The Banyan, having worked in the spheres of homelessness and mental illness for nearly two decades, believes that the key to providing care for homeless people is a sense of responsiveness and kindness. The homeless at the fringes of society are often victims of deprivation and abuse. It is our aim that we build a safer environment for such persons through community participation, by revisiting our traditional concepts of care and kindness.
Kind People, Happy City (KP-HC)/ Kanivaana Makkal, Aanandhamaana Nagaram, is a movement promoted by The Banyan, Chennai Mission and HCL Technologies, with the goal of fostering a caring community, so lives of vulnerable people are bettered. Every person can contribute to this movement by participating in street engagement, befriending a homeless person or sharing resources like food and clothes. Loosely structured and driven by passion and individual commitment, we aspire to build local ownership over the next few years and tap into Chennai and India’s rich culture of giving and caring.
Kind People-Happy City was successfully launched on Gandhi Jayanthi this year at the Winners Bakery on CP Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet, Chennai.
Sudha Panchapakasen, a well-wisher of The Banyan from its beginnings sent in this inspired piece of writing, on the KP-HC launch, that very poignantly describes the motivation behind this brand new ‘kindness’ drive by the people of Chennai for the homeless people of Chennai. May their tribe increase!
Crouched under a tree on a cold damp day, with a saree trailing behind her unclothed body, was a woman whose smile I will never forget.
It was drizzling and we almost missed seeing this woman sitting on the side of a busy main road, trying to tug the trailing piece of cloth around her shoulder to shut out the cold. “Maybe we can bring her something hot to eat” my husband said and we did, a little while later. Unsure of her reaction, I walked up to her with a packet of hot sambar rice. As I held it out to her asking “will you eat some rice?”, she accepted it with open arms and felt the warmth seep through the packing. She opened the packet and then, like a burst of sunshine through dark clouds, she beamed a smile at me and began eating. It’s a smile that began on her face and landed in my heart. All it had taken was 20 mins of our time.
Sitting at her desk early in the day, with her head bent into her arms, was a woman whose tear I will never forget.
Work is always busy. There are at least a 100 unread mails in my inbox at any given time. There are 2 reports that need to go out an hour ago and at least 3 calls that need to be returned. If this is me, life for everyone around me is 10 times more hectic. Everyone is always running, chasing after their own to do list and trying to make that insistent clock tick a little slower. So it was odd to see someone bent over at the desk rather than furiously typing away or making calls. It was also natural to ask “Hey, is everything alright, are you feeling ok?”. “Yes” came the quick reply with a “Just a little headache; it’ll go away” hesitantly added. It was much later in the day, when people were gathering their things to leave for the day, when she spoke with a tear in her eye. “Do you know that today was the first time since my marriage more than 10 years ago, that someone has asked me if I was feeling alright. Thank you”, she said and walked away with a smile. A tear and a smile at the same time. Do rainbows come out at times like these?
A pot containing a few dented vessels in one hand 2 brooms in another with some clothing gathered and tied inside a piece of cloth slung over her shoulder, was a woman whose desperation I would never forget.
It had been raining for 3 days and all schools were closed. My cousins and I were thrilled to pieces that we could read and re-read all the “Amar Chitra Kathas”; we could dress up in my aunts sarees; and we could host a Royal Tea Party! I used to live with my cousins and my aunt made hot pakodas and bajjees which were even tastier because of the rain. Early on the 4th morning, we were barely up, when our maid, Mallika knocked on the door. “The water has come in to our house and I just gathered the few things that I could.” Her husband and child had gone to the village the previous week and Mallika was home alone when the streets started flooding and the houses started dissolving. My aunt didn’t think for a second before she grabbed Mallika’s pot and placed it in the alcove under the stairs signalling her to put the rest of the stuff there. My cousins and I watched hope replace the desperation in Mallika’s eyes as she drank the coffee my aunt made for her and spoke soothingly, saying “Don’t worry, we can work this out, you stay here for a few days.”
Food, clothing, shelter, safety, these are basics and yet in this world we are not all blessed equally in these basics. Isn’t it only obvious to reach into our excesses and share it? Though it may be obvious, it takes a kind heart to highlight the need, to champion the cause, to re-kindle the kindness that is innate in us all, to inspire support, to moot a movement. This time the kind heart belonged to Vandana and Mr. Mahadevan. Mr. Mahadevan spearheaded the movement by partnering Vandana in this initiative, not stopping with his own support and contribution for the shelters but also coordinating with other kind hearts, other restaurant owners throughout the city.
The Dignitaries spoke from their heart as they shared their tales, their experiences and showered their good wishes at the inauguration of “Kind People – Happy City”. The hundred or more people gathered at the event held at The Winners Bakery had their own tales of kindness to tell, I am sure. Kindness, that they had meted out, witnessed or received. The morning, the sharing, the togetherness, fuelled our desire to reach out as we pledged to continue to keep our eyes and hearts open, to reach out to those around.
I could feel the birth of a million more smiles ready to land in a million more hearts…
Kind People – Happy City… Let’s join the movement!
Stories from The Banyan 
A small act of kindness could go a long way in making difference in the lives of people around us. You guys are my heroes. Keep going!!