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As the jetliner screamed down the runway, I braced myself for the experience of a lifetime. Gripping the sides of my arm tests, I cast a downward glance to me only to see a pair of beaming, chocolate brown eyes belonging to Hersh Naranyan. He was seven and asked if I was going to India for the first time.
"Yes," I replied relaxing a bit. He beamed at me, grinning from ear to ear. He told me that he lived in New Delhi, that his favorite color was blue, and his best friend was Guarau. I asked him after a while if he might like some American coins as a souvenir. His reply stunned me.
Lifting up an UNICEF envelope
from between our seats he motioned me closer, "Perhaps you
might put your spare change too good use. A few dollars will vaccinate
a child against six diseases. And twenty dollars will feed a family
for a month," he added.
This brief exchange was the essence of my trip to India. I thought
I was doing him a favor by offering him the edifice of Abraham
Lincoln on a copper circle. In reality, it was this seven year
old boy who did me the favor of reminding me what is important
in life. If India has a national motto, I am not aware of it.
My guess though is it reads something like this, Give Freely!
The moment I arrived in Jaipur, Rajasthan I was showered with a garland of flowers and open arms of friendship. Then came the scary part, my first car ride in India. The streets are teeming with excitement in Jaipur, not to mention animals, pedestrians, and every mode of transportation ever invented. My driver did not seem to understand that where I lived there were no camels or elephants zigzagging across traffic. There were pot holes every five feet, but no one slowed down, it was the equivalent of driving a tank fifty miles an hour through a minefield, impossible to avoid the bumps.
Each home I was a guest in brought more adventure and surprise. Some were very wealthy. My first host, an industrialist, had a home over 8,000 square feet with twenty servants at his beck and call. Another home I stayed in was two rooms for seven people with the bathroom outside. Others were at different points on a socioeconomic scale. Despite all the differences between these families and cities, they all were bound together by one common thread, Give Freely!
Each and every Rotarian I had the opportunity to meet sacrificed his time to teach me about their religion, profession, charitable work, or country. I witnessed assisted in a gall bladder surgery, vaccinated children, toured Jain temples, learned how steel is made, participated in a wedding processional, mourned the death of Ghandi, and led a camel safari into the Thar desert. The list goes on ad infinitum. All these experiences were made possible by the generosity Of Rotarians. The Rotarians not only gave freely to our GSE Team, but to each other and their community. Through schools, free medical clinics, eye camps, and PulsePolio, the Rotarians of District 6850 taught me the meaning of sacrifice and love.
Many people say that over-population is India's greatest problem. This may be true, but I found that India's people are her greatest asset. My passage to India taught me a simple truth about Life. That people are the same whether they live on the Ganges River or the Gulf of Mexico. The people of India laugh and cry the same as Americans do. They rise in the face of adversity and despise acts of violence.
The landscape of my character has been altered. The Rotarians of District 6850 may not realize it, but they are farmers of the soul. They have sewn the seeds of love, generosity and compassion into my heart. These seeds were watered by tears of joy and sadness as I traversed the dusty trails of Rajasthan. Some day they will come into full and glorious bloom. This is what my passage to India freely-given me.