Friends are family we choose; but not always

Research says, as per hierarchy, what we see at the bottom of all relationships is friendship. But with times, this study shows no truth. In fact, friends, and the term friendship with growing times has been able to affirm a strong place in all of our lives. What we don’t  tell to our parents, and siblings or at times the lover, but share with somebody else is a friend. Often, the gateway into friendship is two people sharing a common interest.  Delving deep - whether its like- you want light when its burning low, want the sun when its snow, or hate the roads when you miss home- to solve all your problems be it the silliest, and come to your immediate rescue is a dear friend. No matter what, friends at times, can be ‘ an apple of gold in a picture of silver.’

But is it always the same scene?? Its quite understandable that with time, relationships tend to fade away, with all getting busy in their day-day-day schedule. Alas!! Shouldn’t  be the case. In contrary, what hits ithe most is what are the  hallmarks of a good friendship??. Is it staying loyal to each other, encourage or cheer, or just spare a few minutes to listen. Yes, just listen. Lucky are those, who have listener in their lives. All you need at times is a listener.

They say, even  the best of friends make the worst enemies. Bitter but fact, it is of modern times. Opposition of any kind can make life miserable but opposition of a particular kind multiplies the misery. Too often, those we let near us in love leverage precious trust to serve themselves at our expense -just to betray us. In my most direful times  what I needed was my dear of dearest friends to show up, encourage me and tell me straight that whatever the matter, we are with you. As they say, these thoughts are just confined to books and words, same was mine. Those promises of a dear friend, made in culvert adda's, last bench of a classroom, more just over sharing a same bottle of coke all found to be erased in vain. When needed the most, a very few turned up. Guess what, irony is who were just friends were always by my side. 

As the saying goes, you grow more wiser when you grow old, or may be the other way,  you may recognize your friends when in despair. Nevertheless, friendship in order to run long, like any other relationship needs respect. Make sure the promise and respect fuel in our relationship runs till last breathe – healing very wounds and sharing the utmost joy.

People live, When people give

Being born as a human; what all try to discover is ‘satisfaction.’ Not once or twice but throughout everyday lives. Regardless of varied situations or life-changing instances, the quest for genuine satisfaction is at the core aspect of every individual’s life goals. But to attain that level of satisfaction differs from individual to individual. For some, it may be by gathering valuable yet expensive gadgets or commodities, to some experiencing a dauntless adventure, and to some might be setting their footprints in the world of business. And, to some rare yet kind souls, satisfaction is all about giving back to the society we live in.

The gift of giving is indeed a wonderful feeling in itself. In fact, it calls for a happy moment when a smile is sparkled on the face of a loved or a needy one. And, when we say gift, it doesn’t mean only materialistic in nature. It can be in monetary, food, or clothes.  But for some is helping people who need immediate medical help at the time of health distress at anytime, anywhere. While mentioning the list of emergency medical needs, the first thing that hits our mind is ‘Blood.’ And, finding quality and right blood group-matched blood is not easy. To mitigate such issues and aid people during a health emergency, many noble souls have come forward.

One such is Chennai based ‘Platelet Club,’ an NGO working day in and day out to save lives of thousands across the nation. Today, the club is recognised to be one of the most empathetic groups of blood and platelet donors who are whole-heartedly dedicated to saving lives. Driven by the motto “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more,” the club is committed to helping all those who knock their doors.

Srivatsa Vema handing over masks to Police officers during COVID-19 crisis

What started in the year 2007 by Srivatsa Vema to initially help a few numbers of patients that required blood, the club today has grown much beyond just being a blood donor club. In no sooner time, in the year 2017, after a decade of this foundation, it eventually formed ‘Platelet Club.’ The founding idea was to help patients who are looking for platelets. Platelets, in general, are small colourless disc-shaped cell fragment without a nucleus, found in large numbers in blood and involved in clotting. They are primarily essential for those fighting cancer, disease, and traumatic injuries. Unlike whole blood, platelets, on the other hand, have a shelf life of only 5 days, so there is a constant need for donors. Platelet donation procedure is completely safe with minimal to no side effects.  The platelet donation procedure usually takes 45 minutes to 60 minutes and may slightly vary depending on your height and weight.

