MyVoice: Views of our readers 13th November 2021

Truly, a 'People's Padma'!

The latest edition of the Padma awards shows beyond doubt, that the Central government accorded recognition to the ones who deserve it for their valuable contributions to society. Earlier, people made assumptions that the coveted award was conferred on only celebrities and elite group. However, the government has dispelled the general notion by selecting ordinary people with extraordinary and down-to-earth ideas.

Unassuming and little known environmentalist Tulsi Gowda, transgender folk dancer Matha B Manjamma, octogenarian Mohammed Sharif and street vendor Harekala Hajabba have proved that they have qualities in common with those much known former recipients of the Padma awards.

Their meritorious work sets them apart and makes them the most deserving persons for the awards. Gowda planted more than 30,000 saplings in her native village Manjamma fought against extreme poverty and abuse and became a folk dancer, Sharif performed the last rites of thousands of unclaimed dead bodies and Hajabba started a school for poor children with his insufficient income from selling oranges on the road.

The government must be lauded for making the selection of the recipients in a transparent way. This time the selection process was changed and it transcended the celebrities and elite. This year's selection of the recipients marks the beginning of the democratisation of the Padma awards.

The government itself calls it the people's Padma. It must be noted that the recipient of the award, Gowda received the honour barefooted and wearing traditional clothes. The government has de-elitised the prestigious award by making it more and more diverse. It certainty reflects the true spirit if the endeavour.

Venu G S, Kollam

Today is World Kindness Day

To quote Albert Einstein 'Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile', kindness is something beyond a value, beyond a moral lesson to be learnt in a class. November 13, also recognised as World Kindness Day, is celebrated to highlight good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness for good which binds us. 'Unexpected Kindness is the most powerful, least costly and most underrated agent of human change', quoted Bob Kerry.

Today, we go through every thick and thin to fulfil our desires but what we are ignorant about is that life is more than merely achieving goals. Be kind enough to prevent yourself from falling prey to every external impediment and choose your own peace of mind. No act of kindness, no matter how small, ever gets wasted. There are instances when a small act done out of whole heart changes your way of thinking and acting for the rest of life. Everyone must be taught that any action taken out of kindness is done with no expectation of return.

The Lord himself is very kind to all living entities because they are his sons. Arjuna who resisted to fight his own members of family, was a kind and soft-hearted person, in the devotional service of the Lord and was fit to receive self-knowledge. Absence of kindness slowly but gradually defies one of wisdom, breeds insensitivity without being in the knowledge of person and ultimately creates animosity towards others.

Anushka Jaiswal, Ujjain

When GHMC abdicates its responsibility…

A recent survey bringing to light that the 7-storey building near Tank Bund housing GHMC office is most unsafe due to lack of fire-safety measures. As this has put the employees working in the building to high risk, one wonders how it escaped the attention of authorities for so long in equipping the building with the requisite fire safety equipment? When government has been pronouncing safety measures mandatory at every high rise residential and commercial buildings, the lapse in not providing full fire safety measures in its own building housing various offices of GHMC is not shocking but inexcusable by any yardstick.

In fact, when safety of building and inhabitants are paramount at all times, one fails to understand how an important matter went unnoticed from GHMC who are the authority to issue fire-safety fitness certificate after certifying that all fire safety measures are fully complied to by the owners of the building before occupation?

However, analysing the matter, it is an irony that lackadaisical attitude of officials is the sole reason that hospitals, hotels and high-rise buildings are becoming prone to fire accidents and death-traps, it is government appoint an independent safety authority to oversee safety measures are in place for the safety of people. Meanwhile, government order a probe to unravel the truth and punish all guilty who failed to discharge their duties in providing adequate fire-safety measures at GHMC.

K R Srinivasan, Secunderabad