Come summer, theatres are flooded with movies for children. Most of these are usually superhero flicks – Iron Man, Hulk & so on from Hollywood to our very own Krish & Chotta Bheem.
While returning after watching one such movie this summer, I wanted to list down the superheroes in my life. As I was listing them down, I saw that all the names in the list were my loved ones – family and friends. I left the thought at that.
A few days later, I got a message on social media. It was about a gentleman named “Padma Shri” Jadhav Payeng who lives in Majuli Island in Assam, India. When he saw that deforestation has lead to his neighbourhood go barren, he took it upon himself and started planting saplings each day. He began taking care of them and continued to plant more. Over a period of a few years, the land turned into a massive forest that’s spread over a 1000 acres. He’s awarded the “Padma Shri” (a civilian award) by the Government of India.
That is when the name of Anurag Varma popped in my mind. He is one of my neighbours. I met him a few times and on each instance, I was throughly impressed with him. He is one of the most compassionate individuals that I have ever come across. Anurag works towards taking care of animals and humans in need. He has taken the initiative and with the help of some residents he has built a shelter for the stray dogs outside our building and takes care of them. He is named as one of the animal rescuers (poster attached). Anurag takes the help of a NGO in providing shelter to mentally challenged women who are poor and old.
“These individuals are super heros to all those lives that they touched” I thought.
But then, should we do such large acts of kindness to become a superhero? Well, even random acts of kindness are equally important. While it may not be a big deal for you to give away a piece of left over bread to a poor person, the person who received it was probably starving.
When I realised it, the list of the superheroes that I saw is increasing every single day. While you’re preparing your list of superheroes, don’t forget that you are on someone’s list.
Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
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