to give meaning and dignity to Hanif! Albeit, he might never know about this and will probably disappear one day from my neighbourhood without being missed. 

The US Trip

30 days. 1^st November to 1^st December. What a trip it has been. It was a rush when I started the trip and it took every ounce of my energy and sought every spare bead of motivation I have ever had in me. It demanded the very best from me at all times and pushed me to my mental, physical and emotional limits. Landed in Cleveland after a gruelling 24 hour journey and without even time to overcome my jetlag, I was all set for my first set of meetings with a Prof. From a college and a presentation to a group of 10-14 years at a local school. Wow! That's a beginning I thought. Next, College of Wooster – A beautiful college set in the small town of Wooster, meetings with professors, classes, networking with the administration, public talks, and dinners and finally ending up with a lunch with the BIG People of Cleveland. Managed to even squeeze in a quick tour of the college, watching a field hockey game, doing a ropes course and even going to the Village of the very weirdly popular Amish. Prof. Moledina deserves a big thank you for getting me to the US and ensuring I managed to start my trip with a Bang! 

A weekend in Milwaukee with lovely friends (Prashanth  & Misha), which involved just a whole lot of driving to Chicago and everywhere else, getting introduced to WII and Netflix, spending Diwali with them and their family and off I was to Boston. The highlight was getting to eat authentic South Indian food downed with the very own, very popular Dil Pasand which one can only get in a local Iyengar Bakery in Bangalore and here I was gorging on it in Milwaukee.

Boston – My favourite city no doubt and Arjun Dugal had set the stage for me. Meetings, lots of them, Talks – quite a few of them, even a session for a class at Harvard and a very successful Dream Evening to moot. Interspersed with a night of clubbing until the wee hours of morning, I knew I was pushing my limits. The large fundraising Gala was an eye-opener with the wealth that existed in the Indian Diaspora and also reflections on the "Dance of the Wealth" – Why the wealthy give only when they spend a lot and a lot more to raise that money. 

The homeless on the streets surprised me, wanted to talk to each of them and come up with an idea to get them off the streets. The public libraries amused me as they were mostly filled with the homeless escaping the bitter cold outside and getting some warm place to sleep. I wondered if a country like America even deserved the homeless on the streets and wondered how societies across the world continue to be insensitive to the needs of their own communities in their backyards. 

A panel discussion on Startup Leadership had me standing alone on the ethics of entrepreneurial ventures amidst talks of VC funding, buy-outs, becoming millionaires and finding cofounders through a scientific formula connected to valuations. I sat there, wondering whatever happened to trusting someone to start something new with you, whatever happened to the love for a new idea, for solving a problem, for creating a world-class business, for creating a legacy. Whatever happened to the "Pursuit of Greatness" that prompted great human beings to embark on risky businesses staking their all? 

Spending time with Year Up, Peace First, and Big Brother-Big Sister Program was a validation of the depth of quality and thought that we had in our work with children. 5 years back when I attempted to meet BBBS, we were too small for them and they didn't want to meet us. This time around, they wanted to learn from us and this was validation of the work we have put in to make our programs truly world-class. Year-up was a program that spoke to me from the heart, it had DreamConnect all over it and I believed this is the program that the youth in India strongly needed and needed fast. 

I was truly humbled by the support that Arjun, Neha, Aman, Karina, Aamir, Mike gave – from helping me build connections, helping me meet people and for just looking out for me and ensuring I was well taken care of. Especially Arjun and Neha, who worked all day and spent all evening coming for meetings with me, discussing ideas with me, giving me strategies and also making me smile. I remember Arjun and myself walking out of the Harvard class and while we were both physically very tired, there was a jump in our step, a pride in our gait and as we looked at each other we smiled and acknowledged the journey that we have embarked upon with 10 others and where that journey had taken our dream. We felt proud, happy and content. We graciously accepted each other's acknowledgement. 

I have to mention Raj Melville – The man, the connector – He sent out nearly 20-25 emails introducing me to people all over the US and getting me meetings from anyone to everyone. He reached out and told me, you are doing well, keep doing it and we will stand by you. 

