Gurdaspur Diary: Underprivileged kids taken for ‘Dunki’ ride

Children are like wet cement, whatever falls upon them leaves an impression. With this in mind, Romesh Mahajan, the benefactor of 60 poor children studying free of cost in his school, Preliminary Education Centre, thought it prudent to expose them to the outside world. He and his team comprising teachers Manjit Kaur and (Ms) Ashu decided to take them to see a movie. Mahajan, who has already pumped in Rs 60 lakh to make the school, a first of its kind in the city, a successful venture, tied up with the owner of a local cinema. The film ‘Dunki’ was being screened here. Only those children who were above the age of 15 were allowed the rendezvous. After three hours, the 22 children who were selected on the basis of their age, were an exhilarating and excited lot. For the first time in their lives, they had seen a movie! Now, they want to see more. After all, ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’ is part of basic human nature. The children have now been promised that they will be shown another movie but with a rider. They will have to study hard to earn their tickets. The Preliminary Education Centre caters to children of beggars and those who live in slums. It has 60 kids on its rolls and those who do well are shifted to the nearby Ram Nagar Government Primary School. Children are taught how to think and not what to think. The benefactor in Mahajan has executed a will in which he has bequeathed the school to the Gurdaspur District Child Welfare Council. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”

Advertisement

City resident brings laurels

Gurdaspur resident Rahul Uppal is secure in the knowledge that a pessimist sees a difficulty in every opportunity while an optimist sees an opportunity in every difficulty. He, however, does not know the source of this famous quote. These lines come from a world famous gentleman going by the name of Winston Churchill. Nevertheless, Rahul follows the statement with passion and dedication. That is why he has done the city proud by winning the prestigious MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) award. This is an honour in the insurance sector. His prize is that he is now on his way to Vancouver to attend a conference on the insurance sector. Serving in the Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company, Rahul performed so well that not only were his seniors impressed, he also ended up winning the MDRT award. Very few people know about the MDRT. It is a global body of the world’s leading life insurance agents drawn from a conglomerate of 700 companies spread over 80 nations. It is said that MDRT members demonstrate exceptional professional knowledge, strict ethical conduct and outstanding client service in their dealings. MDRT membership is recognised internationally as the standard of excellence in life insurance and financial services business. In Gurdaspur, nobody had heard about MDRT till Rahul put it on centre-stage following his performance as a life insurance agent. He says he is thankful to his District Manager (DM) Uttam Bhardwaj for providing him with leadership qualities. Rahul is the taught, Bhardwaj is the teacher. The duo makes sure that leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. Wishing Rahul lots of good luck for his sojourn to Vancouver! (Contributed by Ravi Dhaliwal)