Goodness on the run!

The countdown for New Year 2014 has begun…

In spite of the social fuck ups, like stooping lower political advantages, SC’s decision on Section 377, humiliation of Devyani, or the Hrithik-Sussane split doing the rounds of social networks, we have already spent a larger part of the year in ranting. And many people might just take all of this too critically!

But hey! There’s a lot more happening too. This wintery December, the warmth of goodness has gradually blanketed the social networks.

While there is a lot of negative criticism back there (Be thankful for the freedom of speech we enjoy), there some good Samaritans doing wonders, spreading smiles!

I’m talking about the Mumbai Secret Santa on twitter and the Standard Chartered Good Deed Marathon on all social networks!

Whoever said goodness exists no more, raise your hands and open your eyes!

While Secret Santa is all about spreading cheer in the festive season, it’s actually quite awesome. So this activity on twitter had people who wanted to participate, fill in their details; and were assigned to some stranger to be their Secret Santa. For almost a month now, a lot of Santas send amazing messages and gifts to people who they barely know (except for their stalking skills that they put to use!) So much effort to make someone’s Christmas delightful? And then there are more Santas in Delhi, Pune, Chennai, Banaglore and some more cities. This club of Santas does quite an amazing job passing messages and helping to spread the cheer! Everybody is talking about the #SecretSanta. And well they have all good reasons to do the same! KUDOS team and the Mumbai Santa @VelvetRhyme! We love you, Secret Santa! J This is the Merrier Christmas!

And then the best initiative online that I’ve seen in a while has to be the Standard Chartered Good Deed Marathon- An online campaign that encourages people to share their good deeds with people. And that with the realization of how every little thing you do matters. It is a moment of pride when people acknowledge it, even better when they are inspired. Some inspire you, set examples and spread the spirit of goodness.

This definitely has to be one of the finest and the most positive initiative to encourage goodness, and when so many people are out there sharing their goodness, instilling the belief that no matter which way we go, there’s still a lot of goodness within us all!

And here are a few examples of all the good deeds,  that people have been talking about! How little things make a difference is quite remarkable!

WeAreMumbai ‏@WeAreMumbai

I do remember that Airtel and Vodafone had made all calls free during the 26/7 flooding and also set up helplines! #GoodDeedMarathon

kabir grewal ƪϐ ‏@kabirgrewal1

Donated blood on my birthday & toke four frnds along with me 2 donate blood #Cancer_patient #GoodDeedMarathon @iCanSaveLife"@BloodDonorsIn

RealBombayite ‏@RealBombayite

@WeAreMumbai Saw a father with his 8 year kid on a bike. Both were wearing helmets. Made sure to compliment both of them #GoodDeedMarathon

Harsh Mehta ‏@harshf1

@WeAreMumbai Helped a blind man to board a Mumbai local from dadar and he blessed me & I almost cried . #GoodDeedMarathon

@WeAreMumbai

No cab took me in on exam day.Told a driver I have an exam,he readily dropped me to SoBo from Bandra,also wished me luck! #GoodDeedMarathon

@R_T_K: @WeAreMumbai Helped my maid with getting her Ration Card #GooddeedMarathon"

Anisha ‏@TheNaisha

@WeAreMumbai Planning a Christmas special celebration at the boys orphanage. Secret Santa, presents, food & goodies! #fun #GooddeedMarathon

Aditi Mittal ‏@awryaditi

@aatifsumar it does not ruin them. #GooddeedMarathon, is about generating ideas for good deeds. Seeing what makes people feel good.

Sunny Times ‏@sunnyslicemore

@Photokatha I must admit today #GoodDeedMarathon tweets really made me happy I'm proud of each n every person's deed Gr8 going

Ashu ‏@PoeticDisguise

My first visit to Jaipur and had bought a big pack of grains for the birds :) Amazing feeling it was to feed. @Photokatha #GoodDeedMarathon

WeAreMumbai ‏@WeAreMumbai

How may of you know @abhikbee? He packed his bags, moved to Bangladesh to teach less fortunate kids not good but the best! #GoodDeedMarathon

Let’s just say these aren’t even 1% of all the good deeds, but they still reflect the power of goodness through every little effort!