I was still reeling under the after-effects of Boston and DC hit me with a vengeance. The people in DC were all out to prove to me that DC can do better than Boston and they came very very close to beating Boston. A Brown Bag at Global Giving, Global Fund for Children and Ashoka was all that was needed to get me going again. Starting at 6 am, my first day in DC went on till 1 am and that set the trend for the rest of the week. A panel discussion with 2 other Ashoka Fellows for the staff of Ashoka was enough to send me on a nostalgic, emotionally charged, reflective journey of my life as a leader, as an individual and as a social entrepreneur. The panel had a 32-year old me, a 40-year old and a 50-year old and what fascinated me was how our journeys have been so similar and how uncannily we had to meet today, now when we were going through the same reflections and questions with our inner self. 

Another super successful Dream Evening thanks to Raj and Smita Trivedi who went out of their way to make it happen for Dream A Dream in less than a week. It was phenomenal to see how people would turn up at the end of a busy work-day just because they believed, they wanted to help and support. What's more, I also ran into an old-timer from Dream A Dream and suddenly felt very much at home with her support by my side. DC would not have happened without the support of Raj and Smita, my angels and Roshan who so graciously gave me his place to stay and Usha – a very special person who I connected with on Food, Travel and community work. When she was keen to show me the sights of DC, I told her – I want to understand why there is poverty here and what is one doing to change things. She took me to a Central Kitchen where families come to feed the poor and homeless. Good, cooked, healthy food. Families serve the homeless and also sit with them; children included, and eat the same food. While, I was humbled with seeing this sensitivity, I came away very disturbed thinking, If I ever had to beg for good, live on the streets, eat from a central kitchen – would I be able to? Is there dignity in poverty? Do we continue to let poverty exist and thrive so we can feel important and worthy about ourselves? 

DC was also a place for some old connections, meeting an old-time Dream A Dream volunteer, reconnecting with Ashoka and its inspiring staff, meeting an old school-mate whom I had not met for 16 years and reconnecting with old friends from the US. Food was big on the agenda in DC as I tried Ethiopian, experimented with Japanese and Chinese new cuisine, Spanish tapas and Sangria and the super traditional American Chilli Hot Dog and finally finishing off with a traditional all American brunch. Managed to capture an interactive play called "Shear Madness" at the renowned Kennedy Center before I dashed off the San Jose on the West Coast.

San Jose was completely unlike DC or Boston, a small town set amidst mountains in a beautiful valley; it was stunningly beautiful but completely inaccessible without your own transport. Guneet Singh Bedi was my knight in shining armour taking me to all my meetings and being the man-Friday ensuring it was worth my while to have travelled thousands of miles. He went out of his way to again open doors for me with interested companies, individuals, and also a talk at Berkeley. This was interspersed with meeting an old AIESEC friend and her lovely 2-month old bundle of joy, meeting old Dream A Dream volunteers, spending the thanksgiving evening at the only open Indian restaurant and staying up all night for the infamously popular Black Friday sale after Thanksgiving.

I had also come to my journey's end and also my strength was giving way. The sense of wanting to be back in India amongst friends, colleagues and family was creeping in, the overbearing realization that the work has just started and I need to very quickly follow-up on all my meetings to ensure we don't lose the momentum and that there was a lot I had to remember about my trip was completely over-whelming me. I forgot to call a few people I was supposed to meet, I forgot a scheduled meeting and I was sleeping less and less. Guneet came to my rescue with some amazing drives in his classic convertible and a day spent amongst wineyards at the very stunning Napa Valley trying out different kinds of wines. It helped me relax my senses and let go for a day. 

It was time to go back. But, not yet. My last leg was supposed to be a winding down 3-days with friends and family at Milwaukee and Chicago. Ended up being super hectic with catching up on work from India and more meetings at Chicago. A visit to Kellog School of Management for a potential partnership and a final push presentation at Asha, Chicago is all that my soul could take and I was done!! Catching with a Dream A Dream first employee - a very dear personal friend and an inspiring colleague; spending time with cousins and their adorable 4 yr old was just what the doctor had ordered to ensure I survive the last 2 days. 

The trip has been that of a breakneck speed juggernaut, of not letting go of opportunities, of reaching out to people, of sharing a dream – a million times over and of going back to believing in what I have always believed in. People across the world are wonderful and want to help; all it takes is to reach out with honesty and with your heart. 

