20 Rupayee Ka Recharge - Unknown Stories of Unknown Karyakartas
Karyakarta! A sacred character that is always difficult to understand. Some say that his atttibutes cannot be explained, but can be only experienced. An incident that occurred years back in my initial days of ABVP flashed in front of me when my friend who is a volunteer of an international NGO was cribbing about his NGO for delay in crediting petrol allowance.
The story is about a 19-year student from a humble background. He was an office-bearer in the city unit but owned the identity of 'ABVP Karyakarta' more on his shoulders. He was made incharge of a campaign and he had to send reminder SMS of the meeting to all the karyakartas. A recharge of SMS plan was essential for it, which at that time would cost Rs.20. As he checked his pocket he could only find a 20 Rupee note which he had saved for his bus fare to travel to ABVP office for the meeting. He was caught in a great dilemma. Sending SMS was a very important task which he wanted to complete, so was attending the meeting as he was incharge of the campaign.
He decided to do both! Instead of taking a bus, he walked all the way to ABVP Office! A 19-year old student walking 10km to attend meeting of a student organization with a will to contribute for the cause and expecting nothing in return, is hard to believe. But this person made me believe as I saw him entering the office completely exhausted. I asked him that why he did not ask for help! His reply still echoes in my mind. He said,"I have myself willingly accepted this work. While accepting it, I am clear that I have accepted it along with the hardships and challenges that would come." As he smiled and entered the office, I stood silent thinking about his return journey to home. After a lot of efforts, we convinced him to let us arrange for his return journey to his home.
At that point in my initial days of ABVP, I was not well-acquanited with the ideology of the organization, but this incident assured me that I am at the right place. I have experienced that instead of theoretical ideology, such incidents are the source that drives an activist and warmth from such karyakartas keeps us intact with the organization. Thousands of unknown karyakartas of this cadre-based organization has inspired millions of activists like me. This never ending chain reaction continues till date!
शत्रु को भी जीतता था आपका चारित्र्य उज्वल,
निन्दकोंपर मात करता आपका व्यवहार निर्मल।
मातृभू की वेदना जो आपके मन में बसी थी,
पा सके अल्पांश भी तो पूर्ण होगी साधना।
- Anand Purohit
The story is about a 19-year student from a humble background. He was an office-bearer in the city unit but owned the identity of 'ABVP Karyakarta' more on his shoulders. He was made incharge of a campaign and he had to send reminder SMS of the meeting to all the karyakartas. A recharge of SMS plan was essential for it, which at that time would cost Rs.20. As he checked his pocket he could only find a 20 Rupee note which he had saved for his bus fare to travel to ABVP office for the meeting. He was caught in a great dilemma. Sending SMS was a very important task which he wanted to complete, so was attending the meeting as he was incharge of the campaign.
He decided to do both! Instead of taking a bus, he walked all the way to ABVP Office! A 19-year old student walking 10km to attend meeting of a student organization with a will to contribute for the cause and expecting nothing in return, is hard to believe. But this person made me believe as I saw him entering the office completely exhausted. I asked him that why he did not ask for help! His reply still echoes in my mind. He said,"I have myself willingly accepted this work. While accepting it, I am clear that I have accepted it along with the hardships and challenges that would come." As he smiled and entered the office, I stood silent thinking about his return journey to home. After a lot of efforts, we convinced him to let us arrange for his return journey to his home.
At that point in my initial days of ABVP, I was not well-acquanited with the ideology of the organization, but this incident assured me that I am at the right place. I have experienced that instead of theoretical ideology, such incidents are the source that drives an activist and warmth from such karyakartas keeps us intact with the organization. Thousands of unknown karyakartas of this cadre-based organization has inspired millions of activists like me. This never ending chain reaction continues till date!
शत्रु को भी जीतता था आपका चारित्र्य उज्वल,
निन्दकोंपर मात करता आपका व्यवहार निर्मल।
मातृभू की वेदना जो आपके मन में बसी थी,
पा सके अल्पांश भी तो पूर्ण होगी साधना।
- Anand Purohit
अश्या अनेक कार्यकर्त्यांनी मिळून हे संघटन मजबुतपणे उभे केले आहे. चणे खाऊन काम केलेल्या कार्यकर्त्यांबद्दल ऐकले होते पाहिले ही होते. आता चालत आलेल्या बद्दल.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this Excellent experince , we Proud to be a ABVP karykarta.
ReplyDelete