Yes, this is my Mumbai shining!

Hats off to Standard Chartered Good Deed Marathon! And to all those wonderful entities and people who are a part of this. *pat your backs*

If you love this idea and haven’t been a part of this yet, register yourself for the #GoodDeedMarathon right away!

Here’s the link- http://bit.ly/1bqAJBL

It doesn’t take anything more than genuine efforts to do a good deed, cause it’s not about big or small but about doing something good which benefits others and not you!

Be good, do good and encourage others to do better!

And if you have any good deed of yours or others to share, mention it in the comments! You never know you might just inspire someone else to be good. (Yes! Another good deed :D )

Till then,

Proud Netizen!

And they lived happily ever after!

Before you start reading this, answer this-

“DO YOU THINK HAPPY ENDINGS ARE OVER RATED?”

Cinderella, Snow white, Rapunzel, The Sleeping Beauty…

We all grew up to fairy tales that were used to make believe in the most popular conclusion of all times, “…And they lived happily ever after.”

Nobody knows what happened to Snow white after she met Prince Charming, did Cinderella gain acceptance from the royal household and the people when she met the Prince of her dreams, nobody knows if the Sleeping Beauty was never again troubled by the Dark Fairy! And back then, these questions never bothered us nor did we think beyond the concept of ‘Happy Endings.’

May be we don’t realize the trivial nature of reality unless we come across its harsh exposures.

While there were no more stories being told, we entered another magical illusion, the cinema. Like most people in this country, movies were the quintessential entertainers, stress busters and escape from reality. So whether it was Basanti and Veeru’s chemistry in Sholay or Raj and Simran’s love story, you grew up knowing, goodness would triumph and the film would end on the note ‘… and they lived happily ever after.’

Yes! We did grow up to believe that. Not just in the love stories but in any story. Be it the battle between the good son (Shashi Kapoor) and the villainous son (Amitabh Bachchan) in Deewar or the Don and his look-alike Vijay in the original DON (1975). Not all, but most films until recently believed in ‘happy endings.’

In spite of all that predictability, we have always rooted for everything to end well. To sum it up in a dialogue, “Humare filmon ki tarah, humarai zindagi mein bhi end tak sab kuch theek ho hee jaata hai. Happies endings. Aur agar theek na ho, toh who di end nahi; picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!” (From Om Shanti Om)

We have always been taught moral stories and all the right values. Like I always say, Indian society highly believes in preaching morals and idealism. All of this in the hope, that whenever in life need be, we shall take the right lessons, stick to our morals and ethics and follow the path of goodness hoping for it to end well. And who knows, had it not been for these stories, we would have easily given up for an easy compromise with the convenient ways!

And well, don’t we do that now? While everybody has been busy debating whether cinema influences society or reflects the ways of society, let’s just say it is a combination of both. Our entertainment reflects our culture and introduces innovations in our way of living.

I earlier referred to the triumph of good over evil, portrayed in DON, I get back to the modern remake and sequel of the film, where it s not about goodness, but about being the smarter one. May be earlier, we didn’t live in an exactly ideal society, but today we have learnt to accept and give in to the ‘Dark side’ too in the name of ‘being practical.’ And yes, it is alright to break relationships that don’t work, unlike the olden days when people strived harder to make relationships work when they didn’t. It is fine today to choose your career over everything else. I say this without sarcasm, but with acceptability. This is how, we have learnt to live. And maybe, this too shall change.

Irony is, that over the time we have developed a misconception, ‘To accept a theory, you have to reject another.’ And guess what! People have just begun to discard the idea of happy endings by terming them to be myths! How cynically hopeless can we be to lose hope even without hoping?

No! Let’s keep the faith alive…

It shall all be fine!

“Happiess Endings with a wide eSmileee”

 J