It has been a tough one-month but I feel blessed that even across the seas, there are people who believe in what we do, who believe in us and who really want to reach out in their own ways – small and big. My body feels battered, my mind is numb but my spirit seems rekindled with the "Power of One"! Sometimes, when I have felt empty inside or lonely, I look back at the people who have being with me through this whole month and I don't feel alone again. I feel blessed! Thank you all who made this happen.

A Remarkable Volunteer - Bhasker Sharma

Why am I an Entrepreneur

Last week, I was invited to be a speaker and a panelist at Startup Leadership in Boston. Startup Leadership supports entrepreneurs just starting out with mentoring, access to Venture Capital, etc. The discussions were generally around startup journeys, challenges, managing founder expectations, funding, etc. I was the only non-business guy in the room and kept wondering what value-add can I bring to this strongly tech oriented start-up group. I went with the flow anyway.

Somewhere during the panel discussion, the topic moved towards the kind of people you would bring on board as a co-founder. Should she/he be a business development person or a technically sound person. Would you want a Phd or a MBA, What would the VCs like? What would bring in more business and better valuations? etc. Someone started talking about some mathematical matrix to choose the right blend of co-founders so the business gets the right valuations and money from the VC, etc. I tried very hard to concentrate and see merit in this very transactional process of setting up a start-up venture and I was totally confused. Finally, I had to voice what was going on in my head.

I said, "Why are we getting all transactional about this? Is this what setting a new venture about is? A mathematical formula. Setting up a business is like giving birth to and bringing up a baby; Its about bringing to light a spectacular idea you have of making the world a better place to live in. How can you just share this baby with someone over a mathematical formula. For me, a co-founder would be someone I would trust my life with completely because I want this person to stand by me in times of success and hardship. The first few years are going to be hard and if this person can trust me, and I can trust this person and we can get through the shit together, then she/he is a worthy co-founder. For me, that would be the single most important criteria to bring on a co-founder."

I am zapped that what seemed common sense to me, didn't even register to these entrepreneurs. A strange and albeit sad realization struck me. Most entrepreneurs today are setting up businesses to get venture capital money, push their valuations, sell their business and walk away. They are not interested in building a world class business and adding value to life. For me, starting something new has always come from a space of, I see a problem and I think I know how to solve it and I want to build a strong, robust and successful business around it and solve the problem. Its about looking back and saying, we created this business and because of this, the world is a much more better place. That as a value was sorely missing from most of the discussions.

It worried me that we can feeding into a system which only wants to profit oneself and is not looking to create any real value over the long-term. Are these the entrepreneurs we want to have in our eco-system. I am not sure! I am wondering what has changed and where have the true entrepreneurs got lost!!

Lessons for Experiential Learning from Slumdog Millionaire

Controversies apart, there was one aspect of the movie - Slumdog Millionaire which made me sit up and take notice. The backdrop of "Who wants to be a millionaire" and how each question took the protagonist into certain incidents, experiences and conversations in his past life which gave him the answers. There was the concept of "Experiential Learning" splattered all over this plot.

Based on my own childhood experiences and my experiences of work with children at Dream A Dream, I have always been a strong advocate of experiential learning. I have always believed that:

1. Children always learn in environments that are most natural to them.
2. We don't remember most of our childhood experiences but only those that have a profound impact on "Who we are"  and "What do we believe in"

As we breeze through the questions on the quiz show in the movie, we see how he was able to connect them to specific experiences in his life. How he remembered that the inventor of Pistol was Simon Colt because his brother used a Colt when he first had a gun or how he figured where Cambridge Circus was because of his work at a British Call Center, etc, etc.

This is experiential learning at its best. At Dream A Dream, we believe if we can convert every interaction with a child into an experience that will positively impact him for life, he/she will be able to use that learning all through their life. A child might not remember an algebra formula but will definitely remember the acknowledgement that he/she got when the teacher said, "Good Job" for solving an algebra problem. When the learning is wholesome which is when all our senses and our entire being experiences that learnings, that it becomes a learning for life. We remember how we felt, how our body felt, how our eyes sparkled or our face glowed when we have a life-changing experience and its that wholesomeness that makes it life-lasting.