With the passage of time, this group has found some attention and is being supported by many volunteers across the nation. Not only men, but a huge section from the women community have also stepped ahead for the noble cause. Keeping aside all the challenges and stigmas, women have started to contribute, but educating everyone on the pros and cons of donating would lead to a bigger turn up.  Presently, it has its own verification team whose responsibility is to:

• Collect basic details, 
• Find out whether the need is Emergency or replacement, 
• Cross-check if the patient is a resident or had come for treatment purposes.   

Team of 4, namely Kavitha, NithyaNadha, Vineeth, and Durga Devi, are vital members of the verification team. Along with them, the club is highly supported by Ashok Kumar, Muniraj, Janarthan, RaghuRam, and Mahadevan. Not only restricted to offline social presence, but the club is also highly active through online mode, i.e., Vineeth Manimaran, who is engaged in creating informative memes on the group’s Facebook page.

To conclude, let’s end with an open-ended question. Have you ever donated blood, platelets, or WBC? If yes, I am pretty sure you have made a note of the number of times you've done so. But what if I tell you, that you'll run short of pages in notepad if you are Duraisamy Karuppiah, Rohith Fernandes, Poorna Chandran or Sridhar Onkar. Why? Because these are the names of those unsung heroes who have saved more than 450+ lives among them. They are the members of the elite “Centurion Donors” club. What this means is, they have each donated more than 100 times  (150 in case of Duraisamy), which is a superhuman feat, and I don’t think they will stop donating anytime soon. 

In years to come, the Platelet Club aims to promote awareness among people more on niche health issues and mitigate them by bridging the gap between the needy and the donor. Thus, being an extended arm for the health and welfare of society in general.

Personality begins where Comparison Ends

No wonder, life at one point or the other is all about comparison. And, when it comes to comparison, it has no boundaries. His car, her looks, their marriage and children, and rest, we all fall in the trap of comparison. In a nutshell, comparing ourselves to others. Once Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the US, said, "Comparison is the thief of Joy." With times, the word 'comparison' has become so popular amongst parents. Not lesser than a fact, in present times, it is deeply rooted in every individual parent's mindset. It is inculcated so deep that they want their kid to excel in everything. Without little knowledge to even trying to understand them. 

Every individual is born different, and their struggles are different. The high and lows, ups, and downs differ from human to human. Some might have a splendid childhood and for some the terrible ones. While growing up, for some, it might to quite easy to deal with new changing phases, but for another, it might turn out to be miserable and the worst memories ever. Remember, coping up with the situations and circumstances of life comes in play with thought-process. One can expect to mitigate rather than keeping high hopes of accomplishing them at the earliest possible time.

Benchmarks set-up in life is essential. As they allow us to determine our strength, weaknesses, and developmental milestones. But things go wrong when instead of observing an individual's growth and progress, and be an extended arm if required, parents often compare their child to their siblings or with another for being different. For instance, look at Sharma Ji's son; he is excellent in whatever he does. As he writes faster, he plays excellent music, scores high in exams, and so on. (Uff!! Being ideally honest, the list of comparing never ends).

In the rat-race of making the child excellent in all and everything, remember you can end up in making them 'Jack of all trades but master of none.' It's wise not to compare as the risk of identifying their uniqueness is high. The child might pose different skills, interests, personality traits, and abilities, which  will make them who they actually want. By continually comparing them would lead to anxiety and stress in them and might turn out to be vulnerable. Instead of being selfish, recognise, and celebrate the inherent strengths. Encourage them to pursue their interest and work towards achieving in holistic development and help them be a better human.

Unfortunately, comparisons are deeply entrenched in our society. Right from neighbors to close relatives, the child is invariably compared with others. All these tiny and unnoticeable parts of life might make them disappointed and disillusioned.