Greater good of community drives these samaritans in Bangalore

The urge to give back to the society is what has driven the most successful philanthropic initiatives world over, be it the Rockfeller Foundation, the Ford Foundation or the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The rich and the successful from the coastal belt of Karnataka have drawn inspiration from these examples and are endeavouring to do all that they can to encourage the needy, the meritorious and the brilliant. But they are going one better on their western inspirations by roping in the community in their efforts.

“In the Indian view of social involvement, right from rebuilding our temples to financially empowering our youth, we do it together by collecting small sums of money from every willing donor. But in the west we see only one person who is extremely rich doing that,” said Basti Vaman Shenoy, president, Konkani Bhas Ani Sanskritik Prathistan.

Bunts, Billavas, Brahmins, Goud Saraswat Brahmins, Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins, Jains and even Kshatriyas have organised themselves into working groups for identifying bright youngsters in their respective communities and providing them with scholarships.

Charya Burdekar of Mumbai was recently given a special commendation by the Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship Fund for successfully writing the civil services examination in Konkani. She has been chosen for the Indian Foreign Service. Ms Burdekar told DNA: “I wish such funds come into being in all communities so that middle class families can get some help in furthering the educational needs of their children.”

Ramdas U Kamath, senior vice-president, Infosys Technologies, Bangalore, said that the Vishwa Konkani fund had given away scholarships to 135 students, totalling up to Rs40.5 lakh. “Next year,  we will cover 2,000 students,” he added.

Similarly, the Billava community has also created a fund for the needy students. The ‘Billavas, Dubai and Northern Emirates’ has collected of Rs19 lakh which will be distributed to 229 students.

“Over the years our community has grown and some of us are in a very good financial position. Following the words of wisdom of Narayana Guru (the religious head of Billavas in Mangalore and Idigas in Bangalore), we have started donating certain portion of our wealth to help the needy students from our community,” Mohan Attavar, president of the organisation, said.

“Keeping one’s wealth to oneself increases the health risks faced by the rich. Guilt can trigger psychosomatic problems in a person who is extremely wealthy. This is one reason why the rich shed their wealth for the greater community’s good,” Dr BM Hegde, a Bunt leader and a social thinker, said.

Dayananda Pai, a well-known builder, said: “It is ancient Indian wisdom that communities should collectively grow. It is time we start thinking about people who are less endowed financially.”