The movie has tremendous learning for us educators about how children learn, experience and remember. Life is what happens outside the classroom so if we want our children to learn then we need to complement academic education with Life Skills and this is where the work of Dream A Dream becomes most relevant and important.

I would finally like to leave you with this comic strip that sums of the point I wish to drive home.

Nation Building

11 years at Dream A Dream and I often get asked this question. So, is it Dream A Dream for life or is there something beyond? I am sure many social entrepreneurs get asked this same question after a few years of their work in the sector. The answer is as difficult as it is easy.

I have spent 11 years in a dogged commitment to build an organization that stands for good, high-impact work; stands for child rights and child development; stands for transparency, accountability and collaboration; that stands for values of integrity and innovation; stands for creating a large scale dent on the issue of child development in the country. Build an organization that is truthful in its work and honest in admitting its limitations. An organization of passionate, high-quality individuals who want to see change happen in their life time.

We are still working on this. In that respect, my work is not yet over and 11 years seems like too short a time to achieve this vision. Along the way though, I realized building organizations is just the journey towards the larger purpose. The role of a social entrepreneur is never to build an organization though organizations are great vehicles for learning and nurturing.

A few years back, I asked myself this question - "Am I in Dream A Dream for life?". It took me quite a few years before I could comfortably and confidently say the following. Today, Dream A Dream has built an identity of its own. Its an entity in its own. It has its vision and strategies to get to that vision. It has established a pace of growth for itself and it is following its trajectory. A few years back, the organization's and my pace and trajectory were aligned. Today, fortunately, we have been able to create our independent identities. With everything I have learnt and done in the last few years, Dream A Dream has given me a larger goal, a larger cause to work for. Dream A Dream has been the stepping stone of this larger vision which would never have emerged if not for the grounded experience of building an organization and rallying support from all across.

So, if Dream A Dream is the stepping stone, what is this larger Vision? The answer came in what Bill Drayton, Founder of Ashoka said, "Social Entrepreneurs are not interested in giving fish, neither interested in teaching how to fish. They will not tire till they have changed the dynamics of the entire fishing industry."

So, the most natural progression for me as a social entrepreneur is to move from organization building to nation building. For, until we are able to influence policy at a national level and build a nation based on justice and equity, sustainable change is just a distant dream.

I asked this question to a bunch of social entrepreneurs over a late evening conversation at a conference. "So, isn't it a natural progression for a social entrepreneur to become a politician and influence policy change?" Yes was the unanimous answer but not for me. I was confused. Why not?

I was given a whole load of the most regular reasons around corruption, dynastic politics, its a dirty game, etc, etc. I stepped back and reflected - did any of these reasons stop us social entrepreneurs to be rebels and start the organizations we started for the causes we strongly believe in? Didn't we at some point, take that leap of faith and said, we will change this even though the whole world thinks we must be fools. Hasn't our success given us enough reason to now step-up and say, from working on a single cause, we need to now take up the cause of the nation. Why are we scared to take risks today? Is it because, we have got bogged down building our organizations that we don't have it in us to take on bigger challenges today?  Or are we just entrepreneurs?

I am not sure of the others but after that evening, I was very convinced that my natural progression from a social entrepreneur needs to be a Nation-Builder through the political route. We understand the ground realities, we have worked with communities, we are sensitive and intelligent. We are great risk-takers and we don't shy away from standing up for what is right. We are ethical and have based our life on integrity.

When enough of us, building social entrepreneurial organizations, have created the trajectory for our organizations, our natural next step becomes moving into the political arena. To make change happen across the country, to create policies that impact an entire nation, to build a model nation based on values of our constitution. I am convinced, at some point, we will reach a tipping point of an entire population of excellent social entrepreneurs becoming Nation Builders and then Poverty will be counting its days in this country.

The first ones have to take that step and failure is guaranteed. The first ones need to fail so that they can inspire an entire generation of young social entrepreneurs to take the same path and they will succeed.

If working to right a wrong has been our commitment for so many years through our organizations, it is time we take the challenge and right every wrong at the National level. After-all, isn't a nation also a mirror of an organization, just much larger.

I am committing to this path in the next 5 years. Are there others willing to join? I guarantee you failure and I also guarantee you an entire generation of success after us. Let's build a Nation together!

Where is dignity?

Over the last few days. I have been fervently following the news related to the 28 deaths in the Beggars Rehabilitation Colony in Bangalore. As one digs deeper, one begins to see the inhuman conditions these people have been kept in and as one reporter pointed out, almost akin to a concentration camp. Concentration camp? Did I hear that right? Are we in a state of emergency? Are these people dangerous? No. Then, why are they subjected to such inhuman conditions. It is horrifying to hear some of the stories that are coming out from various news reports. A woman lying dead in her own blood and excreta http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90516/death-not-leveller-here.html. Dead individuals being dumped unceremoniously in the nearby crematorium. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90510/dumped-alive-crematorium.html.

The beggars fighting with each other to go in the van to cremate their dead companions because they can get scramble around in the garbage for some edible food at the crematorium left by other visitors or at the first opportunity available attempt to run to save their lives. Isn't the rehab center meant to help them get out of the inhuman conditions on the streets and give them a life of dignity. Isn't it ironic that they need to run away from the rehab centre to actually protect their dignity. Isn't it surprising that they should feel that the streets are safer?

There have been reports of lack of bedding, warm blankets and sufficient toilet facilities. People are made to sleep on the cold floor, there is only one attending doctor for over 2500 inmates and most of them are not taken to the hospital for treatment because they are sufficient staff and staff who are there couldn't care less. The facility has a capacity for 900 individuals and over 2500 individuals have been cramped together. There aren't sufficient cooking utensils available to serve food. The food is served by piling up rice on the floor. Reports have pointed out that the buttermilk had dead bugs and mosquitoes floating in them and the inmates are served only one meal a day.

There has also been speculation around organ removal and smuggling when inmates are taken to the hospital for treatments and then they are dumped in the crematorium to rot and die. Out of the 286 deaths recorded in the last one year, all of them have been shown as natural deaths. Isn't this unbelievably surprising.

There seems to be nexus between the police, the politicians and the care-takers at the Rehab center. Police tend to pick up even healthy daily-wage labourers and street vendors and put them in the rehab center and subjected to these inhuman conditions they tend to fall to diseases and die.

Does all this even sound real in the fast growing metropolis in the country?

Have been scooped down to such low levels of inhumanity and lack of compassion that we are subjecting our own kinds to such dreadful conditions? Do not the care-takers and politicians feel anything at all? Does it not affect them that a woman was lying dead in her own blood and excreta for many days? Does not the stench of death and disease reach their soul and stir it up to take action? Is this also one more incident to gain political mileage and do a scathing attack on the present government, even demanding the the CM resign?

For many of us as readers, is this one more news of the day read in the same breath as some film star sneezing and forgotten with the reducing coffee in my morning cup? Have been become so immune to what's happening in the society around us? Have we become so self-centered in our own lives that it no longer bothers us that someone's father or mother or family member are being subjected to such torture in our own backyard? Are we not interested in holding the government accountable for the Rs. 21 Crores they allocated towards this Rehab center and yet they are unwilling to spend Rs. 6 to provide a hygienic meal to the inmates?

Is this the world I live in? and Is this the world I wish to leave as a legacy for my children? I dread it.

Where is dignity in life and death anymore. Is dignity something that today comes with one's wealth and standing in the community. Are not the poor, deprived and orphaned deserving of dignity?

Do we not fear that this inhumanity can become all encompassing and engulf the entire society in the years to come? Do we not fear that we are becoming as in-human as the people perpetrating this torture.

Is this time to take action? Definitely Yes!


More reports on the conditions on these beggars in the rehab home.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90523/if-only-cm-had-visited.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90522/bangarappa-demands-judicial-probe.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90521/pil-seeking-inquiry-death-beggars.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90520/they-ran-away-good.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90516/death-not-leveller-here.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90514/vip-visits-fail-lift-mood.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90513/they-died-gastroenteritis.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90511/only-five-food-inspectors.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90510/dumped-alive-crematorium.html

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/90227/troubled-conscience.html